Selecting a real estate agent can be difficult. After all, there are so many realtors out there competing for our business. However, the right real estate agent can make all the difference when it comes to buying or selling a home. Here are a few questions that you should ask your potential realtor before signing a contract.
During your first meeting with a realtor, ask about their general qualifications and level of experience. While someone with just a couple of years' experience could be perfectly capable of helping you buy or sell a home, it's a good question to ask. If you are selling your home, more experienced realtors often have some good ideas to make the process move more quickly. Some realtors also go a step beyond the training required for them to become real estate agents and they further their education and receive special designations. Ask about any extra designations they might have, such as GRI, CRS, CSP or ePro. All of these require quite a bit of extra work and study to acquire.
Experience is certainly a plus, but the bottom line can be a better indicator of your real estate agent's expertise. For instance, how many homes has he sold in the last six months and how many has he listed? If most of the homes listed have sold and sold fairly quickly, this can be a good sign. However, ask about the final prices. Sometimes homes sell quickly because they are priced very low in order to get a quick sale. You might prefer to keep your home up for sale longer to see if you can earn a bit more on the sale, so make that clear to your agent. It's also a good idea to make sure that your agent is familiar with your neighborhood and the price range of your home. If they usually sell homes that are much more expensive or much less expensive, they might not be the best person to sell your home.
Realtors understand that selling a home is nerve-wracking, and your agent will do their best to make it all go as smoothly as possible. Ask about the overall plan to sell your home. This includes setting a reasonable listing price based on the other homes on the market or recently sold in your area and in your price range. This also includes cleaning up your home, eliminating clutter, making a few cosmetic changes and staging it up to appeal to buyers. Open houses also are usually part of the plan, but a good realtor won't depend on a myriad of open house dates to sell a house.
If you are buying a home but not selling a home, the process generally is much easier. You do need to make your requirements and budget clear to your realtor, and it is also wise to come in pre-qualified for a certain loan amount. Create a checklist of items that are must-haves as well as things that you'd like to see in your new home. Also add in a few items that are deal-breakers. The more your agent understands your needs and wants, the more smoothly the process will flow. However, you rarely find a house that meets every item on your checklist, so it helps to be somewhat flexible.
If you are searching for the ideal home in either Contra Costa or Alameda counties, contact the 1stInSite.com staff. They are experts at finding homes and investment opportunities within the real estate markets of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon and many other nearby cities and communities. They can also help you market and sell your existing home or property.
During your first meeting with a realtor, ask about their general qualifications and level of experience. While someone with just a couple of years' experience could be perfectly capable of helping you buy or sell a home, it's a good question to ask. If you are selling your home, more experienced realtors often have some good ideas to make the process move more quickly. Some realtors also go a step beyond the training required for them to become real estate agents and they further their education and receive special designations. Ask about any extra designations they might have, such as GRI, CRS, CSP or ePro. All of these require quite a bit of extra work and study to acquire.
Experience is certainly a plus, but the bottom line can be a better indicator of your real estate agent's expertise. For instance, how many homes has he sold in the last six months and how many has he listed? If most of the homes listed have sold and sold fairly quickly, this can be a good sign. However, ask about the final prices. Sometimes homes sell quickly because they are priced very low in order to get a quick sale. You might prefer to keep your home up for sale longer to see if you can earn a bit more on the sale, so make that clear to your agent. It's also a good idea to make sure that your agent is familiar with your neighborhood and the price range of your home. If they usually sell homes that are much more expensive or much less expensive, they might not be the best person to sell your home.
Realtors understand that selling a home is nerve-wracking, and your agent will do their best to make it all go as smoothly as possible. Ask about the overall plan to sell your home. This includes setting a reasonable listing price based on the other homes on the market or recently sold in your area and in your price range. This also includes cleaning up your home, eliminating clutter, making a few cosmetic changes and staging it up to appeal to buyers. Open houses also are usually part of the plan, but a good realtor won't depend on a myriad of open house dates to sell a house.
If you are buying a home but not selling a home, the process generally is much easier. You do need to make your requirements and budget clear to your realtor, and it is also wise to come in pre-qualified for a certain loan amount. Create a checklist of items that are must-haves as well as things that you'd like to see in your new home. Also add in a few items that are deal-breakers. The more your agent understands your needs and wants, the more smoothly the process will flow. However, you rarely find a house that meets every item on your checklist, so it helps to be somewhat flexible.
If you are searching for the ideal home in either Contra Costa or Alameda counties, contact the 1stInSite.com staff. They are experts at finding homes and investment opportunities within the real estate markets of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, San Ramon and many other nearby cities and communities. They can also help you market and sell your existing home or property.
About the Author:
Madeleine Glazier enjoys writing about the real estate industry. If you are looking for licensed real estate Pleasanton CA agents, or to find San Ramon CA real estate agents, please check out the 1stInsite website now.
No comments:
Post a Comment