Sacramento CA Homes For Sale – News You Can Use
Hi Everyone
When you start looking for a home for sale in Sacramento what do the so called experts tell you to do? They give you a checklist of how to select a Real Estate agent. Some agents think that having every designation under the sun qualifies them to be the best. Some agents say I work for the biggest real estate company, therefore I am the best. But getting back to the checklist, it might surprise you to know I only have three things on my checklists that I consider relevant.
1. How well will you, your wife and the agent get along together. This is the most important item on my checklist. When I have a new client possibly interested in my services I prefer our first meeting be a nice conversation over a cup of coffee or tea. We sit down ask each other questions and you find out about me and I get a better idea of how I can help you find the home you are looking for at the price you want to pay. This saves us a lot of wasted time. If you think that I am not the agent suited for you thats fine, we part ways and all we lost was a few minutes and of course I am out the cost of a couple of cups of coffee.
2. The next most important item is that the agent MUST be an Exclusive Buyers Agent. This is the agent that only looks out for your interest and he/she and the company they work for NEVER takes listings, they never represent sellers. This is the only way you can be sure your agent is on your side during the negotiations.
3. Speaking of Negotiations. Ask your perspective agent what kind of training he/she has in Negotiations. You will probably never see this on any other checklist, but what are you hiring me to do. Thats right you want me to find your home and negotiate the sale. Most agent only do half of this, they will help you find a home, thats it. A little bit of information for you. I recently attended two solid days of training on Negotiations. This two day course certified me as a Certified Negotiation Expert. The only reason I bring this up is this is fairly new training. It has been offered here in the Sacramento area only twice. My class had 18 people in it, I don’t know how many passed the course but 18 attended. I don’t know how many was in the first session but if we assume 18 then that means 36 people have taken the training in Sacramento. So what are the odds that your perspective agent has had any training in Negotiations.
So in recap my checklists cosists of getting along with the agent (feel comfortable with him/her). Use only an Exclusive Buyers Agent ( you need someone you can be sure to represent only you). If you want someone to negotiate for you make sure they have had the right training, don’t trust the negotiations to just anyone.
Sincerely,
Wes Clark
