Do you see many part time lawyers? part time doctors? part time stock brokers? The answer should be NO. Yet in the real estate profession, where people make the largest monetary transactions of their life, they use an agent who drives a school bus during the day and only sells real estate at night. Now there is nothing wrong wiht driving a school bus, but being a real estate agent takes extensive knowledge in so many different things: Marketing, Sales, Municiple Codes, Fire Codes, Technology, Negotiation, Financing, Staging, and so much more.

I just do not understand why people hoping to sell their home fast and for top dollar, do not use agents who do this to feed their family, instead of someone who does this as a hobby. I know agents at my office who do not even know who to check email. Agents ask me every day how to write contracts, how to do searches, how to price a home; yet when we offer training classes for the agents (at no cost to them except time) No one shows up (such as at my computer training class last night). It is your money, but please make sure to question your agent - I am not saying not to use a new agent as long as they have a mentor who will help them through any rough patches. Best of luck to anyone hoping to buy or sell.

Please visit me at http://www.stlouisliving.net/