Saturday, August 18, 2007

5 Questions You Should Ask A Real Estate Agent Before Hiring

Author: Vanessa Arellano Doctor

Buying any piece of real estate property is not as easy as it sounds. Although almost any first-timer buyers or sellers can do it, not a lot of them has been able to do it successfully, or has been able to get the best deal out of the whole house-buying or house-selling process. There are a lot of things that people, especially first-time buyers or sellers need to consider in order for them to be able to find the best house that they really want within a price range that they can afford, or to be able to sell a house that is reasonably priced.

Keep in mind that purchasing real estate properties is one of the biggest investment that any person can make, which is why you need the best quality help that you can get in order to make sure that your whole real estate house-buying experience ends in success. One of the key things that people can do in order to make sure that they stay on the right track through the whole house-buying or house-selling process is by hiring a real estate agent who is very diligent and competent. Here are a few things that you can ask your prospective real estate agent before you start to do business with each other.

How long have you been a licensed real estate agent?

It is important to check if your prospective real estate agent is a licensed real estate agent to ensure that he or she is qualified to represent you when you do start the entire house-buying or house-selling process. You wouldn't want to be represented by a person who is only acting to be like a real estate agent, but rather, you would want to get the best quality help that you can get when you do decide to purchase or sell a house.

It is also important to ask about his or her professional experience. You can choose to use inexperienced agents, just as long as it is with uncomplicated transactions, such as condos and townhouses. However, for other types of transactions, you should try to use agents who have at least 5 years experience under their belt, to make sure that they know a lot about the business already.

How available are you?

Agents who are only working part-time is not always accessible and readily available to their clients since they may have other commitments that may get in the way of their responsibilities with you. It is important to choose agents who are working full-time. This will ensure that you will be able to constantly keep in contact with him or her, especially when you have a lot of queries and ideas that you want to share with your agent regarding the entire house-buying or house-selling process.

How do you intend to help me?

People should expect that their real estate agents have a plan on how to purchase or sell a house. The agents must be prepared to offer you information about the prospective houses that you may have an interest in buying. Also, the agent must be knowledgeable about the financing process and mortgage loan options that may be available to you to help you purchase a house.

How many clients have you handled/are you handling?

There are agents who can handle a number of clients at a time, while others have a difficult time just juggling two. It is important to make sure that your agent, whether he or she is able to handle a lot of clients at a time or not, is only handling a few clients at the time that you are hiring him or her. This will put you in a better position since this will give your agent the chance to focus on your account, instead of dividing his or her attention to ten others.

What is your fee?

Of course, you shouldn't hire any real estate agent without first asking him or her about the agent's fees or commissions. Usually, agents work for commissions, wherein they get a certain percentage of commission from the sale price of the house that they have sold. However, it is important to keep in mind that cheaper or discounted real estate agents are not always better since they may not work as hard.

Vanessa Arellano Doctor [http://realestatepress.org] ;

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