Experience...you can't even buy it at Wal-Mart!
There is no doubt that hiring an experienced agent is one of the most important decisions a homeowner can make when selling or buying a property. Considering that a home is most likely the largest monetary transaction that a person is involved in it is no surprise that one should want to hire someone with experience in the field. An experienced agent will help you through the entire process and will know the contract from A to Z. It is scary to think, but most agents haven't even been taught the ins and outs of the contract.
What surprises me about the real estate industry is how the fees (commissions) are not experienced based. It is very common for an agent with no experience to be charging a seller 5% - 6% to sell a property and an agent with 20+ years of experience to be charging the same. That raises the questions, what are you really paying for?
Most employees in the public and private sector see their incomes rise with the more years they have dedicated to their professions. Attorneys, physicians, accountants and other professionals also can command more as they become experienced in their respective fields. This way of thinking makes sense. If you were struck with a life threatening disease you wouldn't want someone fresh out of medical school to be your specialized physician. If you were being audited by the IRS you certainly wouldn't want a first year accountant to be representing you! Then why in real estate do people hire inexperienced agents and then agree to pay them the same as an experienced agent would demand?
In real estate experience not only comes with years on the job, but more importantly it comes with the knowledge of the transaction process and the amount of transactions an agent has been involved in. There is always that sharp buyer that tries to add a clause into a contract and hope to get away with it. An inexperienced agent might miss it and cost his client thousands of dollars in the process. With almost 200 transactions in the past two years there are very few agents nationwide that have done more than me, Simon Mills of Mills Realty (www.MillsRealty.com). Did you know that the average agent does less than 2 transactions a year, yet still commands 5% - 6% in fees?
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