Monday, May 22, 2017

HEY neighbor!

HEY neighbor! Who you choose to represent you when you buy or sell your home is one of the biggest decisions you’ll make during your move. Your real estate agent can make the process easy, quick, and painless – or long, expensive, and painful.

Here are 5 adjectives you should for in your real estate agent if you want to get the most out of your sale or purchase:

1. Tenacious

Real estate is a tough world. There are seemingly endless challenges to navigate: the house you love was snatched up by someone else, someone put a bid in on your home and then pulled out at the last minute, there’s issues with the neighbors or zoning or construction. That’s why you need a real estate agent who is tenacious, never gives up, and doesn’t stop until you have successfully bought or sold your home.
If you work with a real estate agent who gives up when things don’t go as planned, you’re never going to buy or sell your home. The best real estate agents are the ones who not only have plan B, but plan C, D, and E ready and waiting. When things fall through, the don’t let it get them down. They keep pushing and coming up with creative solutions to close your real estate transaction – no matter what.

2. Honest

Honesty is always the best policy, but it’s especially important when it comes to real estate. You need to be able to trust your agent: to negotiate the best deals, to tell you the truth about your properties, to give you the right advice when it comes to buying or selling. If you work with an agent who bends the truth, withholds information, or – worst case scenario – flat out lies, you’re going to end up losing time, money, and patience throughout the process.

3. Savvy

There’s a lot to know in the world of real estate, and as a buyer or seller, you probably aren’t aware of about 95% of it. Your real estate agent should be savvy, smart, and able to help you navigate everything you don’t know about real estate.
Look for an agent that can walk you through the entire process from A to Z. You want someone who is an expert in your area, who specializes in your type of transaction (buying or selling), and who can break down complex real estate jargon into easy-to-understand terms so you know exactly what’s happening at every stage of your purchase or sale.

4. Persuasive

Every great real estate has the heart of a salesperson – and the persuasive skills to match. There are tons of instances in which you’ll need your real estate agent to turn on their persuasive charm. Real estate agents have to use persuasion to negotiate the best offers, to convince sellers to accept your bid, to convince potential owners that your home is the right buy for them. If your real estate agent doesn’t have any sales skills, the buying or selling process is going to be long, drawn out, and never get to the close.
Look for a real estate agent that could sell ice to an eskimo; if they can do that, they can buy or sell your house.

5. Thorough

Buying and selling property is an involved business: there are papers to sign, inspections to schedule, documents to process. You want to work with a thorough, detail-oriented real estate agent who will ensure that every i is dotted and t is crossed.
In addition to managing the transactional portion of your real estate venture, you want a real estate agent who’s so thorough they ensure that YOU don’t forget anything on your end. A thorough real estate agent will come armed with a checklist of not only what they need to do to process the purchase or sale, but what you need to do on your end in order to tie up any loose ends.
It’s easy to spot a thorough real estate agent. Do they send you calendar reminders for home showings? Is their day planner meticulously organized? Do they jokingly refer to themselves as “type A?” If so, you’ve got a winner.
The right real estate agent is essential in making the process of buying or selling a home quick, easy, and a financial win. And when you lock in a real estate agent with all of these adjectives, you’re well on your way to real estate success.

Who has your best interest? New construction homes.

Who has your best interest? 

It’s About Representation

There may very well be a licensed agent at the new construction site, sitting in the model home. But that’s not your agent…despite any disclosures or documents that they may go over with you.
You want your own agent. Someone third party, not affiliated with the builder. Someone affiliated with you and your interests.
Because this is about representation. Representation of you and your interests. Not just someone along for the ride and to sign a few papers and then swing back around and collect a commission check.
nd if you hire your own real estate agent, the agent has a fiduciary responsibility to you. They need to treat the relationship with care and trust. Look out for you and your interests.
But beyond that, they’ll help you understand the contract, and look for anything unusual. They might suggest some things to add to the offer and contract, like certain contingencies the builder may be trying to get away from including. They will negotiate on your behalf.
Your real estate agent will be able to help you decide between all of the options you have out there in the market. They will help assess the big picture. Maybe new construction isn’t the best choice for you. Maybe it is. Maybe this development is the best for you. Maybe it isn’t…

Do This First

Before you just stroll into check out a model home, find a real estate agent to represent you. (If you already have on, skip to the next section…)
Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200. Interview and choose an agent who will represent you.
If you find one that specializes in new construction, that’s a bonus, but don’t expect it or limit yourself to one that does. There’s more resale business than there is new construction in many areas. So a lot of agents aren’t going to be specialists in new construction. And that’s fine. You want someone sharp about the universal stuff, like negotiating, analyzing the deal, understanding the market, and you and your needs.

Then Do This

Now you can go check out model homes…
But don’t just wander into a development or model home on your own and have a look see.
For the first visit, go with your real estate agent. “Register” at the site, and reserve the right to representation by your real estate agent. (If you do not go with your agent on the first visit, it can be a mess trying to involve one afterwards.)
While you don’t technically need your own real estate agent, there’s certainly a lot of benefit to having one…and a lot of potential downside to not having one.

Real Estate professional for hire.

Real Estate professional for hire. For those of you who aren’t real estate agents, you hear plenty of agents who just jumped on our bandwagon singing about how great it is to be a real estate agent. But…that doesn’t mean that the agents you hear singing that tune are great real estate agents.

There’s no way for you to know if they’re truly great real estate agents, until it’s too late… until you’ve decided to work with an agent who has simply jumped on the bandwagon. It is then that you come to find out that the tune they’re singing is out of key.
Agents who just jump on the real estate bandwagon can hurt you.

Working for my clients best interest.

Working for my clients best interest.  When hiring a builder you will need a Real Estate professional in your corner. Have you checked your builders reputation on BBB? Are they a member of the York County Builders association ? Do they offer the 10 year warranty ? These are just some of the questions I can help YOU get answers to. Don't be fooled by rebates or discounts. A home is the single most important purchase you can make. Go Into that purchase with all the information you can! Solve the problem most people have by actually seeking, finding, and hiring the best real estate agent you can find to help you buy your house.


Don’t just stumble into a loose relationship with someone you need to trust to get you the best house, at the best price and terms.

Get off that fence Its time to MOOOVE!

Get off that fence Its time to MOOOVE!

8 acres just listed. Come build your dream home.

8 acres just listed. Come build your dream home.

Land Is a great investment. Use this 25 acres for recreation.

Land Is a great investment. Use this 25 acres for recreation.

Beautiful Southern home. Abundant Neighborhood amenities.

Beautiful Southern home. Abundant Neighborhood amenities.