Debbie,

As a real estate observer not a real estate pro here, I would like to know how many real estate pros will respond you. Your question is going to make a lot of real estate pros as crazy as possible especially those specialists who have no business now.

Highly recommend you to click my profile and read the Experience section before you deal with anyone. If you have time, go ahead to read my “About me”, “Specialties”, and “Certifications & Awards” sections. I hope those sections in my profile can help you to find a good real estate person to be your agent.

by the way, I have some questions for your candidates. You can use my questions to identify who can handle your scenario as a real real estate person.

Good luck,

Andy

Hi Debbie,

I would be more than happy to meet with you to talk about helping you purchase a home in the Berryessa area. I am extremely familiar with this North Valley area with 38+ years of experience living in the Berryessa area. In addition to having lived in the Berryessa neighborhood most of my life, I have done a number of real estate transactions in this specific area. I am sure that I know this area as well as, if not better than, any other real estate agent. I have worked with many first time home buyers throughout my career and will take the time to walk you throught the entire transaction process. It is great to hear that you area excited about purchasing your first home. Feel free to contact me to talk about purchasing a your future home in the Berryesaa area.

Eric Woodward
Silicon Valley Residential Realty
DRE #01358345
(408) 297-0888 office
(408) 623-7204 cell
eric@svresidential.com

Hi Debbie,
I would just like to add my name for your consideration, I have been working mostly as a buyers agent with quite a few 1st time home buyers and it's mainly REO'S/Short Sale type properties that I have helped them purchase. I am VERY familiar with the Berryessa area having sold and bought in the area. You can view my profile as well as my Blog on REO/Short Sales ( you will find it here on trulia). I also have a web page (see below) where you can put in an REO/Short Sale search which is ACCURATE and up to date.
I can walk you through the entire process and answer all of your questions so that you are an informed buyer who knows what she is doing.
Feel free to contact me.

Regards,
Allyson
408-705-6578
allyson@homesbyallyson.com

Hi Debbie,

I work a lot with first time home buyers, and enjoy walking beside them through the full home buying process, and maintaining a relationship with my clients/friends after.....I have all of the qualifications you need. I work with Buyers, meet them for a first time Buyers appt, go through the home purchase process with them, find out their home needs criterias, get them pre-approved for a loan, then take them out to see properties appropriate to their needs.......
Do check out my website and Testimonials, and call me if you would like to meet and talk. I generally work "By Referral" and so have great clients. Will be happy to take exceptional care of you!
Be well and safe, regards,
Nina

Hello Debbie and thanks for your inquiry.

There are many excellent real estate professionals here on Trulia available to assist you. As Robert noted below, the first step would be to contact a mortgage broker to get preapproval. This is especially important if you're interested in purchasing a property categorized as an REO or short sale. Most will not entertain an offer without seeing a preapproval letter from the lender (not the mortgage broker).

Second, interview a few Realtors. Ask your friends for references, and see who would work best for you. Several of the agents below have offered their services to you, and you can determine the quality of each agent by looking at some of the questions they've answered here on Trulia to see if their answers exhibit the intelligence and market knowledge you'll need in a short sale or REO. Then give them a call.

Finally, if you're willing to do the market research by yourself, attend open houses, and find your dream home by yourself, you can use a licensed Realtor to "facilitate" the purchase for you. In this capacity, the Realtor serves as the navigator for the sale once you have selected the home of your dreams and works with you to apply the unused commission typically paid to the buyer's agent to lower the price of your home or to be rebated to you. I've blogged about this type of service here on Trulia and have answered many questions about facilitation.

Good luck and happy house hunting.

Sincerely,
Grace Morioka, SRES, e-Pro
Realtor, Facilitator
Area Pro Realty
San Jose, CA

It's always smart to get fully pre-approved for a home loan before you buy and to understand what your housing payment will look. I would be happy to assist you in getting pre-approved.

Hi Debbie, I have a page prepared for you at this link ~ http://michaelrobertshomes.com/348/

I made a great effort to share my qualifications and some great questions to ask to help you filter your new agent search!

I wish you enormous success!~

Michael
http://www.MichaelRobertsHomes.com

Hi Debbie,
you'll get plenty of good agents willing to help you so I'll keep my application simple. Go to
http://mccordrealtyservices.com/testimonials/ and check out my testimonials.
Bill