Does the Realtor’s Code of Ethics and the Texas Real Estate Commission’s Canons of Professional Ethics and Conduct Conflict with a Realtor’s Fiduciary Duties to their Buyer Clients?  This discussion focuses on an agent’s participation in a buyer client’s potentially discriminatory request, and how strictly observing the Code of Ethics and TREC Canons may conflict with an agent’s fiduciary duties to that buyer client.  None of this discussion pertains to the selling client, which I consider to be a different situation entirely.

Continue reading » »

Two of the most common questions we receive at AgentHarvest is “how is the real estate market doing in my area” and “at what point in today’s real estate market should I sell my house?”  Depending on whom you ask, answers may vary.  Ask a real estate agent and they’ll all say “NOW!”  If you read the press releases from the National Association of Realtors, you’ll detect a “glass half full” optimistic spin on the market whether it’s going up or down.  If you read the newspaper or watch the news, they love to put a negative spin on it because disaster stories make great news, even if they have to sensationalize it a bit to increase ratings.  All three venues have their own motivation for their slant or spin so who should you believe?   ME of course!
Continue reading » »

The real estate market fluctuates every year regardless of the state of the economy or the current condition of the real estate market.  These cyclical fluctuations have traditionally fallen along the seasonal calendar year.  Spring and summer are the best times to sell, fall is okay and the winter months are usually the slowest time of the selling season.  Another way to look at this cyclical selling season is by comparing it to the seasons of flowering plants and convertible cars.  The time of the year to sell your house is when plants are blooming and pretty, and when you have the urge to drive around in a convertible. Continue reading » »

Most people will tell you that real estate agents are all the same so it really doesn’t matter which one you decide to hire.  If you practice that philosophy, you are guaranteed to have a hard time selling or buying a house.

Top producing real estate agents know the market and know how to position your house to sell in that market.  They sell houses like chefs prepare exquisite cuisine in high-end restaurants.  On the other end of the scale are real estate agents that overprice their listings, don’t market them correctly and don’t aggressively sell their listings, relying solely on fate to sell their listings.  Bad agents are like cooks, shoveling greasy food in fast food restaurants.  Do you want to hire a chef (top producing real estate agent) or a cook (bad real estate agent)?  You should focus on hiring chefs. Continue reading » »

Not every real estate agent is worth having.  How can you tell a good agent from a bad real estate agent?  Here are the top 10 signs that you might have hired a bad real estate agent…

Continue reading » »

Beware of the Inflatable Realtor

A real estate agent that inflates a list price beyond reality just to get the listing is deceptive and may be harmful to the sale of your house.  The deceptive practice of inflating the list price is effective because the client wants to hear that their house is worth a high price.  Bad agents are more than eager to feed into this delusion.  Good agents base their suggested list prices on real conditions so they will be lower than an inflated price.  If you want to get the most for your house, and everybody does, you’d naturally pick the real estate agent with the inflated price.  Now you’re falling victim to the Inflatable Agent’s trap.
Continue reading » »

Imagine this scenario.  It’s been 120 days since your agent put a for sale sign in your yard.  On the day you hired your Realtor, she promised it would be a successful working relationship.   Weeks later, this “relationship” somehow turned into a “one-night stand.”   She doesn’t return your phone calls, she never drops by and now there’s a bird’s nest occupying the empty Info Box that use to hold your house’s brochures so many months ago.
Continue reading » »

According to the book Freakonomics, written by Stephen Dubner and Steven Levitt, real estate agents sell their own homes for 3% more compared to what they get when they sell their client’s houses.  The authors suggest dishonesty and double-standards as the reasons for this finding, but I think there’s a more honest reason why Realtors may be able to get a higher selling price for their homes compared to their clients’.
Continue reading » »

The biggest mistake buyers and sellers make when hiring a Realtor is that they do not do their homework before hiring a real estate agent.  AgentHarvest can minimize these mistakes by finding the best available agents in your area for you to interview.  We also help you save money by giving you cash back at closing from a portion of our referral fee that we receive when your house sells or when you buy your house. Continue reading » »

AgentHarvest connects buyers and sellers with successful real estate agents.  Because we hand-select our agents on a case-by-case basis, our agent selection process is different from most referral-based companies.  We do not pre-select or assign territories or ask for any fees or subcriptions to reserve an area for an agent for any referral.

Because we’re operate differently from the typical referral company, many agents have expressed interest in working with AgentHarvest to receive client referrals and want to understand our agent selection process.  This article offers tips on how to stand out from the pack to receive referrals and get future referrals. Continue reading » »