Real Estate Agents come from all walks of life. Kelly, my wife, was a teacher for 18 years and had been working in retail part time for the past eight years. She also has an MBA and 15 years of experience as a real estate investor. So with a resume like that you might wonder why she got her license to become a real estate agent.
The answer is simple. After helping people for years buy and sell home and watch agents make all the money, she decided to get paid for her efforts. Besides, she likes home shopping and is pretty good at it.
 |
| The Right Agent can help find the Right House |
A listing agent is the person that you sign a contract with to "list" your home. They put the sign out front, do a lot of paperwork for you and get your house listed on the MLS so people shopping for homes know it is available. Many "listing" agents do advertising above and beyond just the sign and the MLS.
There is your first question to ask if you are selling a home: "What advertising will you do for my home?"
The "selling" agent is the person who actually brings in the buyer for your home. Many people call the selling agent a "buyers" agent. I did until I started taking classes to get my own real estate license.
The MLS is not the only source of buyers. Larger national companies have relocation contracts where businesses send buyers who are in a time limited position directly to them. Local companies don't have that advantage.
In California, an agent has a responsibility to their client. With the booming market up until 2006 many agents have forgotten this aspect of their job. When an agent is the "listing" agent and also the "selling" agent that is called "dual agency". This is a tough place to be, since the agent is supposed to put both the seller and the buyers interests above their own.
California doesn't allow agents to act as an intermediary between the buyer and seller. If they have dual agency they "represent" both. In an open market, if you don't like the buyers offer that the listing agent brings you, you are welcome to wait for another offer, including one from a "selling" agent.
The second question for your agent is: "Do you primarily serve sellers or buyers, and what does your office specialize in?"
This leads directly to the third question: "How often is one of your listings sold by someone in your office?" and I don't mean another office with the same name. You want to know if their office is really finding buyers or just planting signs to get a check.
Another question I would want to know is "How many homes have you purchased or sold for yourself" There is no faster learning curve than to buy a home, rent it and later sell it. The best agents are also investors.
Today many of the "best" agents are part of a "group". If you sign with an agent, you should know if they will show up or an "assistant". Many people find out later that they never again see they person whose name is on the sign in front of their home.
Finally if you are selling your home do some homework. There are some "legal" yet misleading tricks agents use to get their name out there like putting up open house signs that go no where, and putting a sign in the ground after a sale to give the impression the listing agent lost the sale.
Anybody can list a house, promise a higher price or offer a lower commission. What you want is an agent that is genuinely working in your best interests. You want an agent that knows how to get a home ready to sell, how to sell it and has an office with buyers waiting. Even in a buyers market like we have right now homes are selling.
No comments:
Post a Comment