Here are 3, most important things that I’ve encountered, that I believe contribute towards excellence in profession of Real Estate agents.

1.To Serve 2.To Know 3.To Listen

1.To Serve:

Real Estate is a service business, and homeowners and buyers must be treated with respect that they deserve. A Real Estate Agent must demonstrate that they care about you, and that their primary concern is to serve your needs, and not their own.

a)Look for agents that carry cell phones everywhere they go, and that have no problem taking late night calls, or being interrupted during a Saturday morning snooze. This isn’t a rib of steak you’re buying (or selling). It is more important than everything and anything, and it can be a stressful, anxious process to go through. Customers deserve a confidant, and to be treated with utmost of care.

b)Avoid agents that think they know everything. Seek out agents yearning to find out about you, and your likes, dislikes, and opinions. Avoid agents hail-bent on trying to prove what an encyclopedia of wisdom and advice they are. You’re thoughts matter too!

c)Your time is important. If you want to see 20 properties or more, don’t let anyone stop you. A Real Estate agent that encourages you to look, and explore, is more worthy of your time, than an agent that tries to fit you into their busy schedule. This is your buying experience, not theirs.

2.To Know:

I believe that knowledge is gained through familiarity. So, having a real estate agent that is familiar with landscape of land is of critical importance.

a)I like agents that have lived in area for a while, that know all names of streets, and that know high schools, local grocery stores, and local parks.

b)I enjoy listening to an agent’s own personal experiences, as we drive through neighborhoods, or review demographics. It’s not as important to me that they’re old, or young, or rich, or hungry, or just like me, or nothing like me, or whatever. As long as stories are real, and are related, that’s all that matters.

We’d like to help you on your quest, so here are 3 free tips that we think will speed up your journey, and move you to success:

1.Benchmarks 2.Comparisons 3.Apples and Oranges

1.Benchmarks:

You have to start somewhere. Define “low”? Let’s not lick our index fingers, and poke them in wind to see what direction storm is heading. If you want lowest rate possible, you need to know what market is doing right now, where it’s been historically, and what it might be doing over short term long-haul (say over next 3 to 6 months.)

a)Fortunately for you, there are TONS of resources available on internet to do easy market research. Our website provides a Rate-Watch, for example, updated throughout day, complete with graphs, charts, and specs on fixed rates, ARMS, Jumbo’s, and everything in between. But we aren’t only site out there that provides free resources. Just go to your favorite search engine, and you’ll find a gazillion sites that would love to give you free market information.

b)What I suggest you do is primarily focus on 30 year fixed rate, and find a graph demonstrating TREND over last 6 to 12 months. A picture is worth a thousand words. Also, check out current fixed rate, and maybe even poke your eye at APR for an adjustable rate mortgage, and perhaps check out two or three different resources online. Most of them should be extremely similar. This will encourage your confidence in your own growing knowledge about what’s going on out there.

c)What’s news got to say about it? Our site provides a free Financial News watch for mortgages, auto loans, and breaking business stories, updated throughout day. It’s no secret, of course, that news is abundant on internet, and we aren’t only free resource to provide this information. Go wherever you desire, but read an article or two, even if it’s just first few paragraphs. What’s going on with rates? What are Feds doing? Any pundits out there talking about how things look, and what may be happening with interest rates? I swear, if you spend 5 minutes doing this, you’ll be as informed as best of them, in terms of having a gestalt view on rates. You will know, with a high level of certainty, what “low” means, in current world of mortgages and loans.

So take 20 minutes, and derive some benchmarks for yourself. Then, and only then, will you be in a position to gauge what lowest possible rate truly is, and fully prepared to move forward with your important shopping trip.

2.Comparisons:

Every loan is different. Every lender is unique. Every borrower has his/her own, special, unique set of circumstances. In addition, there are thousands and thousands and thousands of lenders. The information is out there, but what you need is to focus on efficiency.

a)So best way to sift through deluge of thousands of lenders, with rates changing daily, and terms that may or may not be posted for all to see, is to use one of many online services that provide this technology to you (for free.)

b)I won’t go into naming my favorites, or listing recommendations, or pointing out ones that are oldest, or newest, or fastest. That’s not point of this article, and I believe in your ability to make good choices. What I will say, is that I believe in these services.