How to Choose a Houston Realtor - CPZ Real Estate, LLC

As of February, there are more than one million licensed Realtorsin the United States, and over 20,000 in the Houston? metro area. In theory, you wouldn?t expect it to be very hard to find one Houston Realtor.?That is, unless you?re picky about finding the best one to help you make the best deal when it comes to selling your own home.

Before we go much further, I should mention that the ?Realtor? name itself is the copyright-protected term for a dues-paying member of the National Association of Realtors. Although Texas grants the license that allows agents and brokers to conduct business, the NAR minds the store for internal trade matters. But they don?t answer the original question, ?Where is the agent with the expertise to help ME right now??

Making this choice is vital. After all, millions of Americans decide that it?s pretty smart to pay 6% of the sales price to the Realtorwho helps them sell a home. All they ask in return is for the agent to determine the home?s market value; to list it attractively in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) so other agents know about it; to devise and execute an advertising campaign that will market the home to the public; and then to conduct the safari that leads all parties through the thicket of paperwork and processes that complete the typical real estate transaction.

So then ? how do you find a Houston Realtor? Here are a few tips:

This is the most effective way to find a good Realtor^?. Ask family, friends, neighbors and folks at work. Ask the lady at the grocery store checkout, your hair stylist, people at the gym. Try to put together a list of at least three candidate Realtors^? ? more is better.

This need not be as time-consuming as it sounds. It?s easy to be clear and honest when you speak with the candidates. Let them know that this is a preliminary interview, not a request for a listing presentation. In fact, the interview can take place over the phone.

There are lots of questions you may want to ask the Realtor^? during the interview, but one is the most important: the names and phone numbers of at least two former clients and three current clients.

This is the time-consuming part, but it will be worth it. Call each reference for every agent. Questions to ask past clients include:

• How effective were the agent?s marketing efforts?What was done to market your home?
• Did the agent communicate with you frequently throughout the process?
• Would you use this agent again?

Questions to ask current clients:

• Why did you choose this particular Realtor^??Do you feel you made the right choice?
• Was the agent easy to reach by telephone?Were your calls returned promptly?
• How effective do you feel the Realtor?s^? marketing efforts?What changes would you like to see, if any?

Request a Presentation

Call back the agents who get good reviews and request a listing presentation. This should be a two-step process: the agent views the house and returns after crunching the numbers and compiling a comparative market analysis (a ?CMA?).

Take a good long look at the agent?s CMA. Not only is this report an explanation of how he or she determined your home?s current market value, it?s also really the agent?s calling card. This is their only chance to impress you with their expertise, so it?s also your back-door way of checking their marketing skills in action. Is the CMA bound? Is it customized ? or merely a bunch of MLS printouts thrown together?

Bottom line: did the agent knock it out of the park with this presentation? Remember, marketing is everything in today?s tough market.

Selling a house is big business. It?s a truism that it?s just about the most important transaction anyone makes. It?s also the reason you will never regret taking your time to find the right Realtor.

Source: http://www.cpzrealestate.com/how-to-find-your-houston-realtor-in-the-sea-of-faces/

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