Family and Real Estate - A Bad Mix

Tip: Any time you're facing a large financial decision like buying or selling your home, it's wise to work with an experienced professional to guide you through the process.

It's happened to nearly everyone out there - you say you're interested in buying or selling a home and suddenly you're bombarded by friends and family asking you to use them as an agent. And while it is important to hire someone that you can relate to and trust, throwing family dynamics or other relationships into the mix of such a stressful and important purchase can be a recipe for disaster. 

 

Bev L. in an interview with Dave Ramsey said the following about working with family, "If it goes well, great. But if not, it will forever put a rift in the family with continuing consequences. Not worth it."

So, before you decide to keep it in the family, ask yourself the following questions and follow the guidelines below. By doing so you'll get the best real estate agent and the dream home that you want. Trust us, you deserve it!

And after all, you don't want to end up feeling like this picture right??? Right!

 

The 4 Key Steps In Hiring A Real Estate Agent

1. Determine Your Goals First – Do not hire a real estate agent by default. What we mean is don’t call on a home, meet an agent, and then just start working with them. Write a plan first. Make sure your plan is simple, but thorough. Remember the old adage, “nobody plans to fail, they just fail to plan.”
2. Do Your Research – Once you know what you want, go to Google and start a search with a focus on the attributes that you know you want in your real estate agent. If you cannot find them on the web, then they most likely are not wired into all of the resources that will help you optimize your returns. There are some great traditional agents … who are now retiring. Make sure your agent is somebody who is linked in to all of the modern real estate technologies.
3. Demand The Best – This might come as a shock, but you typically pay the same for a bad agent as you would for a great agent (in terms of commissions, not in returns!). The best real estate agents are very busy, and they will demand your loyalty on each specific transaction. If you have done your research, you should embrace working with an agent who requires a buyers brokerage agreement. Most do not (and most are not very good!).
4. Nothing Lasts Forever – This is a sad fact of life, buy most relationships are not forever. If you feel that your agent is not giving you 100% attention and service, get another one! While there are only a handful of really good agents in your market area, you need to know that your agent values your long-term business and will ensure that your investment decisions get full attention. 

Traits That Make A Good Real Estate Agent

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate
The number one skill of a great agent is the ability to communicate effectively and to make the agent/buyer on the other side of the transaction feel comfortable and appreciated.

A Strong Marketer
Selling houses isn’t just about sticking some text on the MLS . . . it’s about marketing your properties and yourself. For example, here are just a few of the things we do to entice buyers to visit our properties and to put in offers:

Have People/Networking Skills
Good agents have large networks of contacts that they can leverage to find buyers, sellers, investors, partners, etc. They build these networks through good-old-fashioned networking — attending real estate meetings, introducing themselves at parties, talking to neighbors at the properties, etc. And through these networks, they can get can their houses sold much more quickly than those agents who just put a listing on the MLS and wait.

 Bottom Line

(Taken from a Dave Ramsey article on real estate and family)

 

"Your real estate agent should have certain qualities ... and "family member" is not on the list. Your agent should be a top performer—high-octane and high-energy, with the experience and drive to find the right home for you.

Most of all, you should feel comfortable working with your agent. You should feel free to express your opinions and expectations for their work. Your agent should understand that the final decisions rest with you, and their job is to give you all the information you need to make those decisions."