The process of buying or selling real estate can be intimidating and overwhelming to both the first-time and experienced buyers.

 Today we talk to our agents, Dean and Gerard from GD Group Moves Real Estate in Hoboken, NJ about the anatomy of a real estate deal. Every market is a little different, so if your looking to buy or sell a home in your area, you should talk to a real estate agent in your community.

In this episode we will cover some of the important things to know before going into one of the largest financial transaction of your life.

Choose Your Agent Wisely

Buying or selling a home has a lot of steps, mountains of paperwork and a ton super important decisions so, you want to make sure you choose an agent who will be on your side and able to guide you through the process.

Don’t fall into the ” I know a guy” trap. Just because you’re best friend’s Uncle is an agent in the neighborhood doesn’t mean he will be the best at marketing your property or negotiating a great deal. You need to do your own research.

Start by looking at agents in your neighborhood with good reviews. Zillow is a great place to start. There you can check out the premiere agents in your area. Once you find an agent you are interested in working with, you’ll need to learn out a little more about them.

Ask them questions about their professional experience and track record. Think of it almost as a job interview, you want to hire the right person for the job.  It is also an excellent way to get to know them and gauge compatibility. It’s a long process so you don’t want to work with someone you don’t get along with.

Here are some important questions to ask before choosing an agent.

* How many properties have you sold last year/this year? Many real estate agents work part time to make extra cash but you really want someone who is doing this full time for many years with a lot of experience. If you are a buyer, you’ll want someone who can show you new listings ASAP. If you are a seller, you’ll want an agent who is always ready to show your home to buyers. So if you had a choice between someone who sold 5 homes last year compared to 50 homes you know what the clear choice is.

* How long have you worked in this market?  You’ll want an agent who knows the area inside and out and may even be part of local networks. For buyer and seller agents, neighborhood expertise is a must. Also, the real estate market is always changing so it is important to find someone who is up on the current trends.

* Do you have a team? There are many people involved in one real estate deal – lawyers, inspectors, agents, appraiser, etc. With all of these moving parts you need to make sure no one drops the ball. If your agent has a team behind them all the transactions will move smoothly.

* What kind of marketing do you do? If you’re selling a home, marketing is a key. By increasing exposure of your property through online marketing, you can grow your buying pool dramatically. Asking your agent on how they plan on getting the word out about your property is a must. Running Facebook, Google or Zillow ads can really help reach your potential buyers.

What Sells a Home?

There are two important things when selling a home, marketing, and pricing. Doing both of these rights will open the market to 100% of your potential buyers which will get you the best price as quickly as possible.

Also, taking professional photos of your property is super important. If your place doesn’t look great online, it’s going to get overlooked.

Dean and Gerard got their photographer in to take photos of our listing and the place looked A-MAZING on Zillow. We couldn’t even believe it was our apartment.

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