Thinking about buying or selling a property in Destin, Florida? You’ve done all of your research ahead of time, we hope?. Are you ready; really ready? I’ve taken care of more than 50 million dollars of real estate transactions and I have a few tips for you which can help.
My opinion is that 5% of agents or brokers are awesome and about 95% offer little value. I know that is a harsh statement but I have really found it to be true both in Destin and in every other real estate market in which I have participated. In this article, what I will do is assume you are looking to buy a property with a Destin using a realtor.
First, go to Google and search the phrase “Destin Realtor”. You’ll get abut a zillion results ? start looking at the pages which come up. What do you notice about them?
Probably that almost all of them look exactly the same. The typical realtor’s website you’ll find will have a smiling photo of the realtor, a place to search MLS, a spot for their listings, an about me section and a brief profile of the community ? everything a prospective buyer needs, right?
But what these sites won’t tell you is whether or not the realtor knows what they’re talking about. I already know that any realtor can show me the MLS listings and take me to see some properties.
But why would I want to enlist an agent or a broker if I didn’t know if they were awesome at what they do and they know the market like the back of their hand…. That is who I want to hire.
How Do You Find The Top 5%? So while there here are a number of ways to find a REALTOR or agent in Destin, how do you go about finding a good one? I know this will sound counterintuitive but the simple most important step you can take is to FIRST, EDUCATE YOURSELF ON THE MARKET. Recently I wrote a blog post where I suggested that the potential buyer spend some time on realtor.com really studying what is for sale, what does it cost, where is it located, what features come with what dollars, etc.
Why? Simple ? you will ten know when you are actually talking to agents and brokers whether or not they are knowledgeable about the market in Destin. Tell the broker what you’re looking for exactly and then listen. If they’re good at what they do, then they’ll get what you’re looking for and be able to give you truly valuable information. If they are not so skilled, be prepared for them to not make a whole lot of sense and have them push one or two properties in particular at you.
Don’t stop once you’ve found one good Destin realtor; talk to a few more until you are certain you’ve found the right realtor. Now you’ll really be prepared to work along with the best possible Destin realtor to find the perfect property for you in Destin, Florida.