In an effort to keep up to speed with what’s happening in the real estate world outside of our offices I was reading through the news paper, and doing some reading on other real estate news blogs.. Low and behold I find dozens of articles about real estate agents being arrested for fraud. In reading about how these agents were able to defraud their clients I am amazed.. they were able to prey on the uninformed buyers and sellers in an age where google, bing, yahoo.. (enter your favorite search provider here) can tell you so much about everything? We have smart phones, lap tops, desktops, ipads, ipods with wifi, web browsing on your favorite cardio equipment in the gym, T.V reports, newspapers, and dozens of books in every bookstore about any given topic.
With so many ways to gain a little independent knowledge.. how did all this happen? Here’s what my experience tells me:
1) There is too much information and sorting through it all is just too hard. That’s what my real estate agent is for.
2) My neighbors friends husbands boss’s niece used this agent and said they were great, so they must know what they are doing and be the best.
3) I’m too busy to interview real estate agents, I just went with the first one I met with. They are all the same.
4) Real Estate Agents are just like used car sales men, all they care about is the money so why bother?
Guess what… wrong wrong wrong and wrong! The buying and selling of a home is a complex legal, financial and timely process. Would you blindly ask your neighbors friends husbands boss’s niece who you heard bought a house to manage your personal bank account for you? If your answer is yes.. stop reading here..
It is ALWAYS in your best interest to find out as much information as you can about what you are getting into. Do some research, find a reputable agent who has experience with the type of transaction you want to do. (not all real estate is the same.. someone fluent with selling private property may not know the ins and outs of representing a buyer in a short sale or REO sale)
Find a good lender! Not all lenders are the same either, it’s just as important to choose your loan officer well as it is to choose your agent. Your loan officer should guide you through the mortgage process, fight for you when things come up and make sure they secure the best rates and smoothest transaction. Find out what their experience is, can they lend with multiple lenders or just one, can they process specialty home loans like “homepath” or “FHA” loans if you need to go that route with a property?
My point is.. do a little homework and choose the best to represent you because you and your family deserve the best care and best representation!
