Thursday 12 December 2013

Questions You Need To Ask Your Realtor

By Madeleine Glazier


The process of selecting a realtor can be a daunting task. Every area has a myriad of trained professionals willing to help you sell or buy a home or investment property. However, you need to select an agent that truly can meet all of your individual needs. To make selection easier, consider asking some of the following questions.

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.

The success rate of your realtor also is a huge factor, especially if you are selling a home. Ask them how many homes they have listed and sold in the last year. Also ask them about the general sales price of these homes. If the realtor typically sells lower priced homes and yours is worth millions, it might not be a great fit. Your realtor should be familiar with selling homes in your price range and especially in your area. Also inquire how long the homes stay on the market, but be sure to ask about the sales prices. If the homes move quickly, it might be because the realtor encourages clients to drop the prices significantly in order to move the house into escrow faster.

Selling a house is stressful, but a good realtor can certainly make it all a lot easier. Ask your realtor about their plan to sell the house. Will there be open houses, and if so, how many? What listing price is recommended and how did your realtor decide upon that price? Be sure to ask for some good comps in your price range and neighborhood. Also take a look at these homes and see how your home measures up to the competition. It's also wise to ask your realtor about advice about staging your home for buyers.

For those who are just buyers and not selling their home, you should have an easier time completing your real estate transaction. However, during that first meeting, you need to bring a list with you with details about all of the things you want in your new home. Include a few items that are absolutely necessary, such as staying within a particular city or school district or perhaps the necessity of having a certain amount of bedrooms. Keep in mind that you probably won't get every single thing you want, the perfect house probably only exists if you build it yourself. Also, be clear about your budget and go to a lender or bank and get pre-qualification for a loan before you start looking.

For those interested in Dublin real estate, Pleasanton real estate, Livermore real estate, San Ramon real estate or homes throughout Contra Costa County and Alameda County, contact the staff at 1stInSite.com. They can make it easy to find the home you need or help you quickly sell your existing property. Their team of experts also can help find opportunities for property and land investments.




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