Real Estate Information

How To Find a Real Estate Agent


You may be of the opinion that you don't need a real estate agent and that using one will add to the cost of buying your new home.

The fact is that a real estate agent's fees are typically paid by the seller of the home. So, as a buyer, you can get the services of a professional real estate agent without having to directly pay for it. Please confirm this in any paperwork or contracts that a real estate agent may provide because policies vary greatly by state and company. Be sure to ask about fees when you interview agents.

Most real estate agents may work with buyers and sellers but often they specialize in working with one or the other. Make sure the agent that you choose has experience working with buyers and with no down payment transactions.

Be careful if you are speaking with a real estate agent and they don't seem to recognize terms like "Down Payment Assistance Program".

Start making a list of possible real estate agents to interview with referrals from your lender, friends and family.

A referral from the lender is great because you get the services from people that have worked together in the past and are already familiar with each other's systems. This can help prevent any last minute surprises or obstacles.

Questions to ask while you are interviewing real estate agents:

Please explain your fees.

Are you familiar with any no down payment financing programs?

Have you been involved with no down payment buyers in the past?

Would you mind providing sample contracts so I may review them?

Does it clearly state in the contract who will be paying your fees?

How long have you been a real estate agent?

Do you mostly work with buyers or sellers?

I'm looking for a home in the areas of ______. How familiar are you with those areas?

What specific steps would you take to help me find the home I am looking for?

You should also try to get an idea of these factors while you are speaking with the agent.

- Does this person have good negotiating skills?

- Do you feel this agent is trying to understand your situation so that they can properly represent you to sellers?

- How much knowledge does the agent have about mortgage markets?

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MORE RESOURCES:

San Francisco Chronicle (blog)

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USA TODAY

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And while real estate experts and authorities say he's misusing the law, Robinson appears to have inspired dozens of imitators who moved into the Dallas-Fort Worth area homes - some of which were still occupied by their owners.
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New York Times

Real estate is a team sport
Boston.com (blog)
Sam Schneiderman, Broker-owner of Greater Boston Home Team, discusses the importance of having a team that works together when buying or selling real estate. Whether you are buying or selling, I believe that a successful real estate transaction ...
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Chicago Tribune

Real Estate: National foreclosure settlement delayed, Nevada AG concerned
Reno Gazette Journal
Ap File BY THE NUMBERS Foreclosure-related filings for 2011 for Washoe County, Nevada and the United States. Filings include notices of default, notices of sale or auction and bank-owned foreclosures. Washoe: 7981 (down 27.3 percent and 27.6 percent ...
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Zephyr Real Estate Announces Top Producers for 2011
MarketWatch (press release)
SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Feb 06, 2012 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) -- Zephyr Real Estate, San Francisco's largest independent real estate firm, is proud to announce the company's top producing real estate agents for 2011. The Company Top 10, in order by highest ...

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Montgomery County eyes hefty real estate tax jump
Roanoke Times
Demands and cuts in state funding suggest a 21-cent real estate tax rate hike. Supervisors balked. By Mike Gangloff Montgomery County supervisors braced themselves Monday for the possibility of a record increase in the county's real estate tax rate.

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Real estate title agent to add 200
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
The parent of United Lender Services, a national real estate title and settlement agent in Findlay, has acquired two large office buildings along the Parkway West, where ULS will relocate and triple its employment to more than 250.

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TEXT-S&P says European real estate should weather downside credit risks
Reuters
"We think that our macroeconomic forecast of a mild recession for the first half of the year will have a moderate effect on the operating performance of our rated Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) portfolio," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst ...

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Oregon Company Attempts to Bring Real Estate Into a Mobile World
LoanSafe
by Evan Bedard on February 6, 2012 in Real Estate (Source: By Sherri Buri McDonald, The Register-Guard, Eugene, Ore.) - A Eugene start-up company, RealLead is trying to bring the speed and immediacy of mobile communications to real estate shopping.
Bringing real estate into a mobile worldThe Register-Guard

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Bangkok Post

Global Real Estate Markets Making Steady Progress with Eighth Consecutive ...
MarketWatch (press release)
6, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- While economic uncertainty still affects the main commercial real estate centres around the world, global real estate markets are showing steady improvements, according to Jones Lang LaSalle's new suite of global ...
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