Hiring the wrong real estate agent could significantly impact your experience as a buyer or a seller. The right real estate agent will not only have a great resume and be genuinely committed to helping you meet your needs, but he/she will “click” with you too.
“Real estate is a people business. You have to like and understand people if you want to succeed in real estate,” says Matt Williams, Broker/Owner of Realty Executives Williams Sykes Realty.
What should you be looking for when you start your real estate search and are trying to decide on an agent to represent you as a buyer or seller? And how can you tell which real estate agent will do the best job? Here are the five things to look for when deciding:
During the home buying process, you’ll be working with a range of professionals, including a real estate agent, loan officer, home inspector, appraiser, and a lawyer or representative from a title company. And while you may need to divulge some very personal information, like your annual income and debt history, not all of these people need to know the intricate details of your life.
Moving from one house to another is exciting and stressful at the same time. But planning ahead and having some sound advice can make the process a whole lot easier.
Here are some helpful tips that you can take advantage of:
Prospective buyers often have strong feelings about whether their next home must or must not include a homeowners’ association (HOA). However, the majority of people who live in managed subdivisions and developments are happy with their associations. According to the Community Associations Institute (CAI), 64% of Americans who reside in community associations rate their experience positively.
Moving into a new house can be a stressful life event for the whole family, particularly young children who rely on predictability and find comfort in familiar routines. Other than talking to them about the move and including them in the decision-making process, what can you do to make the experience positive and as stress-free as possible?
According to comScore, Google Maps is one of the top 10 smartphone apps in the country. Globally, approximately one billion people use Google Maps to perform one billion searches every day. It’s a popular and useful tool, but how can you use it in your search for a new home?
Explore the neighborhood
Go for a virtual walk around your target suburb with Street View. This feature allows you to take a virtual tour of the city streets, even letting you to step into local businesses like restaurants and stores that have indoor maps available.
Approximately 17 to 20 million people are expected to move this summer, and according to U-Haul, the majority of Americans move between Memorial Day and Labor Day.
“People feel more comfortable with the idea of moving house during these three to four months because of the favorable weather conditions, the summer holidays, and various other seasonal factors that seem to promise a safe, comfortable, and efficient relocation,” says relocation professional Ethan Greenfield.
If you’re planning on relocating your family during peak moving season, start planning as early as possible in order to ensure that the process goes smoothly.
Here are some tips to help make your move stress-free:
Have a moving checklist
Your moving checklist should cover all aspects of the move, from filling out a USPS change of address and notifying all relevant parties of your move, to unpacking and organizing your home on arrival. Break your tasks down into manageable phases starting several weeks out.
According to a Google Consumer survey, 50% of prospective home buyers start searching between six and 12 months in advance. Because purchasing a home is the largest lifetime financial investment for many, if not most consumers, it comes as no surprise that a wealth of research usually comes before deciding on a home.
When shopping for a new home, the importance of finding energy efficient digs might be high on the list. Energy efficiency helps reduce the amount of energy you use in your home and in turn can reduce your energy bills as well as your home’s environmental impact. But there are options for energy efficiency beyond a roof covered in solar panels — and could lead to a higher resale value, too.