Real Estate Update

Posts Tagged ‘Realtor’

Your home is probably your most valuable asset that you will ever have to decide who will earn the right to represent the sale or the purchase of your property. It could be an overwhelming experience to decide who is the most deserving to earn your trust out of the 5,465 licensed REALTORS® in Calgary. Just because your friends said that he is the best REALTOR® you should make sure to do your own due diligence. After all, your friends aren’t the ones who will be managing your personal finances. An even more important question to ask ourselves is to understand the reasons why we should have a REALTOR® to look after our best interest before we begin the hunt for one.

Have you ever tried to cut your own hair? If you did, I am sure it wasn’t a pretty experience. REALTORS® are trained professionals and are continuously mandated to upgrade their knowledge to help to better serve their clients every day. It’s not only the knowledge that a REALTOR® will bring to the table when working with you, but a REALTOR® can save you considerable amount of time by doing most of the leg-work for you… at no direct cost to you.

In today’s booming market condition it’s not uncommon for sellers to try the For Sale by Owner market before considering hiring a REALTOR®. Chances are good that you will be able to succeed at selling on your own. However statistics show that in most cases sellers ended up selling their properties for much less than what it would have cost them to hire a professional. Weather you are buying or selling a piece of real estate it’s extremely important to have a professionally prepared comparable market analysis done for you to protect your investment. It’s also as important to complete the paper work properly. Once the ink dries on the paper it’s hard to make changes to it and regrets could easily come by.

REALTORS® have access to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Having the convenience of being able to tap into the single largest source of homes available on the market is not the only benefit that you will receive. REALTORS® are legally bounded by a strict Code of Ethics and high Standard of Business Practice as well as Agency obligations to represent your best interest. In a nut shell what this means to you is that all the information available on MLS is guaranteed to be accurate by the listing REALTOR® and if there were any defects known about the property or other facts that might affect your decision making process you will find out about it up front.

Regardless if you are buying or selling a property, it could take a bit of time to find a quality REALTOR®. The relationship that you will establish will play a key part in your future investment. It is well worth the effort to work your way through many potentials to find that “Outstanding REALTOR®”, but when you find one, they will be worth their weight in gold.

The most successful way to begin your REALTOR® hunt is to conduct subtle but effective interviews in person. The purpose of your first interview should be to discover each other’s needs, expectations and to discover the future steps to be taken by both of you. Your meeting with the potential REALTOR® should be structured to find out how effective they might be finding properties or selling your existing property. You will need to be able to conclude if the REALTOR® is focused on a potential long term relationship or does he feel ‘desperate’ to sell the next house. If you feel a little bit pressured, you might be tempted to choose to work with someone else because the REALTOR® doesn’t understand the word ‘relationship’. The other side of the coin is you want to find someone who isn’t too set back. You want to make sure that he will be actively doing what you agree upon and that he will have the time and energy to complete your sale or purchase. Working with an aggressive, motivated REALTOR® is good when they are representing you. They will be able to uncover as many opportunities as possible. You want someone who is enthusiastic, along with competence and consideration for a long term relationship.

Timing and creativity seems to be an ongoing issue today. Like most of us, we could have days when everything just seems to be piling up and we find it challenging to follow up on our promises. However, for most of the time, we should be organized and well prepared in advance for those crazy days. Find out ahead of the game what is your REALTOR’S® policy on returning your calls and what kind of systems does he have in place to serve you better.

Education and knowledge with experience will be the key elements of a successful real estate transaction. You should be also asking your REALTOR® if he is taking any advanced training to better serve his clients or what is he doing that is different from the rest of REALTORS®?

The best way for you to prepare for your meeting is to sit down prior to the meeting and write yourself a set of questions that are important to you and discuss them at the time of your interview. More likely a well prepared REALTOR® will do the same thing. The most effective way we can help each other is by communicating openly.

Once you feel confident and comfortable about choosing a REALTOR® to work with you, don’t be afraid to commit to him. At the end of the day a REALTOR® will be spending a considerable amount of time working for you away from his family. In exchange for his time and for his up front miscellaneous costs associated with serving you, it’s only fair to him to be able to get paid for his efforts.

Weather you are considering purchasing your first home or perhaps you have done it many times in the past, you owe it to yourself to further explore the potentials of maximizing the value of your largest investment. The quality of any relationship that you will ever establish will be a direct correlation to the amount of time and energy you invest with that person.

“Choosing a realtor can feel like an overwhelming process. You want to find someone who knows the market and does her job well, so you’re likely to look for someone who is well-established in her career. At the same time, you want to find a realtor who is going to have the time to commit to helping you find the right home. So how do you find a realtor with that perfect balance between experience and the time to commit to you? Here are the top 7 tips to helping you choose that right realtor:

1. Make a checklist of your needs. There isn’t one right realtor for everyone. Each person has different needs in terms of everything from the amount of explanation they want their realtor to provide them to their preferred methods of communication. Make a checklist of everything that you desire in a realtor and then rank that list in order of importance to you so you can be clear about what you are looking for.

2. Ask around. The number one way to get a realtor that you like is to go with the recommendations of those around you. If you have friends or family members who have worked with a realtor in your local area, don’t hesitate to ask them for recommendations. Even your long-distance friends can be helpful in identifying the qualities in a realtor that are going to be important while making your selection.

3. Ask potential realtors about their experience. You want to know how long they’ve been working, not only in the field but also in the local area. If the realtor works for an agency, do your research regarding the history of the agency. If the realtor is independent, find out about their business practices. Also be sure to find out about their credentials and professional associations.

4. Ask potential realtors up front about their ability to commit to your needs at the current time. Although you’ll be able to tell rather quickly if a realtor is too busy to take your needs seriously (because of the unreturned phone calls and late appointments), it often makes things easiest just to ask the question up front. In fact, realtors who really are busy sometimes make a point to make the time specifically for those clients (like you) who have expressed a concern about this up front.

5. Discuss the services that your realtor will be providing for you. Realtors all work at different levels of involvement with their clients and you want to find one who will be able to provide all that you need. A good realtor will have a standard plan in place for finding and showing your properties and assisting you in negotiating the sale so be sure to learn what this plan is.

6. Take your time in choosing a realtor. You probably want to hurry up and get that realtor so that you can hurry up and get your home but it pays to take the time to interview several realtors and to find the one that’s right for you. Don’t be in such a rush to choose a realtor that you pick the first one that you meet with.

7. Trust your gut. In the end, there is no better indicator of whether or not a realtor is right for you than your own best instincts. If you meet with someone and she just “feels right”, then she probably is. Trust yourself on this one.

With these seven tips in mind, you’re well on your way to choosing a realtor. Now comes the hard part; choosing your home!”

I let out a big sigh when one of my students called me.  He talked with a landowner who lived in Michigan but owned a parcel of land in Florida.  The landowner was interested in selling but said that first he was going to call a Realtor in Florida to determine the value of the property.

So why did I sigh?  My experience says that they are going to contact the wrong person and get bad advice (mostly in regards to price).  Ultimately the deal will fall through.

Most sellers don’t understand that they cannot contact just ANY Realtor to help them make an informed decision.  They are best served to contact a Realtor who is experienced in land.  It is the same dynamic if I am considering buying a self storage complex.  I don’t call ANY Realtor – I find one who understands how to value commercial properties.

Sounds simple doesn’t it?  I have had too many experiences in negotiating with landowners where the deal was derailed by a Realtor who didn’t have experience valuing land. This isn’t a knock against Realtors in general.

Let’s face it – to value land in this economy is tricky at best.  It is imperative to find a land professional that knows the local area and is familiar with land that has recently sold in there.  So if I am going to do a deal in Alabama, I am calling a Realtor who is experienced in land statewide as well as locally.  I am not going to call a land Realtor in Georgia or North Carolina because land in Alabama is unique in regards to terrain, demand, price per acre, etc.

Why am I such a big fan of land Realtors?  They are a critical person in the process to understand land values and whether a parcel is a good value or not.

I cut my teeth in land when I was an office manager at a land brokerage (I am an investor not a Realtor).  While I was there, about 60% of the buyers bought land sight unseen.  It was because they were looking at land like stock.  They were TRUSTING that the land Realtors at the office evaluated the property correctly.

My boss was the stereotypical land broker.  He came to work dressed in his cowboy hat and boots and had a drawl that this city boy could sometimes not understand.  But he KNEW his area and was passionate about finding only the best deals for his buyers.

But the stereotype of the land Realtor is changing.  With the advent of the Internet, land Realtors still know their area well.  But now they have evolved into Internet real estate specialists creating high quality marketing pieces for websites and email requests.

It is my opinion that we are not going to have enough experienced land Realtors to service the upcoming demand for all land types.  With the stock market and economy in continued decay, more and more investors are going to turn to land as one safe haven to place their money.

Investors are going to have to trust an experienced land Realtor’s opinion on finding good values.  Are you one of them?

I have been a part of over 600 land deals and virtually every transaction has been closed with the help of a land Realtor.  I would not turn to anyone else!

So how does one find a land Realtor in the area where you hope to buy?  Here are a couple of suggestions:

Go to www.rliland.com and search through their free database of land Realtors.  Look for “Find a Land Consultant” tab on the site to begin your search. Go on the Internet and select the state and county that you are searching and see which Realtor is listing land parcels for sale in that area.  Usually they will have enough experience in land to assist you. Sometimes I call a large brokerage office by phone and ask for the land specialist in their mix of Realtors.  Unfortunately I have had some Realtors misrepresent themselves so you have to be careful to interview them to determine if they are the right person.  (I have a chapter in my manual on “How to Find the Right Realtor” that goes into how to interview for a land Realtor to determine if they are right person for your real estate need).

One of the best decisions you can ever make when purchasing land is to find a land Realtor to serve your needs.

in an age where technology has made telecommuting possible[**] folk have resorted to working from home, shopping online, and even purchasing properties through the web. To give you a better idea, realtor.com states that more than 80 p.c of purchases of houses begin online . This mind boggling % alone would have realtors clamoring to sell their properties to this group of property buyers. [**] without realtor SEO, the fight to be ready to reach folks who buy online becomes infinitely more difficult.

Realtor SEO helps bridge this gap between realtors and online buyers easier because both parties have the Net at their fingertips. All that realtors must do is to use the web to their advantage so that search engines rank them high in search results and direct potential buyers to their sites. Unlike traditional real realtors, realtors these days can use the Net as a promoting tool to get business and do not have to do only hard sell, that is, standing for hours in heavily crowded areas to hand out flyers to passers-by. At the same time, realtor SEO can ensure that realtors’ property adverts basically reach the online-buying public.

apart from the proven fact that majority of properties are purchased online, each realtor also needs to be able to edge out competitors so that the former can be sure of getting the biggest number of customers. To the average purchaser, realtors all have the same faces, and the purchaser will finish up going with the person that stands out from the bunch. Realtors have always had this problem of having to differentiate themselves from the remainder of the pack. This implies, though, that realtors would need to have had previous interactions with customers whom the former would rely on for word-of-mouth advertising. [**] realtors wanted to spend a lot on diverse gimmicks first to get folk to note them and finally to get properties from them. Even then, these selling gimmicks weren’t a guarantee that realtors would get customers.
Regularly realtors’ success is due to their systems that involve realtor SEO. As a consequence, realtor SEO becomes a very good supplement to property companies’ marketing methods and may, to a certain extent, become the focus of these companies’ techniques in bringing in more shoppers.
These elements are exactly why realtors can’t depend on only the standard methods of selling. At present , many property buyers rely on the internet to search for the particular properties they have in mind. This is where realtor SEO plays a significant role.
clearly, in the fast-moving arena of property pitches and sales, realtor SEO has become an essential factor for realtors to be ready to make more sales. Realtor SEO should no longer be just a term mentioned in passing but should be employed actively for continued business and success.

Finding The Right Realtor

Whether you are looking for a home of your very own or are interested in creating a long term working relationship with a realtor for the purposes of property investment it is very important that you find a realtor who will listen to your needs and wishes and act accordingly. The right realtor for your needs can mean all the difference in the world between a successful and profitable transaction now as well as many more in the future (if you plan on investing in multiple properties). Below are some important things to notice when selecting a realtor that will meet your needs.

1) Does the realtor you are considering listen to your needs? This is important as it will save you both a lot of time and money in the process of finding the perfect home for your family or for an investment property. If the realtor is constantly presenting properties that do not meet your budget or price requirements it might be a good idea to either lay down the law or find a realtor that is willing to expect your wishes and needs.
2) Does he or she ask questions and provide appropriate feedback? This indicates a direct interest in your needs, which is important-particularly when planning for a long-term investment relationship though some find it even more important when purchasing a home for their family home as this is a personal matter rather than a business matter. We all have a tendency to be more selective when placing the welfare of our family in the hands of another.
3) Do you feel comfortable dealing with the realtor you are considering? As I mentioned above we tend to be a little choosier when selecting professionals to help our families. Why on earth would be any less so when it comes to the realtor that will help our families find a home? Rapport is a good word to describe the sort of relationship you need to develop with your realtor. Do you have a good rapport with a potential realtor? If not, then move along. There are many realtors in most cities and there is absolutely no reason that you should deal with a realtor that doesn’t make you feel comfortable and secure.
4) How well does the realtor in question know the area in which you are seeking a home? There are many things that make a home a ‘good buy’ for residential and investment purposes. You want a realtor that has his or her finger on the pulse of the city and the various areas of interest, growth, and decline within the city. School districts matter more now than at any other time in our history in most cases, he or she should know about the schools, new business developments, and the value of property in the area (as well as the tendencies of property values to rise or fall over the last several years).
5) Does the realtor in question have specific experience dealing with your specific real estate needs? Whether you are planning a residential transaction or if you are seeking investment property you will need a dedicated and experienced professional that can help you meet your goals.

Realtors are a dime for a dozen in most cities and competition is fierce. There is no reason whatsoever that anyone should suffer with an agent that you do not feel is working for you or have your best interests at heart. If you invest a little bit of time and energy shopping around for the right realtor to meet your needs, you will find that your real estate transactions will take much less time and effort for this small sacrifice. It is much better to make the decision based on a few careful interviews in the beginning than after looking at fifty or more homes that do not meet your needs or price range. Then you have wasted a great deal of time and effort and you must still either risk wasting more time and effort or take the time to select another realtor for your real estate needs.

I also highly recommend selecting a real estate agent with a significant online presence. This means that he or she is making use of the available technology in order to offer more options to you as the consumer. Buying a house can be a mind-boggling process for the average person. Having a good realtor can make the process work so much more smoothly.

Realtors Listings 2009