You’ve finally made the decision to move. Congratulations! Now you have many decisions to make. Not only must you worry about packing all those boxes but you need to start considering the help you’ll need to make your move as smooth as possible. One of the most important decisions you’ll need to make is the real estate agent you choose to have working side by side with you and your family. There are a few very large considerations to make when looking for the best real estate agent in Windsor and Essex County.
1. Do you hire a Real Estate Team or a single Real Estate Agent?
Of the many decisions you’ll be making when choosing your real estate dream team, the Realtor or Team is one of the most important. Having the proper representation can truly mean more money in your pocket, less hassle, better negotiation skills. There are many benefits to a hiring a real estate team over a single Realtor, for example: unlike a single Realtor who finds themselves doing 14 jobs at once, every member of a real estate team has a purpose, which in the end allows the agent the opportunity to spend more time with the client. Unlike the single agent, most teams have admin staff, marketing staff, photographers, home stagers etc… all of this responsibility would normally fall on that one single Realtor. With the team concept, every member of the team handles their specific tasks, leaving more time for the agents to spend showing and selling your home!
2. Market Knowledge
Your Realtor has specific skills and knowledge of the neighbourhoods in which you may be viewing homes. You’re real estate agent should be pointing out any positive or negative features of a home and its surroundings. Most of this information isn’t available online and comes with years of experience in the business and the market place. Are you looking for a specific area in LaSalle or Amherstburg? Or is what you’re looking for mostly available in Windsor or Tecumseh? Your Realtor will guide you along the way.
3. Pricing Advice
The last thing you’d want to do is over pay for a home. In a sellers market like we’re currently experiencing here in Windsor & Essex County, a buyer will typically pay more for the home they’ve fallen in love with! In a buyers market it would be the other way around. Your real estate agent will guide you along the way and make sure you’re not paying too high a price for that dream home!
4. Access To The Newest Properties
Most buyers or sellers in Windsor don’t realize that real estate agents have access to properties before they hit the public MLS. For example, a realtor lists a home in Windsor, the second the realtor lists that property, every other real estate agent has access to it. It may take another 2-5 days to hit the public MLS. Often times a buyer will call to view a listing that they’ve just found on the MLS only to be told that it sold 2 days earlier. The key to having access to the newest properties is your real estate agent!
5. Negotiation Skills
When it comes time to deal with an offer on the sale of your home, or the purchase of your home, your agents negotiation skills will be of utmost importance. This step in the process is where looking for the bargain agent that charged that 0.5 or 1% less will really burn a hole in your pocket. Have you ever heard the expression “You get what you pay for?” well nothing could be more true. You truly do get what you pay for when hiring a real estate agent.
As real estate agents we often hear clients tell us that they know exactly how to buy or sell a home, they’ve watched how it’s done on those HGTV reality tv shows after all! In reality, that show you watched on TV only shows you a very small portion of the selling or buying process. They need to fit those 200 steps into a 10 minute segment of course!
Although you have many Realtor options in the Windsor real estate market, is always best to ask your friends and family for a referral. It’s often times the best way to find that perfect match for your next home sale or buy! And always remember to have fun with the process. If you’re like most, you only do it a few times in a lifetime!
