Real Estate is a people-business. I have dealt with some real estate agents that are less than easy to work with. The most frustrating thing it to have an unorganized and uncommunicative person handling your transaction. You need to trust that your real estate agent has your best interest at heart.
Some questions to ask when choosing a real estate agent:
* Do you communicate well with this real estate agent? You may have to work with this person for many months. Make sure you can work with them and communicate with them.
* How do they handle negotiations? This is the most important part. You are paying for experience and knowledge of the market but most importantly, how well your real estate agent will negotiate with you and others. When you get an agent that is excellent in negotiations, they are worth their weight in gold.
* Are they organized? See if they have a Blackberry or very least a planner. There are so many moving parts in a real estate transaction that you want a person that is on top of it and makes sure every ‘T’ is crossed.
* Are they experienced in the type of property that you want to buy? There are different steps to take when you are buying a condo vs. a house. You have to look at different numbers when you are buying a property for yourself or for investment purposes. If you want to buy a foreclosure, that is a completely different animal! There are agents who specialize in particular types of properties and others that specialize in geographic areas. You want the person who knows the areas you are interested in, and understands the pros and cons of the different types of properties. If you started looking for a house and now you changed your mind to buy a condo, that is a different animal than the house.
If you are buying the property with another person, make sure you are both choosing the real estate agent. You need to both work well with that person. Good luck in your real estate shopping!
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