Profiting From Real Estate Investments An Investor Newsletter From HomeVestors Of America, Inc. By Marcie Geffner / Vol. 1 No. 5 03/15/2006 Before You Hire A Realtor, Ask These Questions Hot housing markets have attracted an unprecedented number of people into careers in real estate sales. In fact, there are now more than 1.2 million realtors in the United States, and that figure doesn’t even include people who have a real estate license but are not members of the National Association of Realtors. With more than a million realtors in the nation, how can a real estate investor decide which one to hire? The wrong answer is to choose a friend or a relative simply because he or she recently opened up shop in the business and perhaps is willing to cut a deal on his or her commission to get business. A friend or a relative may be a good choice, but a personal connection of this nature isn’t nearly enough information on which to base such an important decision. Nor should the realtor’s commission be the sole criterion in the decision. Here are some other questions that can help differentiate the exceptional agent from the merely qualified agent: How long have you been in the real estate business? Do you work in real estate full-time or do you have another job as well? What type of work did you do before you became a real estate agent? How many assistants work for you? How long have they worked for you? What sort of training and experience do they have? Are they licensed? Has anyone ever sued you over a real estate transaction? What was the outcome of that lawsuit? Have you ever been the subject of an ethics complaint to the local realtor board or the state department of real estate? What was the outcome of that complaint? Do you have errors-and-omission insurance to protect against any inadvertent mistakes that you or your assistants might make in a transaction? How much experience do you have with investment properties? Will you provide references of other people who have bought investment property with your help? What are your working hours and what is your preferred means of communication? Will you be unavailable during any blocks of time for vacation or other reasons during the next several months? Buying How many investors did you show property to last year? How many of them bought a property that you showed them? How familiar are you with the houses in the neighborhood where I want to invest? Can you recommend other areas that might fit my investment criteria? What strategies will you use to locate real estate for me to purchase? How will you help me negotiate the best possible price and terms for the property that I want to purchase? If the owner of the property I want to purchase also receives other offers, how will you help me make sure that my offer is the one accepted? If you represented the seller of a property I might want to purchase, how would you make sure that my interests were fairly represented in that transaction? Selling How will you set an asking price for my property? How quickly would the property sell at that price? If I were willing to be patient, would I receive a higher price? What type of buyer would be interested in my property and how will you position the property to target that type of buyer? How will you advertise and promote my property to attract as many qualified buyers as possible? If I received more than one offer for my property, how would you help me decide what offer to accept? How will you help me negotiate the best price and terms in the sale of my property? If you also represented a buyer who wanted to purchase my property, how would you make sure that my interests were fairly represented in that transaction? Copyright 2006. Marcie Geffner. All rights reserved. COMING NEXT ISSUE: Carpet is a high turnover component for rental property. The most expensive carpet is not always the best for rental property. Check these tips out before purchasing new carpet. The Investor e-Newsletter is provided free by HomeVestors of America, Inc. HomeVestors of America HomeVestors franchisees have many turn-key investment opportunities in many markets. Check the house listings at www.uglyhouses.com. If you want to know more about how HomeVestors can help you build a real estate investment business, or if you are interested in owning a franchise, give us a call at 1-866-249-6932 or visit www.uglyhouses.com. If you have a question, comment, or an idea for our newsletter, please click here. <back | printable version