Welcome to Real Estate Guide
Northern Michigan Real Estate Article
For a permanent link to this article about Real Estate, or to bookmark this page, click here.
Top Ten Suggestions for Selecting a Real Estate Agent
from: W. Troy SwezeyIn order to find a real estate broker or agent who meets your needs and makes your buying or selling experience a positive one, Century 21 Real Estate Corporation recommends you:
- DO NOT blindly walk into or call a neighborhood firm and ask for an agent at random.
- Ask friends and family for recommendations.
- Interview several real estate agents:
- Find out their history with the brokerage, their experience and background.
- Gauge their knowledge of your favorite towns.
- Ask for a list of previous clients and their phone numbers.
- Find out their history with the brokerage, their experience and background.
- Pay attention to whether a potential agent is listening closely to what you say.
- Is he or she asking follow-up questions which prompt further explanation and help him or her understand exactly your needs and wants?
- Is he or she asking follow-up questions which prompt further explanation and help him or her understand exactly your needs and wants?
- Give a potential agent the opportunity to educate you.
- A good agent should walk a customer through the buying or selling process before ever showing properties or discussing a specific transaction.
- A good agent should walk a customer through the buying or selling process before ever showing properties or discussing a specific transaction.
- Have a good idea of what you expect from an agent and communicate those expectations.
- How often do you want to hear from your agent?
- Do you want to hold meetings at your house rather than the real estate office?
- How often do you want to hear from your agent?
- Weigh the benefits of working with an experienced agent versus a novice.
- An experienced agent may have more insight, but a new agent may have innovative ideas or more energy and time.
- An experienced agent may have more insight, but a new agent may have innovative ideas or more energy and time.
- Find an agent who complements your personality.
- If you like to start your day at 7:00 a.m., don't choose an agent who arrives to the office at 10:00 a.m.
- If your preferred method of communication is e-mail, don't choose an agent whose most advanced technology is a fax machine.
- If you like to start your day at 7:00 a.m., don't choose an agent who arrives to the office at 10:00 a.m.
- Evaluate the agent's firm and/or office.
- Look for a real estate organization whose agents can empower you with real estate expertise and resources and provide first-rate customer service.
- Look for a real estate organization whose agents can empower you with real estate expertise and resources and provide first-rate customer service.
- Look for an agent who will be your partner.
- Find someone you trust, who will give you the facts, help you make intelligent, well-informed decisions and work with you throughout the entire process.
- Find someone you trust, who will give you the facts, help you make intelligent, well-informed decisions and work with you throughout the entire process.
W. Troy Swezey is the author of “Top Ten Suggestions for Selecting a Real Estate Agent." As a Realtor at Century 21 Paul & Associates, he has helped many individuals with their real estate needs. Visit his web site to download his free e-book, “REAL ESTATE SECRETS EXPOSED.” http://www.TroyIsMyRealtor.com or mail to: TroyC21@usa.net
Northern Michigan Real Estate Specific links
Northern Michigan Real Estate News
Small Towns with Big Money (BusinessWeek Online via Yahoo! News)
Residents of America's most expensive small town get by without a chain store or even a traffic light. The town has one gas station, an elementary school, a community center, a general store, dairy and vegetable farms, and some restaurants and inns that open during the warm seasons.
Read more...Small Towns with Big Money (BusinessWeek Online via Yahoo! UK & Ireland Finance)
From summer resorts to wealthy suburbs, a look at the most expensive small towns in the U.S.
Read more...The Record-Eagle's origins -- 1858-1912 (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
A timeline of the Record-Eagle's origins through 1912, from the Grand Traverse Herald's first issue in 1858, to the debut of the Traverse Bay Eagle in 1865, the start of daily newspapering in 1893, and the transformation and eventual merger of area newspapers to become the Traverse City Record-Eagle.
Read more...Bates helped take TC into 20th century (Traverse City Record-Eagle)
In our continuing history series, a 20-year-old Thomas T. Bates arrives in Traverse City in 1862, where would see this stump of a town grow into a city and play an important part in that transformation.
Read more...Good farmland values increase (Iowa Farmer)
Although ag land values increased 14 percent in the third quarter of 2008 from the third quarter of 2007 in the Seventh Federal Reserve District of Chicago, there was a shift in expectations toward more stable farmland values.
Read more...