How Choosing a Real Estate Agent Can Cost or Save You Thousands

Introduction 

Welcome to the Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty Show, where hosts Rick Kendrick and co-host Karey Kendrick take you on a captivating journey through the world of real estate. In this episode, we explore the critical topic of "How Choosing a Real Estate Agent Can Cost or Save You Thousands."

Have you ever wondered about the right questions to ask before hiring a real estate agent? Wonder no more!

Don't miss out on this enriching experience. Listen in now and take a step closer to achieving your real estate goals!

Tips for How to Choose a Real Estate Agent

When it comes to buying or selling a property, the decision to work with a real estate agent is a significant one. The right agent can make the process smoother, potentially saving you thousands of dollars, while the wrong choice could end up costing you more than you bargained for. Let's explore the factors that can make the difference between a successful real estate transaction and a costly mistake.

Experience Matters

One of the key factors in selecting a real estate agent is their experience. An experienced agent brings a wealth of knowledge about the local market, pricing trends, negotiation skills, and legal aspects of real estate transactions. This knowledge can be invaluable in helping you make informed decisions.

Pricing Expertise

One of the most critical aspects of buying or selling a property is setting the right price. An experienced real estate agent can accurately assess the market value of a property, preventing you from overpaying as a buyer or underpricing your property as a seller. An agent who understands the local market can help you navigate the delicate balance between getting the best price and making a quick sale.

Negotiation Skills

Negotiating in real estate can be complex, and having a skilled negotiator on your side can make a significant difference in the final outcome. A skilled agent can help you get the best deal, whether you're buying or selling. They can negotiate on your behalf, ensuring that you get the most favorable terms.

Access to Resources

Established real estate agents have a network of professionals that they work with, including home inspectors, appraisers, contractors, and legal experts. This network can be beneficial, especially when unexpected issues arise during the buying or selling process. Access to trusted resources can save you time, money, and headaches.

Marketing Power

For sellers, a good real estate agent has strong marketing capabilities. They can effectively promote your property to a broader audience, increasing the likelihood of a quick sale at a desirable price. Their marketing expertise can ensure that your property is showcased in the best possible light, attracting potential buyers.

Avoiding Pitfalls

Real estate transactions can be riddled with pitfalls, and an experienced agent can help you avoid them. From understanding complex contracts to identifying potential red flags in a property, a skilled agent can guide you through the process, minimizing the risk of costly mistakes.

Conclusion

Choosing the right real estate agent is a crucial decision that can significantly impact your financial outcome when buying or selling a property. While it's tempting to consider going it alone to save on agent fees, the potential savings in the final sale price, negotiation outcomes, and avoiding costly mistakes far outweigh the cost of a skilled agent's services.

Do your research, ask for referrals, and select an experienced agent who understands the local market. In the end, their expertise can save you thousands, making the process smoother, more profitable, and ultimately, more rewarding.

Transcript of Episode #5

Welcome to the your Home Sold Guaranteed Radio Show, where you get advice you can trust, from the latest real estate trends to the best mortgage rates, from Curve Appeal to Home Warranty. This is the show that will help you save and make the most money when it comes to buying or selling your most valuable asset. Now here's your host, broker and founder of your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty of Florida, rick Kendrick.

Rick Kendrick, with your Home Sold, guaranteed Realty, it's another great Sunday morning. I had my second cup of coffee, my broker and my wife, carrie Kendrick, is with me. How you doing, carrie, this morning.

Doing great. Happy Sunday to all of our listeners, yeah.

Another busy week in real estate.

Always a busy week in real estate. Yes, it was.

It was a very busy week. Putting listings together, Getting them ready to go on to the market is something that we really concentrate a lot on during that week, not only getting a professional photographer out there to take pictures because we wanted to be perfect. Pictures become an important factor. In fact, the first five clicks that you have are very, very vital to getting people to take a look at it. So, Carrie, we're going to have a pretty good topic today, don't you think?

Absolutely Looking forward to it.

Yeah, 10 questions to ask before you hire an agent. Now, to be honest with you, whenever I go on to listings, there are not too many sellers that ask these questions with me. Now, is that saying that they don't know what to ask? I think that is it, so we're going to get into the nitty-gritty of that. But before that, Carrie, our last shows that we've had people have been writing into us and texting us and calling us about a few questions, and I think you jotted down a few and I wanted to bring those to the forefront here.

Yes, I have several here. We love getting questions from our listeners Really adds an additional element to the show that makes it fun. So the first one we have here for you to tackle, rick, is when is the best time to put your home on the market? Now that we're in summer, is it important for folks to get it moving?

you know, as far as being out of school, Well, you know, I think the very, very, very first question that comes to mind is why are you selling? Is this the right time for you to sell? Do you have to sell right now? And that question, right there, gives me the blueprint on how I'm going to present my presentation to them and how we're going to strategize to put the deal together for them to market their property. The other thing is is the property ready to sell? One of the reasons why people come to us okay and they say hey, listen, I'd like you to come out and give me a free market evaluation. Well, it's a little bit more than just giving you the price. What I do is I say listen, let's take a walk around the house, let me give you some tips on what to do and what not to do. That will save you some money but, more importantly, will improve the price. Now I've had sellers come to me say Rick, let me, let me do this, let me just paint the whole house. Quite frankly, the potential buyer is going to walk in and, believe it or not, they may not like or favor the colors that you have there, so I may be able to save you some money. Does that make sense, carrie?

Absolutely. So that sort of leads us into the second question, which is what you are alluding to, as far as stopping by the house, having your eyeballs on the property, so that that enables a seller to walk you through and show you the improvements that they have done over the years and then take that into consideration. Also, what I loved about what you just mentioned is the fact that you're giving them tips right on things that they can do that will actually end up making a big impact on the price. That may not cost a seller a lot of money, but could make a big impact on what it is that they're getting. So the next question we have is a scenario where they have a flat roof off the back of their Florida room and it's leaking and they would like to know whether or not they should have it repaired or totally redo the flat roof. What would your advice be?

Well, I'll just say this right up front. Number one they do need to get it repaired, okay, but I say to them that they need to have a licensed roofer come out there. You might as well tackle the problems in advance, because you know for a fact the buyer who's going to make an offer on that property is going to have a home inspection, and that certainly is going to come up to it.

Okay, and then our next question is they would like to put their home on the market in the fall, because after the new year they would like to make a move up to the Carolinas. Is it too early for you to come out and give them a home evaluation now, or would you advise for them to wait?

It's never too early for me to go out there and take a look at it. What I'll do is I'll go in there, like I said, and look at the place, give them some tips on what to do and getting it ready and prepared to go Now. I can give them some rough numbers on what the house is going to go on the market for. But in reality, until we get to that point when we're 30 days away from putting it on the market, that's when we can zero in onto the price, you've got to take in consideration, obviously, the market conditions at that point when we get ready to go on to the market. But certainly I need to go out there as soon as they want me to take a look at the property.

And to put a plan together right.

Absolutely.

Okay. So the other issue that our local homeowner wrote in about is the fact that they live in a country club community, okay and they obviously have a huge membership equity requirement for a buyer to buy in once if they were to purchase their home. How does that sort of thing affect the timeframe in terms of how long it's going to take you to sell their home?

Well, as we all know, it takes a special buyer who is looking for that type of situation, a total membership where they're catering to them in every aspect of it golf, tennis, these things kind of narrow down your market as far as selling. So it may take a little bit longer to get a contract, but what it really does is that we are able, under that scenario is zero in through our marketing, finding a particular person who's looking for those very exclusive amenities. Does that make sense?

Yes, it sure does.

So, kerry, we're going to move on here. So you know, we just love the opportunity to be on the radio here today and obviously we're out there every day meeting home sellers and buyers who do love and who we love talking to and looking at the aspect of looking at real estate. And if anyone out there is considering to make a move, we love the opportunity to interview for the job. You can give us a call at 561-9013334. Visit rickhasthebuyerscom After the break. We're going to have more to come. We're going to be getting into our main topic today and again, sellers pay attention to this one closely. It is how choosing a real estate agent can cost or save you thousands.

To schedule an appointment with Rick Kendrick to help you buy or sell your home, call 561-9013334 or go to rickhasthebuyerscom. Rick will be right back with more of the your Home Sold. Guaranteed Radio Show here on News Talk 850 WFTL.

You've been thinking of selling your home. You're kind of worried. Is the market getting soft? Mortgage rates are going up. I'm here to tell you Rick Kendrick, my friend, with your Home Sold, guaranteed Realty of Florida will take perfect care of you. Rick guarantees to sell your home or he'll buy it himself for cash. On average, rick gets home sellers 5% more than the average agent. So on a $500,000 house, that means an extra $25,000 in your pocket. A couple of years ago Rick helped Jill sell her home in Boca. That's where she raised her kids. But once she was an empty nester, it was time for something smaller, something easier to maintain. So she decided to rent. But have you heard about the landlords raising rent? That's what happened to Jill. Even with the increase. As much as Jill wanted to buy, she was kind of concerned about the higher interest rates and that's where Rick came to the rescue. He was able to help Jill buy a condo and, the best part, she's still paying less than what she was going to end up paying in rent. This is what Rick Kendrick's all about, I'm telling you. Call my friend, call me at 561-901-3333 or visit rickhasthebuyerscom.

Hi, I'm Eric Rosemary, branch manager at Cross Country Mortgage in Boca Raton. If you're deciding which lender to trust, whether you're purchasing or refinancing, I would love the opportunity to work with you. Over my 20-year career, I've helped close to 10,000 families buy or refinance the place they call home. Despite what you're hearing about interest rates, you might be surprised, as what we can do for you, let's talk, call or text me at 954-312-3104 or visit rosemarymortgageteamcom.

Hi, I'm Charisma Stave, Director of Operations and Licensed Closing Agent with Performance Title, your trusted partner in Florida. When the conversation with your realtor or mortgage broker turns to title insurance, make sure you ask for performance title. With over 17 years experience, we've become a dedicated member of our community and a valuable resource to our clients. Join the performance title family today. Call me at 954-748-4890 or visit us online at performtitlecom. That's performtitlecom.

If you're ready to buy or sell your home and would like to schedule an appointment with Rick, call 561-901-3333 or go to rickhasthebuyerscom. Now back to the your home sold guaranteed radio show and your host, rick Kendrick.

Welcome back In this segment. We'll be talking about how choosing a real estate agent can cost you or save you thousands. Remember their sellers they're interviewing for this job. So with that in mind, kerry, what do you think probably is the number one question?

So I think the number one question you would probably want to make sure that you're asking any agent who is, you know, in your home interviewing for the job of selling it for you is what's your marketing plan right Like? What is it that you're going to do to help me sell my home for the most amount of money right In the quickest time frame, with the least amount of hassle? And you want to be sitting across from an agent who has an answer to that question.

That's probably the main part of our presentation that we have. We have 16 key selling items that we go through before we even list the property. Our marketing plan not only includes the aspect of how we're going to present the property, but also how we're going to go through the process and setting up pricing strategies. Now sellers understand what I'm saying by pricing strategies. Pricing becomes a very crucial thing here in this market today. So if they're not talking to you about pricing strategies, their trust is going to go and list the price for what you think should offer. Now I'm not saying that's going to be a bad price, but I would say to you they need to show you comparables that have sold in that area. You look at these and you study them and, based on those market facts, that's what they would probably go ahead and listed at.

Yeah, so the marketing plan gets the eyeballs on the property right. So the better the home is presented to the buyers in the marketplace, the more demand that is created. So that does sort of go hand in hand with what your price is. We can get all the eyeballs on your property that we possibly can, but it also matters what your price is right, Because the buyers will eliminate your property online if it's not priced correctly.

Yeah, I think when you're marketing a property and when you initially get there with a seller and you walk around and you look at the situation, you make sure that everything is in order. If not, you offer creative ideas on how to make the property look marketable to them.

Yeah, and that's another good point that you bring up is that you're looking for an agent who has different right marketing systems in place than the average real estate agent. You're looking for an agent who has a budget right. In many instances, you know you could possibly be dealing with an agent who maybe just got their real estate license or who does it part time, and so they are not going to have the marketing budget or the marketing dollars to effectively market your property Like. This is a digital world right. So digital marketing okay, creating omnipresence around you know, listings that's an expensive proposition, so you need to make sure that the agent that you're sitting across from is willing to invest in you getting the results that you expect.

So results are the big thing and I can safely say that once we put the package together for them and we get it on the market in the first four or five days, if we're not getting results, as I tell the sellers, I'm coming back to talk to you because there's got to be something that we're missing here.

Without a doubt. So the complexities of the real estate industry, just the whole entire internet landscape, has changed the business. Okay, it's no longer practical for one agent to do everything. They can only be in so many places at one time. They can only know so much about topics. So it's almost like you need to strongly consider hiring a real estate team versus hiring a solo agent. Okay, because the team is going to have in place somebody who specializes in marketing, who knows how to run Google ads and and Facebook ads and retarget folks that are living in the vicinity of your home. They have a customer service person in the office who is providing you those weekly updates on a consistent basis. So communication is a big issue. So you want to hire a team who has that position in place so that you can make sure that you're getting regular updates about what's happening in you know, with your home. Also, you know follow up coordinators right, like there are people calling in on your signs. There are people online clicking on the various ads. When they pick up the phone and call, like, is somebody on the other line answering the call or is it going to voicemail and nobody's returning that call? So again, you know, really consider hiring a team versus a single agent. I would say that that's pretty important these days.

So don't be afraid to ask the agent questions. Remember this this is probably the one of the most important investments in your life. Your house is where you put most of your money into okay, so you want to make sure you're gonna protect this, just like when you go to a financial advisor. There's no reason for you not to be asking key questions here that strike a note for you that says wait a minute, maybe this person is really not a right fit for me. Now here's the other thing sellers. I just want to say this and don't take it the wrong way, but I have many sellers say well, I have a friend in real estate, I think I'm gonna go ahead and hire them. I would put them on the pedestal just like anybody else. If you think you're gonna hire a friend who's a real estate agent, believe me, it's the same thing. You got to put them up there and ask them these key questions. This may not be their full-time job. They may have just gotten their license. They may have not have a team behind them. Can they guarantee things for you? That's pretty important, okay, and of course, our name of our company is your home, so guarantee, not only will we sell it. But we're gonna back it up with certain key items that we do for the seller to make sure they completely understand what's happening and with the sale of their property and what's going on in the market every day.

So I think hiring friends or family members is something that you know we come across occasionally. Sellers will reach out to us and they want to explore us interviewing for the job, but they're hesitant because they do have a family member or they know of somebody in the business and they don't want to Step on their toes or hurt feelings. But the reality is is, as Rick mentioned, you know, selling this home is a big deal and it can be a very stressful time for everybody involved. There's also a financial component to it as well. So it may be better for you to just say I'd rather use a neutral party and keep our relationship intact. I think in the long run, what happens is that there are bumps in the road that could happen here and that you would infringe on your friendship with them, and you really don't want that the other big thing and this is actually one of the questions, that is, on the free report here that we're talking about, which, by the way, if you're interested in getting this free report, you can call or text Rick at 561 901 33 33 again, that's 561 901 33 33 or you can also visit his website. Rick has the buyers comm and on the top navigation bar You'll see a free report button. So you're free to click that, and in addition to this report here, there are several other ones there that might be of interest to you as well.

Carry that. I think it's pretty important. Is the agent selection guide okay for big mistakes to avoid Before you you bring on an agent that again you can get? That you can text us at 561 901 33 33 or Rick has the buyers comm. That's it. That's another good one we have for another question on this report.

What makes you different, right? So when somebody is sitting in front of you, this is a great question to ask them point blank. Why should I list my home with you, rick? Why should I choose you?

Well, number one Understand I'm a full-time agent. I've been doing this for 13 years. I have a great deal amount of experience other than that. Okay, our company does have very exclusive guarantees that a lot of brokerages out there or a lot of agents don't have. I'll just highlight few that we have. So the one buyers in waiting guarantee okay, we have 20,000 buyers waiting to to make a move out there. They've already been approved. So, basically, as soon as we list your property, we'll send you through our database and and make sure that Everybody in our databases is exposed to that. The other thing is a lot of agents. A lot of times We'll just accept the price that you're saying just to get the listing. We want to be able to work with them on that. Okay, we'll show them the comps that are available. But we do a reality-based timetable guarantee and also a reliable, reality based selling price range guarantee. So we know sometimes the house will not a sell exactly what it's listed for there will be in a range. So we put a range on there and we guarantee that range. The other thing that we have we live by our name your home sold guaranteed Realty. Okay, if we can agree upon the terms and conditions in the time Allotted to sell your place. If we do not meet those terms and conditions in that timetable, we will go ahead and purchase it at the end. So, kerry, as I was mentioned to you about the agent selection guide, the biggest mistakes that homeowners can make is kind of just what they call blind archery. What does that mean? They're just picking anybody who's going to give you maybe the lowest commission rate and the highest price. Those two critical things can either cost you thousands of dollars or it can save you thousands of dollars. So when an agent does say to you they're gonna just we're gonna price it and it's priced $100,000 more or $50,000 more than what the comfort bowls are saying on the market, they're really just not really offering you the best value. I say to you is this make sure that they live by their promises, not only be able to offer you the best value as far as our fee is concerned, but also that they show you the value in your home based on market facts. So I would just say this sellers, avoid the four mistakes Before listing your home, and those are going with an agent who promises you the highest sale price and the most amount of money, even though it's unrealistic. I would not do that. Choose that an agent who promises to save you money by discounting their commission rate. Believe me, there are agents out there who just got their license willing to discount themselves, but really do not know anything about the market. Number three the nicest agent. There's some nice agents out there. They're all friendly, but I'm telling you for a fact Okay, those agents are people that need to know information and if they do not have the market information that you need, they really are not going to help you out. And in, more importantly, choosing an agent who works all by themselves. Maybe 10 years ago, 20 years ago, a single agent would do everything themselves. Today, it's become a very complicated situation in selling a home. This is Rick Kendrick, with your home sold, guarantee real t-shirt, we'll be right back.

The schedule an appointment with Rick Kendrick to help you buy or sell your home. Call 561 901 3333 or go to Rick. Has the buyers calm, rick will be right back with more of the your home sold. Guaranteed radio show here on News Talk 850 Wftl.

Hi, I'm Eric Rosemary, branch manager at cross-country mortgage in Boca Raton. If you're deciding which lender to trust, whether you're purchasing or refinancing, I would love the opportunity to work with you. Over my 20-year career, I've helped close to 10,000 families buy or refinance the place they call home. Despite what you're hearing about interest rates, you might be surprised, as what we can do for you, let's talk, call or text me at 954 312 3104 or visit rosemary mortgage team comm hi, it's Jennifer Rasa and you know if you've been thinking about selling your home, you already know that the only agent that I would recommend to you is my friend, rick Kendrick.

He's a broker and founder of your home, sold guaranteed realty of Florida. Now what about the listener who would love Rick to sell but doesn't want to deal with the headaches of cleaning, staging, holding open houses and all that other stuff?

Well, jen, we have the perfect solution. First of all, we always like to make our traditional home selling process stress-free. But for the listener who doesn't want to fix up their place, who is inherited a home or simply wants a fast, hassle-free sale, we can make them an immediate cash offer and for that seller to get the most amount of money for their home.

Come on, you can do that.

Absolutely. Jen will come right over, praise the home, make you a fast, fair cash offer and close as little as three weeks.

Cash in your hand hard to beat it. Call Rick Kendrick right now. Five six one, nine zero one thirty three, thirty three. That's five six one, nine zero one thirty three, thirty three. Or visit Rick, has the buyers comm?

Hi, I'm Charisma Stave, Director of Operations and Licensed Closing Agent with Performance Title. You're a trusted partner in Florida. When the conversation with your realtor or mortgage broker turns to title insurance, make sure you ask for performance title. With over 17 years experience, we've become a dedicated member of our community and a valuable resource to our clients. Join the performance title family today. Call me at 954-748-4890 or visit us online at performtitlecom. That's performtitlecom.

If you're ready to buy or sell your home and would like to schedule an appointment with Rick, call 561-901-3333 or go to rickhasthebuyerscom. Now back to the your home sold guaranteed radio show and your host, Rick Kendrick.

In this final segment of the show we're going to be highlighting the listings that we do on a weekly basis. So, listeners, if you're considering to make a move and you have an interest in having your home featured on our radio show, we would love to discuss that with you. You can contact us at 561-901-3333 or rickhasthebuyerscom. Our listings that we have going on right now shoots a wide variety of price range. I have a listing out in the Delray area. It's a one bedroom, one bath for $115,000. A great value. It's a 55-an-dollar community correct.

Yeah, it sure is, and it's in great condition. So if you're out there and you have a big house and you're an empty nester and you're thinking to yourself, now might be a good time to move into something a little bit smaller and more manageable. This condo might be a good fit for you.

So we have two on the water in the north Palm Beach area we got one at three bedroom, three bath listed for 1.1. It actually has a marina included in it, five minutes from the inlet. There we have a two bedroom, two bath, first floor unit, beautiful view of the east and actually looking at Singer Island, and it's going to be going for 535. Then also we have a listing in Wellington. It's a four bedroom, two bath with a pool at 659. That's a great deal, don't you think, kerry?

Absolutely. It is a great house, great schools in Wellington.

So of course. Then we have a house in Westlake. It's a three bedroom, two bath. It's only about two years old, beautiful, high impact windows, everything's done. It's actually on an oversized premium lot overlooking the lake, and it's going for 650. So these values here, as far as the properties are concerned, offer a lot to buyers. If you are looking to make a purchase, we have these amongst other listings. You can contact us at 561-901-3333 or rickhadsabuyerscom. The other thing that we also have is buyers and waiting.

The unique thing about our buyers and waiting program is that each of the listings that we sell, they can only be sold to one buyer. But over the course of the process of us marketing these properties we accumulate a lot of incoming inquiries, whether sign calls, people calling off of the ads that we're running. What we do is we put those buyers into our database. Our database has accumulated over the years. Obviously Now we're up to how many people do we have in our database now?

Rick, over 20,000 now 20,000.

So that actually creates a unique situation for any sellers who are listening, because you might think to yourself well, I don't really necessarily want to put my home on the market the traditional way, have people traipsing through my house, having the inconvenience of having to leave during showings. Okay, so if you're thinking about moving, we can actually go into our database and see if we might have a match. Additionally, the buyers that are in our database have also been pre-approved and they're ready to go, and the great thing is they're also very flexible with you. So if you are thinking about selling and you're very concerned about where it is that you're going to go, because you don't want to end up homeless, it puts you in a great situation because you're actually able to sell your home to one of our buyers who's already pre-approved, and then they're going to give you that flexibility to remain in the home after closing for as long as you need to go find your next property and then that way, you actually have the cash in your pocket so that you can make a really strong offer on your next home. And then, as part of our Go Serve Big Mission, we do donate a portion of our real estate sales to various local charities in the area. So this year we're on a mission to raise $25,000, and we do support charities like Little Smiles and the Law Enforcement Assistance Foundation. So if you are listening and you or anybody you know is considering a move whether that's friends, family or co-workers we would love the opportunity to speak with them about their moving plans.

I just want to take the time to say thank you, listeners, for listening to us out there today. This is the Rick Kendrick your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty Show serving Southeast Florida coast. Our network extends across the country and Canada. You can call me or text me at 561-901-3333 or rickhasthebuyerscom.

You've been listening to the your Home Sold Guaranteed Radio Show with broker owner Rick Kendrick Heard every Sunday morning here on News Talk, 850 WFTL. Rick's company name is his promise your home sold guaranteed realty. To speak directly to Rick about buying or selling your home. Call now to schedule an appointment 561-901-3333 or visit rickhasthebuyerscom and mark your calendar to join Rick again next week at the same time for the your Home Sold Guaranteed Radio Show here on News Talk, 850 WFTL.