Real Estate News

Home selling and buying might look easy as pie for some. They might seem easy, but if you are thinking of just putting up a for sale sign outside your home, listing your home in the MLS, or searching some real estate sites is enough, then you are wrong. The Real estate process can be knotty and stressful especially to first time home buyers. With this fact comes a need for a real estate agent who is knowledgeable, dependable, and easy to work with.

Picking the right real estate agent can be time consuming as in buying or selling properties. There are thousands of real estate agents in your area waiting for you to hire and though hiring one can cost you some amount, it is worth to have one very good agent by your side to help you with your real estate transactions. However, when you pick one, make sure that you ask the following questions:

1. How long have you been in the business? 2. What is your normal list-price-to-sales-price ratio? 3. What is your marketing strategy for my needs? 4. Will you please provide references? 5. How much do you charge? 6. What separates you from the rest of the agents?

Can you hire a freshly licensed agent? No. However, their training and access to experienced mentors matters in this case. Fresh agents, as a matter of fact, tend to concentrate on their clients compared to experienced agents; perhaps because they have lots of things to do after 20 years of doing real estate transaction.

A good buyer’s agent should be able to negotiate a sales price that is lower than list price for buyers. A competent listing agent should hold a track record for negotiating sales prices that are very close to list prices. In other words, a good listing agent should have higher ratios closer to 100 percent while buyer’s agent ratios should fall below 99 percent.

Home buyers and sellers have different needs. Buyers need to know how the agent can search for the type of house he’s looking for, how long does it take or how many houses does it take before he can buy, how intense is the competition, and so on. Sellers, on the other hand, need to know how their homes will be sold, the marketing strategy to be used, and so on.

When looking for a ‘good’ real estate agent, make sure that s/he is honest and trustworthy, friendly, analytical, good communicator, assertive, excellent negotiator, available by phone or email as often as possible whenever you need him/her, and he must have a call personality where he can still remain compose even in a very stressful time. Moreover, pay close attention to subtle signals like how you feel when you are interviewing him/her.

Gather as much information about the agent as well as the company he is working for. In your search, watch out for fake agents.

The year 2011 is more challenging for the real estate market and though the future is unpredictable, let your newly hired agent guide you in buying or selling Real Estate in Buford GA. Visit Central Valley MLS Listings for more property options real estate advice.