Temecula Realtor | Five Crucial Questions to Ask Your Buyer’s Agent
Before hiring a Temecula Realtor, we suggest that you ask a few very important questions before making your final decision on who to hire. We do have our own brokerage in Temecula, but we have also sold and appraised thousands of homes over the past 12 years. It took many sleepless nights, mistakes, perseverance, and consistency to get to the point of being very good at navigating our clients through the buying process. Below, we will discuss the five most important questions you need to ask your Temecula Realtor.
The majority of these questions revolve around one thing: getting you into a home that you love at the absolute best price possible. In the end, that’s going to be the most important thing. Of course, a great Temecula Realtor will keep you free from liability and problems after the close of escrow, but that’s a very basic part of the escrow process, and all Realtors should be able to do that.
How long have you worked in the area?
This is an important question for many reasons. I’m going to use Temecula as an example, considering this is about picking a Temecula Realtor. There are many communities in Temecula that have different tax rates or HOA costs. Heck, there are communities in Temecula that have different HOAs throughout that community. This is important because it can add anywhere from $200 to $500 a month to your payment. That’s a lot of money. If you find a Temecula realtor that has worked in Temecula for a few years, they will be able to point out which communities have a low tax rate, which communities have an HOA, and which communities give you the most for your HOA.
As I mentioned in the introduction, this is all about money. You don’t want to be homeless or worried about your mortgage payment. You want to be happy with the purchase you made and be comfortable making that payment each month. The longer a Temecula realtor has worked in the area, the more information and experience they will have in all of these different subcommunities throughout the town of Temecula.
What are some ways to make my offer more attractive besides just increasing the price?
Markets go up and down. Sometimes you’re going to have a seller’s market, and other times you will have a buyer’s market. In the current market, it is more of a seller’s market, which makes it harder for a buyer’s offer to get accepted. Your Temecula realtor needs to go above and beyond to make your offer stand out from the rest. I would flat-out ask them, “How are they going to do this?”
One great example of a shift I have seen in the market and in society over the past 10 years is that people don’t want to actually get on the phone and converse with anybody anymore. Many only want to text. At Greenleaf real estate, we feel it is important to call the listing agent and explain how your buyer will stand out from the rest, whatever those reasons may be. We have even gone to the agent’s office to talk to them personally. It’s amazing what a face-to-face conversation will do in regard to getting an offer accepted. Yes, this is just one simple example, but Greenleaf real estate always goes above and beyond and uses every possible resource to make our buyers stand out and win!
How do I know that I am not overpaying for a property?
One of the things we are most proud of at Greenleaf real estate is our market knowledge in regard to pricing. Christie, a licensed and certified appraiser for over 20 years, has really helped the company grow and learn about property values and how to properly value each individual property. Our motto is simple: You will never overpay for a property unless you are 100% willing to do so yourself. If the property is overpriced, we don’t care how much you like it; this will be front and center in our conversations before we write up an offer.
How many closings do you have per year?
Your Temecula realtor needs to be closing deals consistently every year. Why is this important? Well, as a home buyer, you want someone who has been in the trenches and is consistently learning, negotiating, pricing, and closing deals. It doesn’t matter what you do in life; the more you practice, the better you get at it, and it’s no different in the real estate world. A Temecula Realtor who only closes three transactions per year will not be as seasoned or understand the process as a Temecula Realtor who closes 15-20 transactions per year. If I were a buyer, I would want the real estate agent that I’m working with to close at least 15 deals every calendar year.
One thing buyers do need to be aware of now is real estate teams. Many agents might say they close a hundred deals a year, but they have five other agents on their team. You want to know how many deals that specific agent has closed.
What sets you apart from other agents?
This is a great question to ask your agent. As a home buyer, make sure your Realtor is not rhyming off things that every other real estate agent talks about. When you start hearing things like your agent. As a home buyer, make sure your Realtor is not rhyming off things that every other real estate agent talks about. When you start hearing things like “I’ll send you homes daily,” “I’ll get you the best price possible,” or “I have 15 years of experience,” I’d rather ask them to be more specific or run in the other direction.
Just for example, if we were asked this question, we would talk about the advantage Greenleaf real estate has because of our extensive knowledge of the appraisal and valuation process. We would talk about the benefits of having an appraiser and a very knowledgeable real estate broker in regard to values and how much experience we have in this area. Then, we would talk about how values are calculated and what aspects of a property will bring the most value and return on your investment in the future. We would get very specific with regard to bedrooms, slope, lot size, lot location, year built, etc. We would explain how we use our expertise and market knowledge in regard to valuing properties and how we can directly affect your bottom line in the future and inevitably make you more money.
I hope this helped and gave you a little insight on how to better pick your Temecula realtor. If you have any further questions or concerns, please contact Joel or Christie at Greenleaf Real Estate in Temecula. We would be happy to help with any questions.
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We are licensed as both real estate brokers and certified residential appraisers. We love what we do and will bring a great deal of passion, experience, and expertise to the table for you.
