September 1, 2010
It’s easy to find a real estate agent. Just put a for sale sign in the yard and wait for the phone to ring. The question is, how do you find a GOOD real estate agent? You can start with newspaper.
Pick up the Saturday or Sunday paper – whichever day they have all the homes for sale in your area. You can also collect a few real estate guides to look through. Browse the listings to find properties similar to yours. If you are selling a cabin, you want to look for cabins for sale. If you are selling a lakefront mansion, look for those.
When you find similar properties, note the names and numbers of the agents that are selling them. The idea here is to find a real estate agent that has experience with your type of property. An agent that has all the million pound homes may not be the best to sell your mobile home, for example. You want agents that have sold or are selling several properties like yours.
What To Ask A Real Estate Agent
1. When you call the agents – and it’s best to call several – you want to verify that they do have experience selling properties like yours. Ask for examples.
2. Ask what they do to market a property. Any agent can place an ad and put your home in the multiple listings. Do they have existing leads – people looking for properties like yours? Do they let other agents know about your property?
3. Do they show their listings very often? Many agents just list real estate for sale and let others sell it for them. It’s more profitable for them, but not for you. If they are a good salesperson, you want them to be going through the house with potential buyers.
4. Do they do their own closings? Again, it may be better for them to delegate this part of the process, but it isn’t better for you. You want the same person to be there through the whole process. You want one person to call. Things go wrong all the time in real estate, so don’t complicate it further by having more people involved.
Most real estate agents will probably argue these points. That’s okay, but be aware that there are other things they won’t tell you too. For example, did you know that open houses are primarily a prospecting tool for real estate agents? In fact, new agents (not the listing agent) are often given the job of hosting your open house, so they can find buyers to work with. It isn’t expected that they will sell your house in the process.
Also understand that when you see ads for homes for sale, and they don’t have prices, it is a prospecting technique. When that buyer looking for a 100,000 home calls on your 300,000 home, the agent isn’t going to make him able to afford your home. The whole point was to get him to call so he could sell him ANY home. Meanwhile, other potential buyers for your home skipped over the ad – there are enough homes WITH prices to look at (insist that ads for your property have the price listed).
Trust your intuition when choosing an agent. If you don’t feel comfortable with an agent, it’s possible potential buyers won’t either. And ask the right questions. You don’t just want to find a real estate agent you like. You want to find the right agent for your property.
August 18, 2010
A real estate agent will guide you to – and through – the most important decision of your life. How do you know, for sure, that he will act in your best interests?
How do you know if he will really work for you? Is he too busy for you? What of his personal integrity? How much effort will he expend for you?
You will want to feel very comfortable with the real estate agent that you choose, comfortable enough to be able to say ‘no’ to the bargain of the month and ‘no’ to the almost perfect house.
He must not be intimidating to you, yet a business-like attitude and assertiveness are qualities you will want in a professional acting for you.
Often when you are choosing a business professional, the outcome is not so critical, but who wants to lose their dream property? Choosing a real estate agent falls into the same bracket as choosing a medical doctor or a lawyer.
The interview and short listing process is really all about finding one that you feel comfortable with. Real estate agents usually have a ‘presentation’. This is usually a very business-like procedure and if they are having an off day, the presentation may click in automatically.
However, you will need to get past the ‘rehearsed’ person and get to know the real one. Most real estate agents will have integrity, they have their reputations to think about, but you need to feel that you also have one that understands you and your wants.
Some real estate agents have amazing sales records, so ask about sales history. Ask if he would mind giving you some recent sales to choose references from. Gather up at least half a dozen and then choose your own references to phone. Before you phone, ask the real estate agent a few questions.
For instance: How long was each house on the market? How many were reduced and why? How many times and by how much?
Some other questions could be: Will there be a marketing plan drawn up for the sale of your house? Will it be carried out? What guarantees do you have? To see if the agent is keen and enthusiastic, ask him if he has taken any extra real estate courses.
See if you find his voice or tone very monotone; if so, do you find it relaxing, or would you prefer a lively voice generating a more energetic feeling?
Finally you must try and gauge the quality of his negotiating skills. Ask about commissions; in a house sale it will be necessary for you both to be able to discuss money amicably.
Observe the way the real estate agent explains things when you try and negotiate a lower rate. If he can convince you that his fee is fair and that he will have to work hard to earn it, then he can convince others to listen to his viewpoint when he is working for you!
All this discussion will give you enough time and a good basis on which to judge the personality of the real estate agent. Then the bottom line is that you have to pick someone that you feel you can trust.
May 19, 2010
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For best advice on real estate investment contact a real estate investment company
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Now days buying and selling property is quite an easy task. But one has to know the ins and outs of the current market otherwise you will be cheated. A person who has a good knowledge in real estate finds it easier to survive in the real estate market than the one who is a novice. In such a scenario a real estate investment company lends the help needed to make your investment a smooth process.
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One of the best roads to financial freedom and wealth has and always will be the good, solid, income producing real estate investment. Real estate investment is the safest of all investments. Today, more multi-millionaires are being created in real estate investment than any other sector such as stocks & bonds, gas & oil or precious metals. Real Estate Investment Companies are making the job of investors pretty easy and gaining profits in the process.