1. Education & Experience
You don't need to know everything about buying and selling real estate if you hire a real estate professional who does. Henry Ford once said that when you hire people who are smarter than you are, it proves you are smarter than they are. The trick is to find the right person. For the most part, they all cost about the same. Why not hire a person with more education and experience than you? We're all looking for more precious time in our lives, and hiring pros gives us that time.
I work as a full-time REALTOR®. Much of my "free" time is spent thinking and planning for my clients. Every day, I read and study many resources that will improve my knowlege as a professional real estate agent so that I can effectively serve you and protect your interests.
2. Agents are BuffersAs your agent, I take the spam out of your property showings and visits. If you're a buyer of new homes, I will whip out my "sword" and keep the builder's agents at bay, preventing them from biting or nipping at your heels. If you're a seller, as your agent I will filter all those phone calls that lead to nowhere from lookie-loos and try to induce serious buyers to immediately write an offer.
3. Neighborhood Knowledge
As your agent, I make it a priority to possess intimate knowledge about the industry buzz about your neighborhood. I can identify comparable sales and hand these facts to you, in addition to pointing you in the direction of where you can find more data on schools, crime or demographics. For example, you may know that a home down the street was on the market for $350,000, but an as your agent, I will know it had upgrades and sold at $285,000 after 65 days on the market and after twice falling out of escrow.
4. Price Guidance
Contrary to what some people believe, real estate agents do not select prices for sellers or buyers. However, as your agent, I help to guide clients as they make the right choices for themselves. If a listing is at 6%, for example, an agent only has a 6% vested interest in the sale, but the client has a 94% interest! As your exclusive seller's agent, I will ask buyers to weigh all the data supplied to them and to choose a price. Then based on market supply, demand and the conditions, as your agent, I will devise a negotiation strategy.
5. Market Conditions Information
As your real estate agent, I can disclose market conditions which will govern your selling or buying process. Many factors determine how you will proceed. Data such as the average per square foot cost of similar homes, median and average sales prices, average days on market and ratios of list-to-sold prices, among other criteria, will have a huge bearing on what you ultimately decide to do.
6. Professional Networking
As a real estate agent, I network with other professionals, many of whom provide services that you will need to buy or sell. Due to legal liability, agents are restrained from recommending a certain individual or company over another, but we do know which vendors have a reputation for efficiency, competency and competitive pricing. As your exclusive seller's agent, I can, however, give you a list of references that I have worked with and provide background information to help you make a wise selection.
7. Negotiation Skills & Confidentiality
As your exclusive agent, I negotiate well because, unlike most buyers and sellers, I can remove myself from the emotional aspects of the transaction and because my skill has been sharpened by experience and knowlege. It's part of my job description! Good agents are not messengers, delivering buyer's offers to sellers and vice versa. We are professionals who are trained to present our client's case in the best light and agree to hold our client's information confidential from competing interests.
8. Handling Volumes of Paperwork
One-page deposit receipts were prevalent in the early 1970s. Today's purchase agreements run 8 pages or more. That does not include the federal- and state-mandated disclosures nor disclosures dictated by local custom. Most real estate files average a thicknesses of one to three inches of paper! One tiny mistake or omission could land you in court or cost you thousands.
9. Answer Questions After Closing
Even the smoothest transactions that close without complications can come back to haunt. For example, taxing authorities that collect property tax assessments, doc stamps or transfer tax can fall months behind and mix up invoices, but one call to me can straighten out the confusion. Many questions can pop up that were overlooked in the excitement of closing. As your exclusive agent, I will stand by ready to assist and not leave you in the dust to fend for yourself.
10. Develop Relationships for Future Business
The basis for my success as a REALTOR® and continued career in real estate is referrals. Few agents would survive if their livelihood was dependent on consistently drumming up new business. This emphasis gives me strong incentives to make certain that my clients are happy and satisfied. It also means that because I maintain my reputation as an excellent again I will be there for you when you need to hire an agent again!
It's in your best interest to be represented as a buyer or a seller. Usually, the other person in this transaction is represented and you are at a distinct disadvantage if you do not have an exclusive agent looking out for your best interests during this time.
How do you find a qualified agent? That's the easy part. Just CLICK HERE!
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