Pinecrest Florida Real Estate and More...

I have just received the
International Sterling Society Award
Top 3.3% of All Coldwell Banker
Sales Associate in the United States

Top 8% of All Coldwell Banker Sales Associates Worldwide

and was recognized as a
2009 Miami-Dade County Top 100 Sales Associate

Today I was surprised to have been informed that I am one of the top 1,000 Sales Associates for NRT.  NRT operates under the banners of Coldwell Banker, ERA, Sotheby’s International Realty and The Corcoran Group.

"Perseverance.  Determination.  Resourcefulness…earned you the distinction of being named to NRT's Top 1,000 Sales Associates…Thank you for all you do to serve as a role model for both our company and our industry."

The full letter can be found here.

When looking for an agent to sell your property you need to do your homework.  The majority of agents are self employed and they are all very different from each other.  Being self employed, they run their own business, even if they work under the same brokerage company.  Unless you have received a trusted recommendation or are already knowledgeable with a particular agent, you need to interview at least two agents.  Here are some questions you should ask of them and yourself:

1. How long have you been practicing real estate?  Are you a full-time agent?  This well let you know if real estate is their profession or it's a part-time endeavor.  How educated in her field is she, what titles and designations does she hold?  How available will she be to me?  What degree of personal service can I expect from you?  Ex. Do you show your listings or do you send an assistant or other agent?

2. Does he specialize in the area where my property is located?  If an agent says "I practice all over Miami (or any other large city)", I'd be careful.  Miami is a big city, how well can he know all the schools, all the traffic patterns, what values are doing in that particular area, which agents practice in the area, etc?

3. How will she market my property?  How tech savvy is she?  Show me.  The majority of Buyers go to the internet first, how well will I be exposed there?  Does she have a top notch web site - do all the links work?  How easy can a Buyer get in touch with her?

You are inviting this agent into your home and into an important phase of your life, so in my opinion, the following "gut" questions are extremely important:

4. Do I feel comfortable; am I at ease with him?  You will be working closely with your agent; can you speak freely with him or her?  Is this a person of integrity, will I be treated honestly?  When I ask questions does he give me a straight answer?

I hope these questions help you in your decision.  When you choose a competent professional, she will work very hard to make sure that your transaction proceeds as smoothly as possible.

In 2003 I performed a search to see how many actively licensed real estate agents there were in the 33156 area, this is primarily Pinecrest Florida.  There were fourteen pages of just names and license numbers.  A few months ago I ran the same search and came up with six pages of names and license numbers.

What does this mean?  Well, I'm sure that some have retired and some have moved away, but pretty much this means that those folks who entered this field for the wrong reasons are gone.  They are back doing what they used to do.

If you're going to be working with a REALTOR, as a Buyer or a Seller, the minimum you should ask an agent is; how many consecutive years have you been a full time real estate agent and how many National Association of REALTOR (NAR) recognized designations (not company designations or certificates) do you hold?

Real estate school mainly teaches you how to pass the state exam.  I think that getting a real estate license is a very easy thing to do.  But, to be a good real estate agent - that takes time and experience!  In my opinion, one needs at least three years of being a full time real estate agent to really understand the business. 

REALTORS who have NAR designations are educated professionals who have studied and invested their time and money to earn their designations.  They are truly dedicated professionals who value education and the higher standard of service they provide their clients.

So once you have found an agent that meets these two criteria's - listen!