Trust Me I’m An Estate Agent Cufflinks
We might be stretching the trust thing a little far here, but they are very popular cufflinks!
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Trust Me I’m An Estate Agent Cufflinks
Monday, August 30th, 2010How to Look for a Real Estate Agent You Like
Friday, August 13th, 2010How to Look for a Real Estate Agent You Like
What if you knew how to easily locate the right real estate agent, one that puts your interests first. Use my tips and advice to decrease the stress of buying a home and find the best real estate agent for you.
I certainly understand if you question why I believe I know what constitutes a good real estate agent. I would wonder if I were you.
Here is the answer. For more than 28 years, my husband and I have helped people buy homes. Since I left off being a kid, residential real estate and mortgage financing have occupied my life. I was a licensed real estate agent in the first part of my career and the owner of a mortgage company the last part of my career.
Most people will buy one home, maybe two. Others may purchase an investment or vacation house. In most cases you are going need the services of a qualified real estate agent. And yes, choosing a good real estate agent is crucial.
Instead of listing warnings, do’s and don’ts, allow me to share how I interview and choose a real estate agent.
Number one on my list is to find an individual who makes me feel at ease. Buying a house can be difficult and exhausting at times so why complicate it by employing a real estate broker you don’t feel comfortable with.
It is a shame how many home buyers I observe working with agents who are not matched well to them. The dissatisfaction is discussed for weeks, months and sometimes years after moving into a home.
I believe that buying a home should be fun and exciting. After all it will probably be the most significant and most expensive purchase that you are ever going to make. So why not work with someone that you feel comfortable with since you are likely to be in contact with them on a daily or weekly basis for several months.
Second I am looking for an agent who has my best interests in mind. But how do I know if a real estate broker is truly interested in my personal well being and not simply concerned with making the sale? There are several indications.
Does this agent listen to me? If your agent doesn’t directly address your concerns and questions, this may not be the real estate agent for you.
Does your prospective real estate representative talk first and ask questions later? This is another indication of whether your best interests have been kept in mind. Every great agent listens to what’s on your mind after they ask what is important to you.
A thorough agent will always ask you a lot of questions before ever offering to take you out to view houses. You see, a real estate agent is a valuable asset and they know that your time as well as theirs is valuable too. So they are not going to waste your time showing you houses that you can’t afford or don’t fit your circumstances.
Even though it can feel a little uncomfortable, anticipate a trained agent inquiring into your finances. This is the type of real estate agent I look for.
Some agents give advice without taking into consideration your circumstances. A good agent doesn’t give advice but instead presents options. Your agent should be solution oriented by presenting you with choices that allow you to select what you feel is best for your particular circumstances. Watch for and choose a real estate broker who considers options based on your needs rather than theirs. Above all never feel rushed to make a decision.
High on my list when I interview real estate professionals is watching for individuals who admit when they are unsure of an answer to my question. No matter how experienced a agent, no one has all the answers. So when I ask a question and I hear the words “I don’t know” followed by “but I will find out” it is refreshing. Possessing every answer is not what I care about. That is why I rarely decide on a broker based on age or even experience. A real estate broker with enough enthusiasm and energy to do that little bit extra is who I pick.
Even though it will be your home and a place to live, central to every transaction is money. Although a real estate agent isn’t qualified to approve you for a mortgage, it is still important to be asked about your financial ability such as how much money you have saved for down payment and closing costs.
Top real estate agents know from experience that mortgage financing is the hub of every real estate transaction. As a home buyer, protect yourself by understanding the cost before going out to view houses and especially before you make an offer.
A good agent can help you with this too or you can simply contact a licensed mortgage broker who can prepare a Good Faith Estimate of Closing Costs. If you are comfortable asking your real estate agent, most can refer you to a couple of mortgage brokers for detailed estimates of mortgage costs for your comparison. It is critical that you know what costs to expect before you shop for a house and especially before you make an offer.
Lastly, remember that buying a house is your decision. Take responsibility for your decision by seeking advice from people you like and feel can trust.
I often say when it comes to buying or refinancing a home, it is your house and your mortgage, no one is going to care about it more than you.
Kate Ford, a mortgage insider for more than 20 years, shares how to translate the secret language of mortgage lending on her website Get Your Best Mortgage Rate To learn how you can make shopping for a home more fun, discover the magic of Buying a House right away.
What is the most important thing you want from a real estate agent?
Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010Question by Jeanne B: What is the most important thing you want from a real estate agent?
I’m a real estate agent and I would like to hear from home buyers and sellers. I have two questions, and I would like only one answer for each question, although you may elaborate as much as you want on that one answer!
1. As a home buyer, what is the single most important service
you want/need from your agent?
2. As a home buyer, what is the single most important quality
you want/need your agent to have?
3. As a home seller, what is the single most important service
you want/need from your agent?
4. As a home seller, what is the single most important quality
you want/need your agent to have?
Please don’t state the obvious, like “I want my agent to find me the right home” or “I want my agent to sell my house fast.”
What I really want to know is what service and quality make you comfortable that the agent will find the right home for you and sell your home fast.
Thanks for your time!
Best answer:
Answer by duckgrabber
1. Honesty
2. Follows through on promises.
Kent in SD
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Real Estate Agent Accessory Pack by Day-Timers Makes Success Simple!
Wednesday, July 28th, 2010Real Estate Agent Accessory Pack by Day-Timers Makes Success Simple!
- 8 pre-printed reference tabs to organize and separate your forms
- 32 add-in sheets each for Active Listings, Prospective Sellers, Prospective Buyers, Property Feedback and Sales Progress
- 16 add-in sheets each for Closing Checklists, Closed Sales, and Expense/Mileage Forms
Real Estate Agent Accessory Pack by Day-Timers Makes Success Simple! As a real estate agent, you probably couldn’t live without your planner! Juggling new listings, showings, closings, prospects — it can all get pretty hectic! Our new Real Estate Ag
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What Your Real Estate Agent Won’t Tell You – Part I
Saturday, July 24th, 2010What Your Real Estate Agent Won’t Tell You – Part I
Buying a house - The realistic approach
This article is not about the secrets of buying a rental property for no money down and half the price of the market value of the house. I am not Tom Vu or Don Lapre and I am not in jail.
In Canada, the no money down home did use to exist, but not anymore. Some banks and/or lenders were willing to lend you the 5% down payment so that you don’t have to pay a dime out of your own pockets to purchase a home. However, given the current financial situation with tighter lending restrictions, there will be no bank or lenders who can do that in Canada.
The buying home for half price did use to exist as well. At one point, foreclosures in Canada would allow foreclosed homes to be sold at rock bottom prices. The new law, which has been in placed for many years now require the homes be sold at the highest possible price for foreclosed homes or else the lenders could be sued. Hence, sometimes foreclosed homes sell higher because Canadians have the misconception that foreclosed homes are a really good deal causing it to have a reverse affect. There have been many people buying foreclosed homes believing they got a good deal and not doing a thorough check as to the actual value of the home.
Now, clearing out the quick money maker myths of buying homes, there are still many things you need to be aware of before starting.
If there exist ever an industry with more sneaky sales tactics and money motivated people, it has got to the Real Estate industry. As a buyer, you could be dishing out 0 000 and everyone wants a piece. The Real Estate Agents want a piece. The lenders want a piece. The lawyers want a piece and the sellers want piece. No wonder there are so many scams in this industry.
The first thing to be aware of is the Real Estate Agent. A Real Estate Agent is suppose to act on your behalf to buy or sell the home. Both the buyer of the home and seller of the home will have their own Real Estate Agent called a Buyer’s Real Estate Agent and a Seller’s Real Estate Agent.
In Canada, each Real Estate Agent gets an average of 2.5% and sometimes 2% for the commission of selling the home. Some Real Estate Agents provide cash back rewards. Canadian Real Estate Agents gets higher commission than anywhere else. In United States, their Real Estate Agents only get 1% of the commission and their homes are actually much cheaper. Even though Real Estate Agents are the least educated of the parties involved in the buying home transaction, they seem to be getting the biggest piece of the pie.
Do not listen to mls.ca and their gimmicks on Real Estate Agents are ethical. (http://www.howrealtorshelp.ca/swf/). Where do they get the idea any Real Estate Agent off the street is ethical. Their claim is based on these tests that they pass to become a Real Estate Agent. Agents passing a test does not meant hey are ethical. It only means they can remember enough to pass the test.
One would believe it should be the Real Estate Agent’s job to help the buyer ensure the home is of value. Rightly so, many buyers depend on the Real Estate Agent to protect them and provide them advice and in my opinion, the ethical Real Estate Agent should do that. However, the true reality is that Real Estate Agents do not make money unless if the home is purchased. The reality is that the Real Estate Agent’s salary is not truly dependent on giving you advice. The Real Estate Agent’s job is to get the buyer to buy a home through them so they can get paid!
As a result of this, what ends up happening, are two types of Real Estate Agents with variations in between. The first type is the honest agent with the belief “If I work hard and treat my buyer right, the buyer will come back to buy more homes from me. The second type is the “I need to get the buyer to buy a house quickly so that I can move on to the next buyer (sucker) so that I can maximize my time for profit.” The bottom line is that you are looking for the first type and you want to avoid the second type.
We’ll call the first type, the Bad Real Estate Agent.
We’ll call the second type, the Good Real Estate Agent.
So what kind of characteristics does the Good Real Estate Agent have that the Good Real Estate Agent does not have?
1. The first characteristic is Patience.
Bad Real Estate Agents will attempt to sell you a home quickly to get the money quickly. Do not buy a house without spending a lot of time looking at several different homes. Be careful of tactics such as Real Estate Agents claiming it is the perfect and acting like a salesman rather than providing you information.
2. The second characteristic is information.
A good Real Estate Agent needs to provide you all the information to let you make the informed decision and we are not talking about their opinion. Real Estate’s opinion does not matter. Real Estate Agents have data such as the history of the house being sold at, homes being sold near the area and type. A Real Estate Agent should be able to provide you with a compilation of official documents that tells you these kinds of data to let YOU make an informed decision.
3. The third characteristic is care.
You will know this during the actual signing of the contract to purchase the home at a certain price. Once you become interested in a property and want to buy the property at a certain price set by YOU, you have to write up a contract. The contract consist atleast three conditions that will null the sale of the home and a security deposit.
The common three conditions are, buyer can get financing, the home passes inspection and the appraisal value of the home is above the price to be purchased. Generally, you will want the lenders to appraise the home so that you know the fair value of the home and the lenders would only lend of you are buying the home at fair market value.
The security deposit is an amount you will provide to lock the home from being sold to other buyers while you perform to checks to see whether these conditions have been met. If these conditions are not met, then you SHOULD get your security deposit back.
The Bad Real Estate Agents will want to you provide very few conditions and a big security deposit. Doing so ensure the home is more likely to be sold.
Do NOT go through the internet and pick the first agent you see or the agent that has the most advertisements. They are just spending marketing money which they intend to recover from you. I especially find the ones that are top ranked search engines to be the most conniving, especially the Mississauga location!!!
If you have any more questions or concerns, feel free to e-mail me at admin@freerentalads.ca
You are also certainly welcome to e-mail me your good and bad home buying experiences. I may or may not chose to post them up.
Tom Loi
Director of
RentBin.ca – Free to Post Rental Properties
F2j.com – Free Information Resource Directory
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Are leasing agents still considered as a “real estate agent”?
Monday, July 19th, 2010Question by travo5: Are leasing agents still considered as a “real estate agent”?
Individuals who only have a “leasin agent” license? Are they still considered as a real estate agent?
Can they state that they are a “real estate agent”?
Best answer:
Answer by David Z
it depends what kind of license they have.
they are either a real estate salesperson or a property manager.
Know better? Leave your own answer in the comments!
Role Of Real Estate Agent In Vacation And Second Home Markets
Friday, July 16th, 2010Role Of Real Estate Agent In Vacation And Second Home Markets
Second home sales have been increasing over the last few years with more people becoming second home owners. In 2005 alone, 40 percent of the homes sold were second homes. Demographics, all time low mortgage rates, and healthy rise in home prices have contributed to this development in the second home market. Besides these, a major factor that has helped augment the buying and selling of second homes is the real estate professional.
The National Association of Realtors conducted research on the profile of second-home owners in 2006. According to the NAR report entitled ’2006 Profile of Second-Home Owners’, a majority of second home sales transactions are conducted using the services of real estate agents.
The statistics are remarkable; 64 % of vacation home buyers purchased their home using the services of a real estate agent by the end of 2005 – a marked increase from less than 50 % of vacation-home buyers in 2003. Also, 65 % of investment-home buyers purchased their home with the help of a real estate agent – an increase from 53 % of pre-2003. In comparison, only 14 % of vacation-home buyers and 7 % of investment-home buyers purchased directly from builders from 2003 to 2005.
The growing role of the real estate professional is evident from the following figures:
1. Of vacation home sales made, 71 % of them were second homes and 74 % of the sales were made using the services of a real estate agent.
2. Of the investment properties sold, 85 % of them were previously owned and 62 % of the sales were made using the services of a real estate agent.
The use of real estate agents in second home sales transactions varied according to the home’ location.
1. Buyers used a real estate agent more frequently while purchasing a vacation home located in a suburb/subdivision (56 %) or a rural area (57 %) than for homes in other locations.
2. About 66 % of buyers who purchased an investment property in an urban/central city area or in a suburb/subdivision, used the services of a real estate agent more frequently than those who purchased a home in other locations.
Real estate professionals continue to be the first source of information to second-home buyers (38 % of vacation-home buyers and 34 % of investment-home buyers). The real estate professional also plays a major role when second-home owners plan to buy additional properties. If you are thinking of buying a second home or vacation home, seek out the services of a real estate agent to guide you through your next home purchase.
1. The percentage of second home owners who are more likely to use a real estate agent in their next home purchase is quite high. Among vacation-home owners it is 79 % and investment-home owners 73 %.
2. Among second home owners, 65 % of vacation-home owners and 64% of investment-property owners are more likely to use a real estate agent in their next home sales.
Given these statistics, it is no wonder that the real estate agent plays a pivotal role in helping people buy and sell second homes. So whether you are a second-home buyer or seller, enlist the services of an agent for a smooth, hassle free real estate transaction.
Do You Need A Real Estate Agent?
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010Do You Need A Real Estate Agent?
Real Estate business has seen tremendous growth and so has been the need of Real Estate agent. Today more and more people are getting interested to become home owner and as the demand for real estate need increases the role of Real Estate Agent becomes more important. In the past one agent use to provide services to both seller and buyer but as the real estate market changed people started to realize that specialized service is more logical and beneficial. In Real Estate industry now buyer/seller are looking for specialized agents who can provide specialized related expertise, information and services required to complete the process. When a real estate agent represents both buyer and seller it really restricts agents to provide impartial service to either party.
Let’s look at the both (Seller/Buyer) scenario separately. A real estate agents who is a listing agent of seller has a fiduciary, ethically and moral duty to represent seller only.
By getting Exclusive Right to Sell Listing, the real estate agent is promising seller that he will live no stone unturned to market the home and find the best buyer at maximum possible market value for the home.
As a Buyer’s real estate agent he need to find the right home for buyer along with should all information of the community. When a buyer is exploring to buy a real estate property in new community, he is very much interested to find out several information related to that particular community such as population, crime, climate, schools, traffic, living standards etc. Buyer’s real estate agent should be well informed with all these information so that he can provide that information to buyer. It will be easier for buyer to make the decision based on these information. Once the buyer is ready to buy real estate property in the community then other part of the real estate agent’s duty starts. As buyer’s agent it is his responsibility to find a real estate property, as per buyers requirement. It is also buyer’s real estate agents duty to negotiate the best market price with seller.
So if seller and buyer are represented by their own specialized agent then both agents can play a partial and specialized role for their client..
So it is quite clear that one real estate agent representing both seller and buyer can not justify providing specialized service to both party. Both buyer and seller are in different need of services. That’s why specialized real estate service has become more in demand where buyer/seller can get impartiality specialized service during the process.
Never before has the role of specialists in the world of real estate been more important. With buyers and sellers requiring more services, the industry has seen an explosion of agents who specialize in either the representation of sellers or buyers. These specialist agents can provide a wealth of services and maintain a complete impartiality during the sales process as there is only one client to concern them.
Historically the sales transaction and the concerns of the buyer were the purview of a single realtor. However, as the industry has progressed so have the needs of each party and so the specialist arose. Buyers have some very particular needs, and specifically the need to feel that their best interests are seen to. Listing agents are representatives of the home’s owner and in that role they have a primary responsibility to that owner. How could they properly look after the needs of an interested buyer as well?
So what is it that a buyer’s agent does? Primarily the buyer’s agent will begin with the location of suitable properties for their clients. This is usually based upon a list of requirements and desires that the client has communicated to the agent. They will then arrange viewings and recap their findings with their clients and assist in deciding upon a good candidate for an offer. This will be based on the wealth of community information that a buyer’s agent commands. As specialists, they are experts on their given area which is critical in the education of clients on the areas that they are considering. Once a property is decided upon, the buyer’s agent changes significantly, evolving into an overseer-negotiator role. They will typically coordinate the inspections and conduct the negotiations with the listing agent. This includes the execution of the buyers subjects and the closing of the actual contract.
There is an art to representing a buyer. It is a role that has become ever more crucial in an industry where customer service is the single most important thing that an agent can offer. If you are in the market for a home then the buyer’s agent is the friend that you need to make sure that you are given the service that you deserve.
The Millionaire Real Estate Agent
Friday, June 25th, 2010The Millionaire Real Estate Agent
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Murder in Suburbia – Series 2
The complete second series of the BBC America mystery hit Caroline Catz and Lisa Faulkner return as the cheeky police detectives Kate “Ash” Ashurst and Emma “Scribbs” Scribbins, still cracking wise as they crack six all-new cases in the tony British
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