Chances are, buying or selling a home is the biggest financial transaction a person makes in their entire life. However, the process of buying or selling a house is murky, how does a person know if this neighborhood is best suited for their children to grow up, or that their market value will get the best returns, or that the house is well built, or that the seller will fight to get them the best price? In an investment of several hundred thousand dollars, there can be no margin for error, as a small miscalculation can cost tens of thousands of dollars, while a big mistake can be financially ruinous.
Most homebuyers don’t want to have to do the immense amount of research that is necessary to buy a home and rely on real estate agents. This means that this person, a person whose name you may have received from a relative, or from the Internet or from a park bank, holds your family’s financial future in your hands. How do you know if they are the right people to trust? How do you know they have your best interests at heart?
We are presenting this guide of 9 tips that every prospective buyer should know before working with a real estate agent in Miami. Information could be the difference between providing an agent who will help you find a home that will fund your retirement, or an agent who will fund your retirement because of your naivety.
1) Review the agent’s history. There are absolutely good and bad real estate agents, however, even good real estate agents can only close one or two properties a year. You want a real estate agent with a lot of experience, while a newbie might be able to tell you that they will work harder for you, it is always better to have someone with more experience. Remember also, no matter how nice the real estate agent is, if they can’t close they can’t close, and you should walk away.
2) Check the Internet presence of your prospective agent. More and more potential clients are going online to research their homes; About 85% of buyers initially viewed their homes on the web. So make sure that any agent you are looking for has a strong online presence that is professional and an effective sales tool.
3) Make sure you interview multiple agents: Agents will always tell you what you want to hear, you need to make sure you’re hiring someone who isn’t just saying what you want to hear and instead is telling what the reality is. Many agents think their job is to pick up customers; You want them to think that your job is to find you the perfect property.
4) Test how knowledgeable your agent is. You are hiring an agent to have a mastery of the complex process of buying a home; However, you need to make sure they have that domain. Research a few sample questions ahead of time and make sure you’re comfortable with the answers they give you.
5) See how the agent’s MLS listings appear on Google. If you’re selling a home, you want an agent who knows the art of search engine optimization. If a real estate agent doesn’t know how to get to the top of the charts, then they probably want to work with a different agent, starting with the agent at the top of the charts.
6) Ask an agent for references. Many people think this is rude thinking to ask an agent, but when so much money is on the line, there should be no stone unturned. If a teenager has to give referrals to apply at McDonalds, then a real estate agent should be expected to provide referrals for one of the most important financial decisions of his life.
7) Determine how long the agent has been working full-time. This is, again, a question that eliminates newbies. There is nothing wrong with newbies, they simply do not have a record that allows them to reliably be able to predict their professionalism or ability.
8) Find a real estate agent who knows the local neighborhood that interests you most. Real estate agents are professionals who absolutely have specialties, and you should find someone who knows their specialty.
9) Research the reputation of the agent. You ideally want a right connection, a much-loved real estate agent, who will be able to leverage the talent of the other real estate agents to give you the widest possible network.
Finding a real estate agent should be easy, they advertise from blimps to banks, television, video games. However, behind all this publicity, you have to be able to find a truly respected professional who will have your best interests at heart.
Everyone has heard horror stories. Houses just off the metro with agents who only let interested buyers see the property when trains are not in service; alternatively, houses with cracked foundations that have been crudely repaired; Conversely, an agent who makes quick money for a first day of sale still leaves the seller with thousands and thousands of dollars on the table. Don’t be naïve, when there’s so much money at stake good people can do bad things. Follow these eleven tips and protect yourself, so that all you have to worry about is the perfect buyer or seller.
