Tag: Real estate agents

How Working With A Real Estate Agent Benefits You

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

Benefits of Working with a Real Estate Agent

They help sell your home and find your new home: Top Real estate agents can help your sell your current home as well as help you find your new home simultaneously. That way you don’t have to worry about where you are going to live once you sell.

Agents take care of all the paperwork: Ensuring all the documents involved in a real estate transaction are correct and properly signed and executed is extremely important. Real estate agents are trained to carefully analyze real estate contracts, inspection reports, etc. so you don’t have to.

Realtors save you time: Can you imagine all the time it takes to constantly search for a house that meets your criteria as soon as it hits the market. If you’re selling, the agent is also in charge of scheduling showings, hosting open houses, marketing, etc.

Agents help you navigate legal requirements when selling or buying a house. Although real estate agents aren’t attorneys, they do know the ins and outs of any legal requirements you’re obligated to follow when doing a real estate transaction.

Access to the MLS: Realtors have access to homes that are listed on the MLS. [Multiple Listing Service] This is a platform that only licensed realtors can access.

Buyers rely heavily on agents: In 2019, 87% of home buyers purchased their homes using a real estate agent. 88% of those buyers said they would use an agent again to buy another home and would also recommend a friend to use a buyer’s agent.

Sellers get a higher price when they use an agent: 48% of homeowners who don’t use an agent, end up selling for a lower price.

Easily schedule showings: Agents have tools they use to schedule showings for only qualified buyers. Just tell your real estate agent when you’re willing to show the home and they handle the rest…

Homes Listed by real estate agents sell for more money: Realtor listed homes sell for a whopping 18% more than homes sold “for sale by owner”

Agents provide you with professional advice: Top real estate agents have a lot of experience so you can rely on their judgment when you need to discuss something or make a decision about something.

Agents are great negotiators: Whether you’re buying or selling, there’s always some negotiating that happens. Experienced Realtors are expert negotiators and they can make sure you are getting a fair deal.

Real estate agents will guide you through the whole process from a to z. A real estate transaction is like a journey where a lot of things can go wrong if you’re not prepared to handle it. Your Realtor will be there for you throughout the whole process until closing.

Agents put their emotions aside to get the deal done. If you’ve ever bought or sold a home, you know how emotional it can be. Your real estate agent isn’t emotionally attached to your home so they can think clearly without clouded judgment to get the deal done.

Top Realtors are familiar with the neighborhood: If you hire a local real estate agent, they will have a tremendous amount of knowledge about the neighborhood you are buying or selling in.

Most homeowners in the US rely heavily on real estate agents: In 2019 89% of homes sold in the US were sold by real estate agents and only 11% sold as a “for sale by owner”.

Real Estate Agents are bound by law to act as your fiduciary agent. This means they are required to look out for your best interests whether you are the buyer or seller.

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¿Cuánto cobran los agentes inmobiliarios?

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

Si necesita contratar a un agente inmobiliario para que lo ayude a comprar o vender una casa, tenga en cuenta que a estos profesionales inmobiliarios se les paga a través de una comisión inmobiliaria. Entonces, ¿cuánto cuesta y por qué? ¿Se puede negociar esto?

Como un agente de bienes raíces en Orlando, FL desde 2004, por favor permíteme explicarte todo lo que necesitas saber sobre las comisiones de bienes raíces.

¿Cuánto cuestan las comisiones inmobiliarias?

En lugar de recibir un pago por hora o un salario semanal, los agentes inmobiliarios solo cobran si la transacción de bienes raíces se concreta.

Algunas agencias inmobiliarias cobran una tarifa fija por sus servicios, mientras que la mayoría de los agentes cobran un porcentaje del precio de venta una vez que se ha concretado la transacción. El porcentaje exacto puede variar; sin embargo, la mayoría de las comisiones inmobiliarias suelen oscilar entre el 5 y el 6% del precio de venta. Así, en una casa de $100,000, una comisión del 5% sería de $5,000.

Esto puede parecer mucho dinero, pero ten en cuenta que la comisión inmobiliaria se divide entre el agente del vendedor y el agente del comprador. Además, los agentes inmobiliarios no reciben ni un centavo hasta que la transacción se concreta... un proceso que puede tomar semanas o incluso meses de trabajo según el trato.

¿Quién paga la comisión inmobiliaria?

Por lo general, el vendedor de la casa paga el monto total de la comisión por el servicio tanto del agente de bienes raíces como del agente del comprador... a menos que el agente represente tanto al comprador como al vendedor.

Por lo general, los dos agentes se reparten la comisión inmobiliaria a partes iguales (50/50). Si una casa se vende por $100,000 con una comisión del 5%, cada agente inmobiliario se llevará $2,500. Sin embargo, esto también puede variar en ciertas situaciones, como si el agente de venta solo le ofreciera 1% al agente del comprador. En el sector inmobiliario, por lo general, todo es negociable.

Explicación de la doble agencia inmobiliaria

Si el mismo agente inmobiliario representa tanto al comprador como al vendedor, el agente se convierte entonces en un “agente dual” y recibe la cantidad total de la comisión inmobiliaria. Es por eso que a los agentes de listados les encanta cuando también encuentran al comprador además de representar al vendedor. ¡Hablando de un pago enorme!

Como un agente inmobiliario en Orlando, esto me ha pasado innumerables veces. Sin embargo, a muchos agentes inmobiliarios no les gusta representar a ambas partes porque los coloca en la incómoda situación de tener que trabajar para ambos compradores, lo que a veces podría convertirse en un conflicto de intereses.

¿Qué cubre exactamente la comisión de un agente inmobiliario?

Los propietarios sin duda tienen la opción de vender o comprar su casa “Sin intermediarios” (por el propietario), pero cuando descubren la tremenda cantidad de tiempo y trabajo que requiere, por lo general terminan contratando a un agente inmobiliario. Los agentes inmobiliarios ofrecen una amplia gama de servicios como: fijar el precio correcto de la casa, promocionarla [en el Servicio de Listado Múltiples, redes sociales, etc.], las negociaciones e incluso guiar a los propietarios durante el cierre.

Un agente inmobiliario con experiencia puede ayudarle a obtener el mejor precio por su casa mientras maneja todo el estrés que conlleva vender una propiedad. Se lo digo por experiencia... ¡los buenos agentes inmobiliarios se ganan el dinero que cobran!

¿Necesita pruebas? Eche un vistazo a estas cifras... Una encuesta nacional reciente realizada en 2019 encontró que un típico Venta por dueño La vivienda se vendió por $195,000, en comparación con los $245,000 que se habrían obtenido con la ayuda de un agente inmobiliario, según la Asociación Nacional de Agentes Inmobiliarios®.

Eso significa que las viviendas puestas a la venta a través de un agente inmobiliario se vendieron por $50,000 más que las que se vendieron sin agente. Quizás por eso un impresionante 92% de los propietarios recurrió a un agente inmobiliario para vender su casa.

¿Son negociables las comisiones de los agentes inmobiliarios?

Como solía decir todo el tiempo mi primer maestro de bienes raíces: “Todo en el sector inmobiliario es negociable”. Aunque aquí en Florida lo normal es una comisión de 5% a 6%, no hay ninguna ley estatal ni federal que establezca las tasas de comisión.

Esto significa que si desea vender su casa, ciertamente puede pedirle a su agente inmobiliario que reduzca su comisión; sin embargo, no están obligados a hacerlo.

Una cosa a considerar es la siguiente: su agente inmobiliario debe pagar la comercialización de su casa con la comisión que recibe después del cierre; una menor comisión podría significar un presupuesto de marketing más bajo para su casa, lo que podría traducirse en más tiempo en el mercado.

Dicho esto, no cuesta nada pedirle a tu agente que baje su comisión. A la mayoría de los agentes inmobiliarios no les ofenderá [¿a quién le importa si lo hacen?] y lo peor que te pueden decir es que no. Si andas justo con los números, puedes pedirles que te cobren una tarifa fija por ayudarte a poner la casa en venta, comunicarte con los compradores y redactar el contrato, pero no obtendrás un servicio completo por parte del agente o la agencia inmobiliaria con una tarifa fija. La mayoría de los agentes no ofrecen un contrato de corretaje por tarifa fija, por lo que tendrás que buscar un poco y estar preparado para hacer gran parte del trabajo pesado tú mismo.

Comprar o vender una casa probablemente será una de las transacciones financieras más grandes de su vida, así que asegúrese de encontrar un agente inmobiliario con experiencia en el que pueda confiar para hacer un gran trabajo. Este no es el momento de contratar a su sobrino que acaba de obtener su licencia hace 3 semanas...

Otras cosas que debes saber sobre las comisiones de bienes raíces

Cada detalle sobre la comisión de bienes raíces de un agente debe detallarse en el contrato de exclusividad de venta que usted firmó cuando contrató al agente. Un contrato de exclusividad típico también debe indicar cuánto tiempo lo representará el agente. Por lo general, un contrato de exclusividad en la Florida dura entre 90 y 120 días.

Como vendedor de una vivienda, usted quiere un agente inmobiliario que le consiga el precio de venta más alto y óptimo y los términos que desea, pero los mejores agentes inmobiliarios no son baratos. Como dice el viejo dicho con la mayoría de las cosas en la vida... obtienes lo que pagas.

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What’s the Difference Between a Real Estate Agent and a Broker?

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora


Whether you’re buying or selling a home, you’re going to need some help. So the question becomes… Who should you hire? Unless you’re in the industry, It can be quite confusing to figure out the different types of real estate professionals and what the difference is. Real estate professionals go by a few different names such as real estate agent, real estate broker, and of course, Realtor. So what exactly is the difference between the three?

Many times these different titles are used interchangeably because most people don’t know the difference between them. However, there are some important differences between them as well as special requirements for using certain titles.

Following is a list of the most common real estate professional titles you will come across and what exactly they mean.

The Real Estate Agent

The real estate agent is a licensed professional who helps people to buy, sell and rent different types of real estate such as residential and commercial.

For them to get the license, the state requires the individual to complete pre-licensing training. Depending on the jurisdiction, the number of training hours required can vary quite a bit. In the state of Florida, for example, real estate agents have to take 63 hours of pre-licensing training and in California, applicants must complete 135 hours of pre-licensing training before they can test for their license.

Once the training has been completed, applicants must then take a state-issued written exam. In Florida for example, the real estate sale associate exam is a 100-question multiple-choice test. 45 of the questions are on real estate principles and practices, and another 45 questions cover Florida and Federal laws, the additional 10 questions require math calculations.

Once they’ve passed this exam, they can now call themselves a “real estate agent” and will most likely join a real estate brokerage where they can begin working with home buyers and sellers. New agents will also benefit tremendously from being around experienced agents.

The Real Estate Broker

A real estate broker is someone who has been a real estate agent for at least 2 years and has taken additional educational courses beyond the agent level as required by the state.

Pretty similar to a real estate agent’s exam, each state has its broker exam requirements and continued education. The additional requirements cover topics such as contracts, insurance, ethics, and taxes in a more in-depth level of understanding than what was taught to them as a new agent.

Brokers are also required to be knowledgeable about legal issues and how the law pertains to operating a brokerage, investing in real estate, new construction, and even property management. It’s because of this that brokers should have a more in-depth knowledge of the real estate business in their state.

To take the state broker’s exam and get a license, real estate agents must have at least 2 years of experience as a licensed agent under a licensed broker in the state of Florida.

Typically, there are 3 different types of real estate brokers and each one has a different role to play.

There are three types of real estate brokers, each with subtle differences in the role they perform:

The Principal Broker: is the person in an office that oversees all the other agents in that particular office. This person is also in charge of making sure that agents are complying and operating within state and national real estate law. The Principal broker mainly gets paid a cut of every commission of every agent in that office. Some brokers also receive an annual salary in addition to their commission.

The Broker Associate: This real estate professional aka affiliate broker possesses a broker’s license but is working under a managing broker. This agent is usually not responsible for overseeing other agents.

The Realtor: For a real estate agent to become a Realtor they need to become a member of the National Association of Realtors®. When you become a member, you are agreeing to uphold the standards of the Realtor Association as well as its code of ethics.

The NAR holds agents to a higher standard beyond what the state requires. Realtors also have access to valuable real estate market data as well as transaction management services and several other tools which can be extremely helpful in the real estate business.

The Listing Agent

The listing agent in a real estate transaction represents the seller and they are the ones that list the property. If you’re looking to sell your house, then you’d be wise to hire a listing agent, as they specialize in selling homes. They help in countless ways including pricing the home, home improvement advice, marketing, open houses, negotiating, scheduling showings, and closing.

Just like any other type of agent, listing agents don’t receive any money unless the home gets sold. When and if it sells, the typical real estate sales commission in Florida is between 5 and 6% [to be split between the listing agent and buyer’s agent]. Although, as I learned in my very first real estate class… “everything in real estate is negotiable”.

The Buyer’s Agent

Like it says in the title, buyer’s agents represent people who are buying a home. Like the listing agent, a buyer’s agent has a whole list of tasks to complete to ensure a successful home buying experience for their clients. Buyer’s agents can help with things like finding the right house, negotiations, recommending mortgage brokers or financial institutions.

Just like the listing agent, the buyer’s agent is dependent on the deal going through to get paid from the sale of the property. This is good news for the home buyer because it doesn’t cost them anything to hire a buyer’s agent.

Finding The Right Real Estate Professional For You

Most people start their search on Google, which is a good starting place. However, it’s also good practice to find an agent which specializes in the area where you are buying… or selling. Once you have a few potential candidates selected, meet with them in person, ask questions and check their online reviews. By doing this you’ll know if they’re a good fit for you moving forward.

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What Does A Real Estate Agent Do?

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora


A Typical Day in the Life of a Real Estate Agent

Technically, as defined in the Cambridge Dictionary, a real estate agent is someone whose business is to arrange the selling or buying of homes, vacant land, offices, or buildings for the sellers or buyers. Technically, it’s an accurate definition, however, it doesn’t tell you everything a real estate agent does on a day-to-day basis.

In my world as a Real Estate Broker, each day is different and unique; while this can seem to be an appealing aspect of being a real estate professional, it can be quite challenging, depending on the Realtor’s skill and experience level. So, exactly what does a Realtor do on a typical day?

Managing a Real Estate Brokerage

The majority of real estate agents [especially newbies] typically work inside an office provided by the broker that employs them. This is good in the sense that they can discuss opportunities and exchange ideas with their co-workers, get updates on new listings, as well as discuss buyers’ and sellers’ needs.

There are quite a few administrative tasks that occur every day at the core of a successful real estate brokerage. Depending on the size of the brokerage they may have someone who works as an administrator to make sure an office is a well-oiled machine.

A good Realtor

  • Stays current on local and regional market activity and industry news.
  • Consistently researches active, pending, and sold listings in their farm area.
  • Maintains, completes, submits, and files any paperwork, such as real estate contracts, records, etc. with the proper agencies.
  • Coordinates and schedules appointments, showings, open houses, and any meetings with clients and other agents.
  • Develops and implements marketing plans for listings and creates marketing materials like fliers and other promotional materials.
  • Responds to incoming emails and phone calls
  • Keeps their website updated with fresh content and is active on social media and real estate blogs.

Most successful real estate agents hire an assistant to assist with the day-to-day activities, allowing the agent or broker to focus on more important activities.

Real Estate Agents Sell Themselves In Addition To Selling Homes

Being able to consistently attract new clients is crucial to the success of a real estate agent. Below are a few ways a real estate agent can attract new clients:

Marketing Themselves. Competition is fierce in the world of real estate. A successful agent should have a niche in their local real estate market and become an expert in that niche. This helps differentiate agents out there and what they specialize in. A successful real estate agent has a monthly budget set for marketing themselves through their website, fliers, video, and pay-per-click advertising.

Generating Leads. Generating leads via networking with other real estate agents as well as anyone else they come in contact with such as friends, family, business associates, and so on is an extremely valuable asset to a successful Realtor.

Treating Everyone as a Prospect. Everyone lives in a home, condo, townhouse, or apartment. Therefore, to a real estate agent, anyone they meet will eventually need to buy, sell or rent a home. A real estate agent spends a substantial amount of time cultivating leads and meeting with potential buyers and sellers.

Listing Agents

Listing agents specialize in working with homeowners who need to sell their homes. They have a responsibility to understand the needs of a seller with every new listing.

They must demonstrate to the homeowner their knowledge, marketing abilities, and negotiation skills. A successful listing agent must be an expert at researching the current market activity and comparable properties to determine an accurate listing price for your property. Here are some of the responsibilities of a listing agent.

  • Staging The Home: It’s the agent’s responsibility to advise the seller on tips to make sure the home shows off it’s best features during showings. A bit of de-cluttering and some touch up paint can go a long way in making a home look its best. Depending on the situation, you may want to have the home fully staged prior to listing it.
  • Take Quality Photographs: The listing agent is required to take [or hire somebody to take] quality photos inside and out in order to prepare a proper listing presentation and advertising materials. In addition.
  • Pre-screening and Negotiating With Potential Buyers: Your listing agent is in charge of making sure potential buyers are pre-qualified before showing the house. Once you have secured a qualified buyer the agent will be in charge of helping negotiate the best price.

Buyers Agents

Buyers agents are real estate agents that specialize in working with buyers. Their responsibilities include meeting with potential buyers to determine what their real estate needs are as well as to help them get pre-qualified for a mortgage if needed.

Once the agent knows exactly what the potential buyer is looking for, they will alert the buyer as soon as a property meeting their needs hits the market and schedule a showing.

Another option that agents utilize to narrow down a search for a buyer or to perform research on the competition for sellers is the MLS tour. This allows agents and brokers to quickly gather first-hand knowledge on several available properties in the local market.

Developing Your Skills
Although continuing education is a requirement to maintain a real estate license, it is also an opportunity to develop the skills that will keep an agent at the top of their game or open a door to new real estate opportunities within the regional or local market. Continual development is crucial to the long-term success of real estate agents and brokers. Continuing education not only widens their scope of expertise, but also improves their proficiency, knowledge, and marketability as real estate professionals.

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The Importance Of Orlando Realtors

Publicado el por Jenny Zamora

When buying or selling a house many people tend to overlook the importance of enlisting the help of Agentes inmobiliarios de Orlando. These people believe that using a real estate agent is a waste of money. They’re convinced that they are better off taking on the task themselves. Saving money isn’t the only motivating factor for people not wanting to hire a realtor. Unfortunately for some, it’s because of a bad experience they’ve had in the past or something bad happened to a loved one.

Although these may seem like legitimate reasons to dismiss the idea of hiring an agente inmobiliario en Orlando, assuming that all realtors are bad news can actually hurt you more than help you. It’s just like any profession in the world, amongst all the good ones, there are bound to be some bad ones. The truth is that hiring a good realtor is crucial to be successful when buying or selling a home.

Just imagine a young family that wants to buy their very first home, yet they are completely clueless about the real estate process. However, they still want to take on the task by themselves because they know how to use a computer and they heard how easy it is from their friend [who probably never bought a house either].

After reading a few articles on the Orlando real estate market, they feel like they’re practically realtors themselves. This is not good! You may be able to gain some basic knowledge about the market on your own but this is a far cry from knowing how to handle a real estate transaction, especially when problems arise…like they always do!

Thinking that you know about how the real estate process works when you really don’t, can end up costing thousands of dollars and even land you in hot water if you’re not careful. Realtors go through countless hours of training on real estate law as well as how to complete a transaction from A to Z.

Experienced Orlando Realtors are equipped to handle unexpected issues that are common in most transactions. This is why it’s so important to have a licensed real estate agent in your corner to look out for your best interests.

Orlando Listing Agents Are Crucial When Selling

Homeowners that are serious about selling a home would also be wise to enlist the help of a realtor. Selling a home without the proper guidance of a professional can easily lead to disaster, especially for those that need to sell their house fast for top dollar.

Have you ever seen a home with a “For Sale By Owner” sign in the front yard? Then six months or even a year later you see that same home with the same crappy sign? This is usually a sign [no pun intended] of the owner not pricing the home correctly and or lack of exposure. By using the help of a real estate agent, not only will know what price to list it for but your home will be seen as being “for sale” by thousands of other realtors and their potential buyers. This will give you the best chance at selling your Orlando home fast for top dollar.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying all realtors are perfect. As a matter of fact, I’ve had the displeasure of working with some really awful agents in the past. And many times people just aren’t satisfied with their agent because of one reason or another [This is common when people just hire the first agent they speak with instead of taking the time to interview several of them]. 

However, you should never neglect the importance of these professionals and the role they play in the real estate process. Whether you buying or selling a home, the need for help from a licensed real estate agent is inevitable.

 

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