Selecting an agent who meets your needs!

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Selecting an Agent

Here are some tips about selecting an agent. These tips are based on the recommendations from the National Association of REALTORSŽ.

Look for an agent who:

Listens attentively, instills confidence, works and communicates in a professional manner, and has a personality style that you are comfortable with;
Is a member of the local board or association of REALTORSŽ;
Explains and discloses agency relationships (the role of the agent, i.e., who the agent is representing--the buyer or the seller) early on in the process, at "serious first contact";
Advises you on how to prepare your home for the market;
Has researched your property in the public records and the MLS; and
Brings data on nearby homes that have sold (or failed to sell) recently.

Some important questions to ask a potential agent:

Are you a REALTORŽ?
Do you have an active real estate license in good standing. (To find this information, you can check with your state’s governing agency)
Do you belong to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and/or a reliable online home buyer’s search service? (Multiple Listing Services are cooperative information networks of REALTORSŽ that provide descriptions of most of the houses for sale in a particular region.)
Do you cooperate with buyers' brokers? What share of the commission will you offer a cooperating broker who finds the buyer?
And in addition to the criteria mentioned above, there are number of very important reasons you will typically prefer to work with a REALTORŽ.

What Your RealtorŽ Will Do for You

Not all real estate agents are REALTORSŽ. A REALTORŽ is a member of the National Association of REALTORSŽ, or "NAR." REALTORSŽ adhere to the NAR’s highest standards of ethical conduct and professional training.

There are many important reasons to use a REALTORŽ. Some of the duties your REALTORŽ will perform for you include:

Walking you through the process of selling your home from beginning to end;
Providing information about the prices for which "comparable" properties have sold and analyzing data for you to gain a true comparison;
Supplying information regarding local customs and regulations you may want to consider;
Sharing information about your home through the Multiple Listing Service and on the Internet;
Placing advertisements for your home;
Working by e-mail, on the telephone, and in person with potential buyers and agents of potential buyers;
"Qualifying" potential buyers to make sure they would be financially able to buy your property;
Negotiating the sales contract;
Alerting you to potential risks;
Complying with the disclosures required by law;
Providing you with an estimate of closing costs you will incur;
Keeping you informed, every step of the way; and
Helping keep your blood pressure down my working to assure that your purchase or sale goes as smoothly as it possibly can.

E-mail Jerry: Jerry@Cox.org

Call Jerry: (949) 369-7880

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