Real Estate Agents
When you start your home search, many begin on the internet. A quick Google search will produce 1000s of homes for sale in your area. If you find a home that you desire on a real estate site, you can almost always see the photos online.
It is even becoming more common to take a virtual tour or see a video tour of the home. If you have purchased a home before to finding out the worth of the house is not too hard. You can check what the current owner bought it for, check the real estate taxes, or have an knowledgeable real estate agent run comparables. Basically, they compare what has sold in that area that is of comparable specification and can tell you with great accuracy what this house should sell for. While the simplicity of the internet is convenient and useful, often times you can be lead astray. The volume of details and strain of verifying its precision is a hurdle many would prefer a professional to handle. With so many websites to use online a home buyer will get overwhelmed with data that is often bad.
Even from the most respected websites the data is often old within days. Real estate agents must obtain a license in every state. A licensed real estate agent has access to information that normal home buyers do not. The most up to date information on every house in their location. This database the real estate agents use has to be kept up to date by all participating agents and brokers or they will be fined. frequently they have real estate information that has not even been submitted yet. This frequently happens inside of big brokerages where many agents work together to guarantee their clients get the best properties in their area.
The database that real estate agents use is called the Multiple Listing Service or MLS for short. Every place in the United States has an MLS. While some MLSs cover more or less area depending on the population of those areas. The first purpose of an MLS is to allow participating real estate agents to make offers on houses to other agents when they find a buyer. The MLS home data is often accessible through other websites on the internet. Although, there is no need of third party websites to maintain their information updated and accurate for most situations, for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) properties cannot be directly added to an MLS, because the owners is not a participating member of the local Realtor association.
FSBO properties can be difficult to find, although internet savvy FSBO homes are able to get the word out on their property today.
What is a Realtor?
frequently real estate agent and realtor are used interchangeably. However, they are not technically the same. A Realtor is a licensed real estate agent who is also a member of the National Association of Realtors. Realtors are required to abide with a strict code of ethics and conduct. Often real estate agents now have their own sites with their area MLS information displayed. Along with non-real estate sites that offer information on FSBO, foreclosure sites, county assessor sites, and valuation and marketing information websites. The abundance of real estate information on the internet makes sorting through and actually understanding more difficult than ever. Despite the mountain of real estate data available, many homes are still purchased through real estate agents listings on the MLS. With the rise of the internet the houses listed on the MLS are there for all to see. Gone are the days of print advertising. With so much real estate data existing it can be tricky to choose the best real estate agent for you. Many agents specialize in a type of property or in specific client. Choosing the one that best fits your needs will allow for a smoother home buying experience than with a real estate agent that you don’t get along with. All experienced agents will have reviews available online for you to look through as well.