Top 5 Things Your Realtor Should Be Knowledgeable About

Published by nora | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Miscellaneous, Real Estate

Most homebuyers want a friendly, warm, pleasant, experienced realtor to help them in their home search and eventual purchase of a home. They want to have positive vibes when they’re looking at houses. They want to feel good.

There’s one trait, however, that homebuyers need to consider at par with the other major factors when choosing a realtor, and it’s Being Knowledgeable. Wisdom is needed too, but you cannot decide wisely if you don’t have the knowledge on which to base your decision.

Here are the top 5 things that your real estate agent should be knowledgeable about to make your home purchase successful:

Various communities in the area you’re targeting

A knowledgeable realtor is able to guide you to the best community depending on your preferences and price range. He’ll give you listings already filtered and refined so you can focus on comparing the properties available, and not go through hundreds of listings many of which are outside your requirements.

He knows the best communities for families with school-age children, for adults going into their retirement years, for older adults, for single professionals or students, and for people who have specific requisites such as a golf course, access to a beach, access to a lake, or proximity to mass transportation.

Most importantly, he’ll tell you the not-so-good things about areas you seem to be so interested about, such as flooding, noise or neighborhood problems.

Home price trends

A good realtor knows current sales prices in the area for certain types of homes and certain locations. He can answer if you ask about comparable sales prices.
Access to listing agents

You’ll be surprised that in this depressed housing market, there are a lot of listing agents who don’t respond promptly to further inquiries from realtors. There are also properties so desirable that listing agents become very choosy about realtors running after them with purchase offers. It’s here that you really need realtors who know how to deal with these suddenly in-demand listing agents.

Mortgage lenders, property managers and other real estate professionals

A good agent knows mortgage professionals able to negotiate the best home loans for clients. He also knows those who can help prospective homebuyers with certain problems with their credit and those who are updated with the perennially-changing rules of various home loan programs such as FHA, VA and USDA loans. He’s also ready with a recommendation when you need someone to manage the property you’re buying.

Local facilities and developments

A successful real estate agent knows the area’s infrastructure. He can inform you which investment properties have the best potential for resale or rental because of the presence of call centers, proximity to a university, or access to a hospital being built.

The whole home buying process

Lastly, of course, is your realtor’s ability to explain to you the steps in buying a home and guide you through each of them so you can finally have your dream home.