9 Quick Tips on Finding a Great REALTOR®

Michael Hallett • Oct 08, 2019
So, you want to buy a home. Or maybe you want to sell your home. Either way, working with a real estate professional or REALTOR® is a really good idea. But with all the agents out there competing to earn your business, how do you find the right one? Here is a quick list of tips that should help you narrow down the list of potential suitors. From there, its up to you!

Do Your Research. Hands down, the best advice available is simply do your research. It sounds so basic, but regardless of how many more of these tips you read and follow, if you do your homework and gather as much information about working with a potential REALTOR®, you will lessen the chance of getting a dud while increasing the chance of finding someone who will really work hard for you.

Ask your friends and people you trust. If you know someone who has recently bought or sold a property, ask them who they used. From there, ask about their experience, get them to explain both the positives and negatives, ask how the agent communicated, were they easy to reach, were they responsive. And so on. If you feel comfortable with their recommendation, get the agents name and proceed to google them.

Just Google Them. This is great advice on almost any subject. If you are looking at hiring an agent, you will want to google them first. Don't simply look at the first few results, take a look a couple pages deep. You will be surprised by what comes up down the line, maybe they have been involved in legal action in the past, these things are good to know and discuss with them if you want to extend an interview to them.

Check Out Online Reviews. A lot of sites like Google, Facebook, Yelp, and various local media publications will have sections where client testimonials are shared. Because these are shared publicly on independent 3rd party sites, they tend to be more reliable than say the testimonial section on an agents website. The more reviews you can find the better, just as you shouldn't let one rave review sell you, don't let one bad review deter you. The key here is balance.

Check Out Their Website and Social Media Presence. It's no longer 2006, a good website that is mobile friendly is necessary. A REALTOR'S® job is to sell your property or find you the best property available on the market before someone else scoops it up. How they communicate online and how they use technology is a window into how well they will be able to represent you in an online world. You want to find an agent who is up to speed and understands how information is shared online.

Check Out Their Credentials. Have they won any industry awards? Have they won any local awards or people's choice awards? There is probably a reason for it. Good agents tend to get recognized.

Do they Sell Real Estate Full Time?  In order to be extremely successful at selling real estate, they have to put in the time. It is very hard to do that working part time hours. You will want to find an agent that works full time in real estate so they are available when you need them to be.

Have an interview. After you have spent the time finding an agent that comes highly recommended by friends, and you have done your research, you should have an informal interview to see if you get along with them. If you are looking to buy a property, you might want to meet in a local coffee shop in the area you would like to buy in and ask questions about the area. If you are selling, consider having the agent over to your property and have them provide you with an estimated sales price. You can also discuss their commission structure and the plan they would have to sell your place.

Don't Feel Any Pressure. Finding a great agent is important, if you feel uncomfortable with someone, chances are other people will as well. Sometimes it works out and you simply "click" with a certain agent, while other times you might have to interview 3 or 4 agents before finding someone you want to work with. Not all agents are created equal, some are better than others, and some are A LOT better than others.

The key to finding a great REALTOR® is to do your research ahead of time. Make sure this is someone you feel comfortable with. This will save you time, heartache and money down the road. The last thing you want to have to do is find another REALTOR® half-way through the process.

Of course if you would like an introduction to a REALTOR® or two that I have worked with in the past and highly recommend, please let me know, I would be happy to pass some names on to you. Contact me anytime!

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Getting a Mortgage While on Parental Leave

By Michael Hallett • 01 May, 2024
Chances are if the title of this article piqued your interest enough to get you here, your family is probably growing. Congratulations! If you’ve thought now is the time to find a new property to accommodate your growing family, but you’re unsure how your parental leave will impact your ability to get a mortgage, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s how it works. When you work with an independent mortgage professional, it won’t be a problem to qualify your income on a mortgage application while on parental leave, as long as you have documentation proving that you have guaranteed employment when you return to work. A word of caution, if you walk into your local bank to look for a mortgage and you disclose that you’re currently collecting parental leave, there’s a chance they’ll only allow you to use that income to qualify. This reduction in income isn’t ideal because at 55% of your previous income up to $595/week, you won’t be eligible to borrow as much, limiting your options. The advantage of working with an independent mortgage professional is choice. You have a choice between lenders and mortgage products, including lenders who use 100% of your return-to-work income. To qualify, you’ll need an employment letter from your current employer that states the following: Your employer’s name preferably on the company letterhead Your position Your initial start date to ensure you’ve passed any probationary period Your scheduled return to work date Your guaranteed salary For a lender to feel confident about your ability to cover your mortgage payments, they want to see that you have a position waiting for you once your parental leave is over. You might also be required to provide a history of your income for the past couple of years, but that is typical of mortgage financing. Whether you intend to return to work after your parental leave is over or not, once the mortgage is in place, what you decide to do is entirely up to you. Mortgage qualification requires only that you have a position waiting for you. If you have any questions about this or anything else mortgage-related, please connect anytime. It would be a pleasure to work with you.

Bridge Financing and Deposit Lending

By Michael Hallett • 24 Apr, 2024
Let’s say you have a home that you’ve outgrown; it’s time to make a move to something better suited to your needs and lifestyle. You have no desire to keep two properties, so selling your existing home and moving into something new (to you) is the best idea. Ideally, when planning out how that looks, most people want to take possession of the new house before moving out of the old one. Not only does this make moving your stuff more manageable, but it also allows you to make the new home a little more “you” by painting or completing some minor renovations before moving in. But what if you need the money from the sale of your existing home to come up with the downpayment for your next home? This situation is where bridge financing comes in. Bridge financing allows you to bridge the financial gap between the firm sale of your current home and the purchase of your new home. Bridge financing allows you to access some of the equity in your existing property and use it for the downpayment on the property you are buying. So now let’s also say that it’s a very competitive housing market where you’re looking to buy. Chances are you’ll want to make the best offer you can and include a significant deposit. If you don’t have immediate access to the cash in your bank account, but you do have equity in your home, a deposit loan allows you to make a very strong offer when negotiating the terms of purchasing your new home. Now, to secure bridge financing and/or a deposit loan, you must have a firm sale on your existing home. If you don’t have a firm sale on your home, you won’t get the bridge financing or deposit loan because there is no concrete way for a lender to calculate how much equity you have available. A firm sale is the key to securing bridge financing and a deposit loan. So if you’d like to know more about bridge financing, deposit loans, or anything else mortgage-related, please connect anytime! It would be a pleasure to work with you.
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