Expert Tips To Help You Find A Great Real Estate Agent

Most people only speak with one real estate agent, even though a lot of experts say you should interview at least a few. So, how do you pick a good one, and how do you select prospective agents to interview in the first place?tips on finding a great real estate agent

Let’s start with the selection process, after all there are about 9,500 real estate agents in Orlando to choose from. Here are three ways to narrow the field.

First, personal referrals are a tried and true method of selecting a prospective real estate agent. Most of us probably know someone that has purchased or sold real estate in the last six months or so. Ask your friends, family or co-workers who they used and what they thought of them. Second, if you are new to the area or cannot get a good personal referral try review sites like Yelp or Angie’s List. Third, try Googling your neighborhood or town for real estate such as “Orlando real estate” to see who pops up. Odds are, an agent that shows up in these results is tech savvy and it likely means more experienced.

Now that you have a few agents to interview what should you look for in a good agent? Ask them questions about their qualifications:

“How long have you been in real estate?”
“How many homes do you sell each year?”

What is a good answer to these questions is hard to say. Let’s face it someone who has only been in real estate for a year may be a much better fit for you than someone who has been around for ages. If a more direct connection with your agent is what you are looking for, you may not want a big team that sells 50 or 100 properties a year. If you like the team approach, then you may not want to speak with an agent that works alone. I do think if an agent is selling fewer than six properties a year they may not be very “in touch” with the market. Here in Orlando, a huge percentage of the real estate agents sold fewer than two properties last year. Ask about the market, and see what they can tell you about what is going on in your area.

If you are selling ask them to put together a comparative market analysis (CMA) and check out the properties they are comparing to your home. Try not to list with an agent just because they gave you the highest value for your property. Buying or selling, you want an agent that asks you questions too. If they don’t know what your situation is, how can they know how to best help you? Keep this in mind too. Once you select a real estate agent, you may be working closely with them for several weeks or even several months. Ask yourself if this is someone you want to spend that much time working with.

The 5 Fastest Growing Cities in Florida

Whether you like living in a highly populated city or not, it is no secret that larger cities often times have a lot more to offer. In regards to economic growth of a particular area there is a direct correlation between the growth rate of a city and floridas fastest growing citiessuch things as higher employment rates and better housing markets among many other positive benefits. The nice thing about population growth in a particular area is the hidden driving factors like a new industry or large business moving in or it may be just a desirable cost effective area to live.  Whatever the reason is, just remember that if you want to benefit from a booming city than the earlier you jump on board the better.  Florida has many great cities but here is a list of 5 of Florida’s fastest growing cities.

1. Orlando

First and foremost and probably the largest city in the state, Orlando, known by the locals as “The city beautiful” with a population growth rate of 1.82% and a fantastic unemployment rate of 5.76% which is several points below the national average.

2. Cape Coral

Second is a smaller town of Cape Coral which is direct neighbors to the more well-known town Fort Myers.  The population growth rate of Cape Coral is currently around 2.41% and yet still a low unemployment rate of 6.22%.  Surprisingly this city was one of the hardest hit during the economic housing fall, good to see its coming back.

3. Palm Bay

Next we are brought to Palm Bay, Florida, while on the east coast this is a great beach city having a population increase of around 1.53% and an unemployment rate at 6.6%.  The average income in this town is right above $60,000 which could be greatly supported by such companies like NASA, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and soon to be Northrop Grumman.

4. North Port

Coming in at number four would be North Port, Florida a location that piggy backs the more well-known metropolitan area Sarasota.  North Port is in a wonderful area on the west coast with white sand beaches, turquoise colored water and beautiful sunsets.  This town has boasted a 1.42% population growth rate along with a 6% unemployment rate.

5. Windermere

Back to the intercostal geographic area, this small town in Orange County Florida known for its rather large houses and the Arnold Palmer golf tournament Windermere makes the ranking at number five.  With about a 29% population growth since the year 2000 this has been a substantial increase even according the national level.  More known for its original basketball super star Shaquille O’Neal and golf legend Tiger Woods there is no question this is a very desirable city to live in.

Sure, getting on board with a city that is up and coming has its benefits but it wouldn’t be your first priority unless you were looking for purely investment purposes.  On the other hand you may be in a community that is growing with excellent supporting industry and opportunity.  If you are looking for more information on these communities I suggest using the tools offered on www.MoversAtlas.com.

6 Tips on Buying Your First Home

Buying your first home is a very exciting time in your life but it can also be a very stressful and confusing experience. For that reason we came up with 6 tips to help you through the process of buying your first home!help for first time home buyers

1. Attend a First-Time Home Buyer’s Seminar to learn all the ins and outs of buying and owning a home. You will be able to ask questions about securing loans for payment of your mortgage, what types of things to look for in a home and even learn about maintaining and repairing your home when you get it. The best part about it is that many of these seminars are free.

2. Seek Pre-approval for a Loan. This will allow you to have a better idea of just how much you will be able to borrow. It also lets the seller know how serious and committed you are to purchasing a new home.

3. Find a Right Real Estate Agent. We talked about this in a previous post so be sure to check that out for further details on how to find and pick the right one. This will be very important in the home buying process. Bear in mind that there are Buyer agents and Seller agents.

4. Make Sure You Know What You Can Afford. This is another subject that was mentioned in a previous post. There are numerous affordability calculators available online through many different websites which will be able to help you gauge you price range. This goes hand in hand with calculating your monthly mortgage payments. You want to make sure that you can afford it and that the monthly costs will not be a surprise to you when calculating you budget.

5. Don’t Forget about the Closing Costs. These are charges by the lender and include title and settlement fees, taxes and homeowner’s insurance.

6. Lastly, Look at the Big Picture. Remember that a home is an investment and with it there may be many hidden costs associated. You should take into account possible repairs and renovations prior to purchasing the home. Also remember to try to separate what you want from what you actually need in a home.

Your first time will be very exciting but you want to ensure that you are making a wise decision and the right decision.

If you enjoyed reading this post you will find the main Mover’s Atlas site even more Interesting! There you can discover important information about what surrounds your current or future Florida home, give it a look: Mover’s Atlas.