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Finding Reliable Estate Agents Portstewart
If you're looking for reliable estate agents Portstewart, then you're going to want to keep a
number of things in mind. Below, we'll try to break it down into just the important points regarding the market,
the estate agent industry, and, of course, making the best decision on your own.
The goal is to provide you with all of the information you could possibly need in order to make a wise, informed,
effective and efficient decision...
For Buyers... Buy Smart
Look, an agent will help you get into the home you want, that's their job, but... Buy smart. An agent will help you
work out a payment plan, they'll help you by cutting through some of the red tape, and they'll usually do the
haggling for both yourself and for the seller to keep things nice and friendly.
What they WON'T do, though, makes up a much longer list: They won't help you decide exactly what sort of home you
need. They won't balance your budget for you so you can make the payments. They won't talk to the bank to help you
get a loan. They won't get you that raise or promotion you need to make the house payments. They won't put your
kids through college so as to free up your savings to go towards the house. They won't talk you out of that two
story beach home and into a more modest, realistic suburban two room. They won't sell your second car so you can
afford the home of your dreams. They won't help you figure out exactly what IS the home of your dreams.
A real estate agent can do many things, but they can't make your important life decisions for you. Buy a home you
like, but buy a home that you can realistically afford.
You've probably heard that it's a good idea to do the "hard sell" routine when you go in to look at the house. This
can help, but don't expect it to work one hundred percent of the time. Obviously, you don't want to walk into a
great house and shout "This is perfect! I'll pay double!" but you should understand that, sometimes, the seller's
price is set in stone. This is, admittedly, rare, though. Typically, this only occurs with high end, highly
desirable homes. Beach front properties, downtown or main street store fronts and so on.
You DO want to pick out every problem when browsing a home. Be picky, be fussy. Just let the agent know that, while
this home may not be out of the question, you DO notice what's wrong with it. Don't skip over any problem, no
matter how minor. Nine times out of ten, there's some wiggle room on the price, even if it takes a lot of haggling
to get there.
For Sellers... Throw Away the Phone Book
Well, don't throw it away. Just... Don't expect it to provide you with a comprehensive list of qualified agents,
and you should especially not expect the phone book to help you make an informed decision. If you want to find a
great estate agent, you're going to want to shop online. That's all there is to it. What do you get from the phone
book? A name and a number. Maybe, just maybe, you get some ad copy, too. But... Any agency can buy a small ad in
the yellow pages and say whatever they want therein. What an agent cannot do, however, is generate positive client
feedback without having helped someone along the way.
So what you're looking for is referrals. In any line of service, any industry where a person's salary is directly
influenced by their qualifications, insight and talent, referrals are all that really matter. They're the best form
of advertising for a number of reasons: They're honest, they're effective, and they can't be bought for any amount
of money (even if they found someone willing to fabricate a referral for money, it'd be illegal).
In other words, an estate agent desires a three word referral more than they could ever desire
a thirty second Superbowl commercial spot, more than they could desire a two page ad in a major magazine. Referrals
are, in effect, the only advertising you can really trust, and the only advertising worth using for an estate
agent, even if many of them love plastering their own faces on billboards.
The upside to all this hunting and searching is that when you do get a great estate agent, they'll help you figure
out how to improve the value of your property without a big investment on your part and they'll help you get every
penny the property is worth, and if they don't sell the property, you don't pay a cent.
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