4 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Realtor- Value Proposition

Lets face it: there are a lot of Realtors to pick from when trying to decide who to work with. We all do a lot of the same things in the process of helping a seller or a buyer reach their goals. But there are definite distinctions among a small majority of Realtors and you should know what questions to ask to find them.

I will share with you what makes me different.

 

1. Is the agent a transactional Realtor or a relational Realtor?

A transactional realtor is someone that only cares about the transaction. They care about getting a property under contract and closed and moving on to the next deal. In most cases, once the property closes, the agent fails to continue the relationship and doesn't follow up again. Most buyers and sellers can't remember what Realtor helped them buy or sell their last home. 

A relational Realtor will care and ask you about your wants, needs, goals, dreams and not only help you achieve your real estate goals, but will continue to build the relationship and be a continuous resource and in many cases becoming life long friends. 

I am a relational Realtor and will be there for you long after the transaction and for may years to come.

 

2. For sellers, what do you do different from others

to help me get top dollar for my house? 

That's a good question and should be asked of every agent you interview. I have a Home Cerfication Program that includes a series of steps that will practically eliminate any reason for a buyer to pull out of a contract, on top of reaching the goal of getting top dollar for the sellers home. Does your agent have a Home Certification Program? 

 

3. For Buyers, what program do you have in place to get my offer accepted

in multiple offer situations? 

Another good question. I have my Offer Accepted program; a series of steps to take far beyond just getting pre-approved by the lender to make your offer stand out and moved to the top of the list that doesn't necessarily include having the highest priced offer or waving inspections, which a buyer should never do under any circumstances. 

 

4. What did you do before you got into real estate and what skills did you learn there that gives you an edge now over other agents?

Now there's a question that will stop most agent in their tracks. I bet that in most cases, there will be silence and when they do try and respond, they will struggle with an answer. 

Before I became a Realtor, I was, and still am, a Registered Nurse. Although I have an active nursing license, I only use it now for volunteer work. But in so many ways, it continues to make me a better agent and the ability to represent the interests of my clients to the highest degree. That really came to play this past week in dealing with an escrow dispute. 

 

 I learned very early in my nursing career that what ever you did for a patient, questions you asked them along with their responses, had to be written in the patients chart. Legally, if you didn't write it down, you didn't do it, even if you knew you had done it all day long. 

In my real estate practice, I write down, in my CRM, every phone call, every interaction, every note, letter or postcard ever mailed out, every meeting, what was discussed and save every email and text. I've been in real estate 16 years and I can go back that far and tell you where I met someone and what we talked about. 

Last week, a buyer could not close on my listing. She and her agent failed to monitor the various dead lines in the financing section of the contract. Throughout this process, I documented that I had not heard from the agent and that I let the seller know the buyer would not be able to cancel the contract for failing to get fully approved without losing the escrow deposit.

Two days before we were suppose to close, I got a call from the buyers agent that the lender found out at the last minute that the buyer had a foreclosure less than 7 years ago and she will not be approved for a loan. What?? They just now discovered she had a foreclosure and missed it?? How does that happen?

The agent then said he would send me a cancellation of contract with the BUYER getting the escrow deposit back. Not so fast. I preceded to remind the agent the buyer had an opportunity to cancel the contract on the last day of the financing contingency and didn't. Which contractually means she moves forward as if she has full approval and can not get the escrow back if she can't close. 

Dead silence from the buyers agent. He obviously was either not knowledgeable enough of the financing contingency or not disciplined enough to monitor the deadlines. He then started to argue with me and I told him I had extensive documentation that the seller failed to meet the financing deadline in the contract, he had no documentation to dispute that and that she was not entitled to it. My seller will get the escrow. 

We live and breath on the requirements of the contract that all parties sign. Documentation of what transpires throughout the process is critical and can and will come into play when there is a dispute of any kind. You not only need an agent that is knowlegable, they need to be detailed oriented through documentation to be able to do the best for their client. They not only need to keep themselves out of a lawsuit, they need to do everything to keep their clients out of lawsuits as much as possible. How good is your agent in doing that. 

 

If you are thinking of buying or selling a home and would like someone that will be in your cornor every step of the way and be represented at the highest degree, call me and lets talk about your wants, needs and dreams regarding real estate. I'm here to help. 

 

Serving all of Pinellas County Florida

Seminole, Largo, Clearwater, St. Petersburg,, Palm Harbor, Dunedin, Tarpon Springs, Pinlellas Park, 

surrounding communities and all the beaches: 

Clearwater Beach, Bellair Beach, St. Pete Beach, Treasure Island,

Madeira Beach, Redington Beach, Redington Shores, Indian Shores, Indian Rocks Beach

Providing the integrity and service your deserve! 

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