Real Estate Agents
When you begin your home search, most start on the internet. A fast Google search will generate 1000s of homes for sale in your area. If you find a home that you like on a real estate website, you can almost always see the pictures 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 house before to finding out the worth of the home is not too hard. You can inquire 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 community 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, frequently you can be lead astray. The volume of information and strain of verifying its precision is a hurdle most would like a professional to deal with. With so many resources to use online a home buyer will get overwhelmed with data that is often incomplete.
Even from the most trusted websites the data is often outdated within days. Real estate agents must secure a license in every state. A licensed real estate agent has access to data that normal people do not. The most accurate data on every home in their location. This database the real estate agents use has to be maintained up to date by all participating agents and brokers or they will be fined. frequently they hold real estate information that has not even been submitted yet. This frequently happens inside of big brokerages where many agents work together to make sure their buyers 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 location in the United States has an MLS. While some MLSs cover more or less area be contingent on on the number of residents of those locations. The primary purpose of an MLS is to allow participating real estate agents to make offers on properties to other agents when they find a buyer. The MLS home data is often accessible through other websites on the web. Although, there is no requirement of third party websites to keep their information updated and accurate for most occurrences, for-sale-by-owner (FSBO) homes cannot be straight 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 web savvy FSBO houses are able to get the word out about their home nowadays.
What is a Realtor?
Oftentimes real estate agent and realtor are used interchangeably. often, they are not technically the same. A Realtor is a licensed real estate agent who is also a subscriber 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 websites with their area MLS data displayed. Along with non-real estate sites that offer data on FSBO, foreclosure sites, county assessor sites, and valuation and marketing information websites. The abundance of real estate data on the internet makes sorting through and actually figuring out harder than ever before. Despite the mountain of real estate information available, many properties are still purchased through real estate agents listings on the MLS. With the rise of the internet the houses listed on the MLS are available for all to see. Gone are the days of print advertising. With so much real estate information available it can be difficult to choose the best real estate agent for you. Most 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.