Hello everyone,
I thought it would be very beneficial to hear about my experience as a NJ Broker for many years and then moving to South Florida a few years ago. What a crazy ride its been just as a buyer, let alone a licensee trying to find his way.
Renting a condo for 6 months while I found a home was my first task, with the clock ticking and only a week before I was supposed to start a hotel job I had some grim leads on temporary housing. In an act of desperation I posted an add and by luck a lady found the add and responded. It almost seemed to be too good to be true,3-6 months @$1000 a month 2 minutes away from the hotel on the intracoastal w ocean beach access across A1A. I jumped on it and began my search for a home and a reliable honest agent. Both of these searches turned into a journey of unknowns.
I had met around 5 agents before I found an honest one. Agents would lie about everything from having beach access to "theres an offer on the property I showed you yesterday, you should make your offer now" kind of shady tactics. It was very disheartening to see how many rogue agents there were and even more unlicensed people wheeling and dealing. After finally finding a veteran broker of 15+ years we were introduced to the perfect property after about 5-6 homes. Though the sellers were definatley cut from the fabric of shady contractors,story tellers ect ect we got the deal done.
So in short I guess what I have concluded was that finding the right agent is as important as finding the right home. I, myself, as a ready willing and ready buyer, would not have found a home until I found the right agent. Things I was looking for were knowledge of the area, honesty and integrity with respect to fiduciary responsibility. It was hard to find, really hard...as hard as finding a home in which case was half a dozen times for both.
You wont find that right house until you find that right agent, if your looking to move to Florida I would be happy to help.
Anthony Barone
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