real estate 2

Part 2 – How To Select A Real Estate Agent

Buying a home can be an expensive prospect so it is imperative to choose every person and factor involved in the deal with the utmost care. A real estate agent plays a vital role in the sale or purchase of a property and if you choose the right guy to work on your behalf he can not only make your life infinitely simpler but can also help you to save/make thousands.

The first step is to of course choose an estate agent who fits the purpose; for instance, if you are the seller, you need to work with a seller’s agent while for purchasing a home; you should go with a buyer’s broker. There are those professionals who take care of both tasks; that is, they may work on your behalf as well as that of the other party. Agents who work simultaneously for the seller and the buyer are known as dual agents. As a seller, if you approach an agent who works on your side, he will be obligated to get you the best deal possible; so, he will never divulge information on how much you are willing to negotiate and what is the lowest offer that you would be willing to accept. It will be your agents endeavor to get you the highest price possible.

On the other hand, when you work with a buyer’s agent while purchasing a home; the agent will be committed to getting you the lowest possible price. So, he will never make the buyer privy to information on how high you are willing to go in terms of the price. As you can see, these two positions work against each other; the buyers gain is obviously the sellers loss and vice versa. So, you can imagine that a real estate agent who works on both sides has to be honest with both parties and inevitably the buyer and the seller would find out sensitive price related information. So, ideally you would be better off working with an agent who works exclusively on your side.

However, this is just one part of the equation when looking for a real estate agent; there are several other factors that should be considered when hiring the services of a professional or an establishment that offer real estate brokerage services. Here is a list of some important aspects that should not be missed

Call the agent’s bluff: Almost all real estate agents have the propensity to brag about their accomplishments, which is fine as long as there is at least some modicum of truth to their claims. Remember these guys make a living out of marketing people’s homes so it’s not particularly difficult for them to market their own services to clients. There are some real estate agents who are more concerned about establishing their reputation as reliable and honest professionals and they do not like to inflate claims; on the other hand, there are those who would be quite happy to take unsuspecting clients for a ride for a few bucks. So, make sure that you check everything that the agent says he has accomplished. Some common areas where the agent may try to sell more hype than truth are listed below and you should watch out for these

The inexperienced expert: It’s fairly easy to come across real estate agents who have dozens of listings on their website; these are often a ploy to impress clients. After all, more listings would equate to more experience and that can be a highly valued commodity in this business. Make sure that you go through the website with a magnifying glass in hand; you may just find it mentioned in fine print that the dozens of entries are actually office listings. This would mean that even if the broker is working for the company with the listings he may not be personally responsible for handling all the customers. He may very well be the new kid on the block with not more than a client or two to his credit. So, it is operative to ask pointed questions here; after all, the real estate agent is going to charge you for his services, so why shy away from looking for the best. If you see several listings ask the agent, if they are all his or if other agents from the establishment are also involved in serving the clients mentioned on the site

The specialist who knows little: It is also not unusual to find agents who brag about being the specialists of certain areas and particular types of real estate; for instance, condos, HUD properties or even commercial real estate. A real estate agent may also mention that he as an expert when it comes to certain types of real estate transactions. However, you need to understand that these claims may very well be wishful thinking. Just because an agent aspires to be an expert in a certain area of real estate selling/buying; does not mean that he actually is an expert. If you find a professional who boasts of being a specialist of a certain neighborhood, take a look at his listings. There should be at least a few entries in his area of expertise.

Also, ask about any deals that were closed by the broker in the area. A good real estate agent who does indeed have the claimed experience will not hesitate to give you the specifics such as name of the client, property and transaction details and the contact information of the buyer and the seller.

Can’t see that crucial piece of information: This is another common technique used by some real estate agents; concealing information. They automatically assume that what you don’t know can’t hurt you; well, in this case it can and will. So, once again scrutinize all the information offered in the marketing material and on the website. A very common habit among real estate agents is to lie about the number of years they have been in business. Now, if the claims have been exaggerated by a year or two there is nothing to worry about but if they real estate agent goes overboard and tells you that he has a decades worth of experience helping people to buy and sell homes; you need to check this out. If this information has not been listed on the site or in the marketing material, talk to the agent openly about it. Besides, the demeanor of the agent will usually be enough to tell you about his experience.

However, it may also be worthwhile to remember that anything above two years should be acceptable as long as you find an agent who is friendly and honest. A friendly agent who is willing to understand you specific circumstances and work around them but has just been in business for two to three years will be able to clinch a deal faster for you than a grouchy guy with a 12 years of experience in his kitty.

Generic Answers: An agent who generalizes a lot of answers and information can prove to be the bane of what could have otherwise been a successful real estate deal. The property market is all about specifics and the agent needs to have pertinent and precise information about the important figures. If your agent cannot help you with answers to simple questions about the median price in an area, the number of days on the market and inventory, he may not be the right guy for the job. Remember in real estate deals, the devil is firmly in the specifics and details; so, you cannot possibly entrust your real east ate buying/selling needs to agent who cannot handle details too well.

Look at testimonials and references: If the agent can refer you to a past client who he/she has worked with; this would be a sure fire way of establishing how effective the agent is. Ask for the contact details of previous customers so that you can get in touch with them. A testimonial right out of the client’s mouth can be worth more than a thousand glowing compliments on the marketing material. If you do not see the name of previous clients next to the testimonial on the website etc, ask for them.

Not all agents make up testimonials, some are happy to offer references with the permission of their previous clients. So, when you take the names and the contact details of ex customers, inquire if you can call them; a reliable and reputable agent should have no problems with this.

It is also important to remember that sometimes a professional may not be trying to deceive you intentionally; however, ignoring some crucial information may lead to an expensive misunderstanding. So, take the time out to ask relevant questions to a prospective real estate agent before handing him the job

Should you deal with a buyer’s and seller’s agent from the same company?

A lot of people have a question about the suitability of working with a seller’s and buyer’s agent from the same company. Ideally, you should not do this; there are several reasons why hiring two guys from the same organization may not work in your favor.

Too much information: Because these guys work for the sane company, chances are that they will exchange notes on you and the last thing you need is to have you personal circumstances discussed casually between the employees of a firm

Professional rivalry: Since the guys work for the same company; there is a possibility that they may not be particularly friendly with each other. In a worst case scenario, they may be out rightly hostile towards each other. At the end of the day, this professional rivalry will impact the outcome of your real estate deal so it’s best to avoid such murky scenarios.

Too friendly: There may also be a case in which the two agents are a bit too friendly with each other for your good; they may not agree to an interview simply because they do not want to step on each others toes. One or both of them may also decide that they do not want to compete with each other. Again, you will be at the receiving end here.

May not want to reveal the tricks of the trade: Because they are working for the same organization, one or both agents may be extra sensitive about guarding their business tactics. So, they may not be very comfortable discussing or negotiating on your behalf with their colleagues

So, all in all, it would be best to approach people who do not work for the same company. It would be worthwhile to understand that while most agents are accepting of the fact that a client or two gets lost and that there is no pleasing everybody; losing a client to a colleague who works for the sane organization may create a significant issue

Why should you go with an experienced real estate agent and how much experience is enough?

The adage “90% of the work is done by 10% of the people” holds true in the real estate market as well. You will find that most of the deals are clinched by a select few estate agents who have been consistent and diligent about their work. An experience of 5 plus years along with a deal rate of ten per year which is almost equal to one deal per month is what you should ideally be looking for. There are; needless to say, several advantages of hiring the services of an experienced real estate agent which include:

• Will be able to offer recourse and solutions based on past experience
• Enjoy good camaraderie and rapport with other agents
• Can anticipate problems before they occur based on their experience
• Have strong negotiation techniques that will help their clients to save or gain thousands
• Understand the intricacies of ten real estate market and its changes
• Can refer reputable vendors such as title companies, mortgage lenders, home inspectors, contractors, appraisers, pest inspectors etc
• Can offer crucial statistics on the real estate market
• Will be able to guide you to smooth and glitch free deal closure.

Also, it is imperative to not hire DNA agents (relatives who work as agents). Althoguh they may have you best interests in mind, they may often not speak up out of fear of offending you even when you are headed towards imminent failure.

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