Buying or selling real estate in Lake Elsinore, CA will probably be the most extensive transaction in ones’ life. It’s definitely not like doing your everyday shopping of clothes and groceries! There’s no return policy when purchasing homes, unlike the purchase of vehicles or other personal items where, if you aren’t happy or satisfied with the purchase you can return and get your money back. Therefore, the selling or purchase a home in Lake Elsinore can become mind boggling and confusing to most of us. A right-minded Lake Elsinore real estate agent can be of a great help to help traverse this process with very minimal stress and anxiety. As a home Seller, you want to make certain that you can sell your home for the top dollars and as a Buyer, you want to make sure that you are getting the best deal when you buy or sell a home in Lake Elsinore, CA or surrounding. But how do you do this? Well, it’s crucial that you start by looking for the top best Lake Elsinore real estate agent to work with.
Here are some traits to look for when finding a Lake Elsinore Real Estate Agent:
- Good References/Reviews/Online ratings/Social Media testimonials
This is a digital world we live in and we now have so much access and online tools to find almost everything we are looking for. When looking for an agent in Lake Elsinore, CA, make sure that you look for their good reviews and testimonials. You can go to their websites, their social media accounts, and search google reviews to do your research. Read testimonials from their past clients to get an idea of their experience. Read all reviews and posts from their social media accounts to check their credibility. If there’s one or two negative reviews amongst so many other positive ones, don’t worry about it, but if there’s more than a few, then it could be a red light. Better reviews and ratings mean that that agent knows what they are doing and is really good at it!
2. “Cream of the Crop” Outstanding agents with great designations
When selling or buying real estate in Lake Elsinore, you want to make sure that you are working with the top best local Lake Elsinore REALTOR®. There are so many real estate agents out there so how do you decide who to work with? Easy! Just like you would hire a professional CPA to manage your accounts and give you some great tax advice, just like you would hire a good, reputable Doctor to give you a good medical advice, you would do the same when hiring a real estate agent. You need to work with one who has a great knowledge of what they are doing. You want to work with one who has advanced knowledge and is on top of their local real estate market game! Real estate agents have to take continuing education courses. There are some certifications and designations that they can achieve to become the “cream of the crop”, meaning, to be the best in their profession. Look for an agent who is a REALOTR ® because this would mean that they are a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), and further down to the state level by being a member of the California Association of Realtors (CAR). Being members of these national/state level bodies, they are required to uphold the code of ethics. Some REALTOR ® are even more dedicated and prolific by completing certain certification and designation courses. By doing so, such agents are more comfortable and confident at what they do and they will be a great asset to have on your side!
3. Real Estate Experience
When selling and buying real estate it would make the process much smoother and hassle free if you are working with an agent who has a great expertise in this local Lake Elsinore real estate market. It is important to know how long the agent has been in the business of selling and buying real estate and they’re local in the city. Their experience in this field will help decide how well they can negotiate on your behalf and how fast they can sell your property or get you the home of your dreams! In real estate, ‘time is of essence’ and by working with an expert you will appreciate and comprehend the process better.
4. Understanding of the local market
It helps to work with an expert agent who lives and works local in Lake Elsinore, CA. Why? Because a local real estate agent would know how the current local real estate market is and will be able to gauge accordingly. You want to work with someone who knows the turn over time for listings in a specific city or even community. A local real estate agent would know his area of expertise and will be able to help you with a much better understanding and passion. A local real estate agent will have contacts with local home sellers, home buyers, title companies, escrow companies and other vendors involved in a real estate transaction. This may give you leverage and be in your interest later on in the transaction. A local REALTOR® will have knowledge of any future development plans of a city/neighborhood which you maybe interested in.
5. Practicable real estate commission
Real estate commissions can only be paid to licensed real estate brokers. These brokers hire licensed real estate agents and pay them as independent contractors based in accordance to their payment agreement. A lot of people don’t realize that real estate commissions are marketable. Brokers may have their own guidelines on the nominal commission paid by clients. Agents provide different services and their commission is mostly in accordance with the various services they provide. They have various marketing strategies and offer several media and listing promotional packages which you can choose from. A more experienced agent who closes enough deals annually and doesn’t have to strive for leads may not be willing to negotiate commissions. One should keep in mind that the agents don’t get paid until a transaction closes, which may take anywhere from 30-90 days or even more in a distressed real estate market! If you are in the market to sell your property for the most profit and with the least hassle, you should consider agreeing to pay a little higher commission so you can get the most out of the services provided by the real estate agents. In California, it is common for Sellers to pay for the commission for the listing brokerage firm and the buyer’s brokerage firm.
6. Listing agreement and buyer-broker agreement is reasonable
A listing agreement is a contract between the seller and the listing brokerage firm. A buyer-broker agreement is a contract between a buyer and the buyer’s brokerage firm. When signing agreements, look for the time span of the agreement, when it expires. Most agreements are good for 90 days in a normal market, while a distressed market will reflect a longer time span for these agreements, some even up to 9 to 12 months. The duration of agreements is negotiable. Broker duties and representation clauses are also other terms to look at and see if it suits your needs. Make sure the showing times work with your schedule. It’s a good idea to read the resolution clause carefully to understand how to settle disputes, if such were to occur. A listing agreement will also state what marketing tools and platforms the listing broker offers for your listing.
If you feel like you don’t understand a certain phrase and need explanations, or have questions on a specific clause, always feel free to ask your real estate agent for further clarifications and for a better understanding. If needed, you can also add terms and customize the documents. Once you execute the agreement, you are in a contract and have to abide by the contract terms.
7. Means of communication
A good agent will listen andcomply with the mode of communication which best suits your needs. While negotiating a real estate deal, time is of essence and the last thing you want is a lack of communication or a lapse of communication from your real estate agent. When interviewing for agents, it is important to ask them the best and most effective way you can get a hold of them. Most agents are out in the field touring and showing homes daily and it can be difficult for them to answer and reply to your phone calls. Today’s digital world has made it so much better for you to be able to reach out to your agents. Most agents carry a smart phone so you can send emails and text messages to them. Certain applications, such as Whatsapp, Viber and Facebook Messengerare also ways to reach out to your agents.
Understanding and implementing the above ideas when choosing your real estate agent will help you a great deal! At Legacy Homes Realty, we are very accommodating to our clients’ needs. We have been in this business for over 15 years and we have comprehended all the various kinds of markets over these years. We have the knowledge and expertise to negotiate the best for you and our agents are skilled and certified to better assist you. We keep ourselves updated with the changing market with continuing education courses. Our agents have certifications/designations in courses like, Graduate, REALTOR® Institute (GRI), ePRO certification to keep up with the advanced digital marketing strategy, Military Relocation Professional certification (MRP), Short Sale and Foreclosure Relocation certification (SFR) to help clients of a distressed short sale and foreclosure market, Pricing Strategy Advisor (PSA) certification, and considerably more! We can assure you that our communication methods prevail the rest and we try our very best to reach out to you even at our very busiest of times. Feel free to check out our many testimonials and reviews from past clients on Facebook, Google and Yelp.
If you’re thinking of selling your home and are not sure when is the right time to sell your home then feel free to check out our other blog posts “WHEN IS THE BEST TIME TO SELL HOME IN LAKE ELSINORE, CA, IN 2021?” If you want to know how much your Lake Elsinore home is worth then Click Here or fill out your address below and click find my value.
