If you’ve been talking with Texas real estate agents, looking for someone to hire, every agent you interviewed should have given you a copy of the “Information of Brokerage Services” form and asked you to sign a copy for their records. By now, you’re probably thinking, “what is this form and why is every agent insistent on my signing it?” First of all, don’t worry, this form doesn’t obligate you to anything and, with the exception of open houses, every real estate agent licensed in Texas is required to present you with a copy of this form on your first meaningful contact with that agent. If an agent you’re interviewing doesn’t show you this form then don’t hire them. If they fail to follow this state mandated requirement, what other disclosures or representation agreements will they forget to show you?
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Is this your agent?

According to the “2009 Profile of Texas Homebuyers and Sellers” study conducted by the Texas Association of Realtors, 8 out of 10 sellers said that they would not use the same agent again to sell their house.  The survey doesn’t mention why sellers wouldn’t use the same agent again, but the Texas Association of Realtors speculates that it could be attributed to sellers no longer living in that agent’s area or that agents do not spend enough effort staying in contact with past clients.  I think there are other reasons the article doesn’t want to admit.
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Rarely is it a good idea to use the same agent that sold your last house to sell your current house.  You should focus on finding an agent that is successful in your new neighborhood instead of using your old agent that was an expert in your old neighborhood.  Successful real estate agents focus on a targeted area and because of that focus, they perform better in certain areas than they would in other areas.  So the same agent that you used to sell your last house may not perform as well selling your current house.
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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…

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