Today I want to talk about the importance of finding a realtor you can trust and will do a great job representing you.  Too often I have found that a buyer almost randomly picked a realtor to help them buy a home. Sometimes, the sales agent has an active license but doesn’t really work as an active agent. Sometimes they are an active agent but not too intelligent about what they are doing. I really don’t understand why people chose to use their cousin’s friend Billy Bob or Sally from their church without asking for credentials.  Would you go to a doctor for surgery without knowing if they have ever done surgery before? Or maybe they have done surgery for an ingrown toenail but not the brain surgery you are contemplating having.

OK, I know, real estate isn’t brain surgery.  But, if you don’t use someone that will represent you well, you can lose your shirt or a pair of socks or something….. Wait, the analogy is breaking down and getting mixed.  Let me step back and be more specific.  An inexperienced real estate person can cost you six ways (maybe more).

1 You may pay too much for the house (poor knowledge of the market
and/or poor negotiating skills.)
2 Your realtor may not prepare the contract well having you pay for things
that the seller should pay for.
3 You may end up with a very poor choice of a home and your real
estate person could have given you better advice so that you didn’t end
up owning a “Money Pit” (see the movie with Tom Hanks and Shelly Long
circa 1986.)
4 You have lost your deposit because you didn’t understand the
purchase process and your real estate agent didn’t properly cover your
behind.
5  Your loan sucks and your realtor didn’t tell you that you have
been mauled by your lender. Maybe he can’t tell a good loan from a bag
of steer poop.
6 Your real estate agent didn’t tell you to get inspections and
later you find a small lake under your home that makes Pirates of the
Caribbean look like ride at Disney Land…. Oh wait, I guess it is.  You
get the picture.

I think this submission is getting a bit long in the tooth so I will continue later with the top ten list of things to find out when selecting an agent to help you buy a home. As always, constructive comments are welcome.  -Steve Kent

I recently was invited to be on this local Real Estate TV Show and thought I would share this with you.  The host of this show is Dan Lawson of Lawson and Associates. Dan owns and runs one of the top independent mortgage brokerages in the area. 

Click on the image below to go to this movie.

Steve Kent on Stratigies in Real Estate

Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that’s the stuff life is made of.
  Benjamin Franklin