Top Tips When Finding Your Real Estate Agent Match

The best real estate agent for your property and your requirements is not always the one with the flashiest ad in the newspaper or the nicest TV commercial. The best real estate agent should match well with you, and to find the best match is a lot of hard work on your part too. 

Professionalism, a good reputation and an impressive track record should be your 3 non-negotiable when looking for a real estate agent to hire. 

But subjectively, you need to keep a list of qualities the real estate agent you will hire should have.

1. Dedicated. Will he be able to meet my actual requirements? A real estate agent may be a professional, but that does not mean he should undermine your needs and impose his own above it.
2. Selfless. Will he be able to serve your interest above his? It is true that real estate agents earn on commission, but that should not mean your interest is served under his. Your interest must be at the centre of his work at all times... even if it means he'll get a small chunk of your sale to make you a satisfied client.
3. High integrity and client service. Do his previous clients and references have positive feedback about his work?
4. Knowledgeable. Is he familiar with the area where you are buying or selling a property from? Does he know the general market value or the price bracket of properties in your area?
5. Word of honor. Is he altering the market situation in his favor? Is he realistic with the details and assessments of the real estate situation?

Fortunately, with the kind of technologies that we have, finding a real estate agent is a piece of cake. 

There are directory websites that feature all the real estate agents found in your locality. You can start from there and if you feel quite confident with a particular agent you find, do your research. If there’s any, access their website, read their blog and assess reviews or recommendations from their past clients. 

It is essential to shortlist at least 3 to 5 real estate candidates. Meet with them personally to validate what you have researched.

Prepare your questions before meeting them up. Below are examples of questions that you can ask them.

• How many years have you been working as a real estate agent?
• How has it been like? 
• Are you a full-time agent or working part-time?
• How long have you been working with properties in this side of town?
• How many sales were you able to close last year?
• How do you represent your clients? Do you represent buyers more or sellers?
• In a month, how many prospective buyers or sellers approach you?
• How many properties are currently listed under your name?
• What's your marketing strategy?

There are definitely more questions you can come up with. It shows what kind of service you most require and the hoops you will jump through to get it.

Appraisals and assessments should not cost you. In the event that the real estate you want to hire offers an appraisal and an assessment for free, remember that it should not be the case. You are no way obligated to one real estate agent at this point in your selection process.

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Do You Want to Live in the Heart of the City?

There is something glam and glitzy about living in the city. It seems like the world is your oyster. Your life is in your hands.

In a few words, living in the city means living where the night life happens. You live near restaurants, bars and malls plus schools, museums and parks. You can be well assured that transportation will not be your problem as you are most likely well-connected given the trains, buses and cabs that run in and out of the Central Business District (CBD).

Living in the city means living where the action is.

It is also appealing for people whose work is located in the CBD. Aside from the social life, economic and financial activities also characterizes the city center.

The hustle and bustle of city living may be appealing, but definitely not for everyone. In fact, you will be surprised at the number of reasons why a handful of people still opts to live in the suburbs.

Traffic congestion is probably the biggest issues in city living. Traffic jams are everyday headaches that people contend with regardless. Traffic congestion becomes more pronounced as car ownership becomes easier thanks to flexible car plans. However, this is not exactly the case in Singapore, where the cost of cars is purposely made expensive to control traffic.

Pollution is also another reason that puts city living on the challenging side of things. Just imagine the number of cars, buses, and trucks that pass along city roads day in and day out. Truly, pollution is inevitable in busy environments.

Living in the city also makes the cost of housing high. As people become more congested in the urban centre, land becomes extra precious to have. Land cuts also become smaller just to accommodate everyone. And as the demand goes high and supply remains limited, it naturally affects prices to reach ceiling high rates. Land ownership or even just renting out a space can cause a dent in any urbanite’s pocket.

There will always be pros and cons whether you choose a quiet and peaceful life in the suburbs or in a rather noisy, fast-paced and congested nook in the city. You just have to be ready to give up one (or 2) of your comforts to live the life that you want for yourself and also for your family.

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Ways to Declutter Your Home to Help You Sell

A big buyer turn off is a cluttered home. Mess spells chaos and if you want to sell your property quick, you need to find ways to get rid of the clutter. 

Decluttering usually means getting rid of things and throwing them away, but it is not always easy regardless if the property you are vacating is a small apartment or a 2-storey house.

In this article, we will show you ways how you can declutter so your property is ready for the real estate market.

First, get an outsider’s perspective, if your property is indeed a mess and chaotic place. We tend to invest in a lot of furniture and sentimental items and we put them in our house for decoration. For us who see the same things day in and day out, we might think that the effects in our property are clutter instead of a feature of your home that highlights it as a good place to live in. Ask a friend or a family member about what they really think about your property. Your home may be perfectly organised as it is and you only need to declutter on a few rooms and not on your entire space. 

Second, inspect the nooks and crannies of your property. Clutter resides in corners, inside shelves and cupboards, under beds, and in the attic. Prioritise these areas as you declutter instead of attending to the most obvious areas of your property. When a potential buyer inspects your property, he or she will likely open cabinets, see storage rooms and check areas often neglected on a daily basis. Make sure that you do not oversee these areas of your property during home viewing. At its best, these tiny yet important areas of your home help in giving your property the best impression possible. 

Third, get all the clutter away and sort them accordingly. Will you take this clutter with you as move to your new address? Will you donate it? Or will you simply toss it in the garbage? If you think you are getting rid of valuable clutter, but you have no plans of taking with you anymore, hold a garage sale in your neighbourhood. It is a great way to get some value from things you do not need anymore.

Fourth, remember not to declutter everything. It is best to leave a few neutral decorations in its original place to make your property a little more inviting to your prospective buyers. Stow away your personal items and put them in a box for hauling. Saving a few trinkets and home furniture will help you save money on home staging.

Lastly, start decluttering as early as possible. Remember that the clutter you have so far did not arrive all at the same time. These things have accumulated over time and so it follows that getting rid of them cannot be done in one go. Start decluttering on one area of your property and you are on your way. 

You may be able to handle all your decluttering requirements all by yourself, but you definitely need professional help when selling your property in the market. Get the help of professional and experienced real estate agents who can give the best price and the best exposure for your property. 

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Buying a Property? Here's What You Need to Look for As You Make a Purchase

Buying a property should be a calculated move. It is not advisable to go into the act of buying a new property without being careful about what the property has to offer to you. It is not just a new house that you are buying. More than anything, you are buying a new lifestyle.

It is important that you buy a property based on the neighborhood it is situated. Is it located in the city? Is it located in the suburbs? Visit the place and get the feel of the location. If it is an easy drive to the new neighborhood, dedicate a weekend for a personal ocular inspection. Not only will you be able to judge the quality of the neighborhood, but also the safety and security it has.

Aside from the neighborhood, investigate on the transportation system as well. Is it well-connected by train? Does public transportation such as cabs and buses regularly pass by your area? Even if you have a personal vehicle, it is essential that your new place of potential residence can be easily commuted. A well-connected residence is always convenient.

Again, the safety and security of your new property-to-be should be a prime consideration as you make a purchase. There is no point in leaving your old neighborhood if you are migrating to a place where the crime rate is high, and there is the absence of security forces patrolling the area. Be watchful of local news that pertains to neighborhood insecurities. As you perform your personal ocular inspection, check if there is a police station nearby. Look at the different security measures that the neighborhood implements also for your peace of mind.

Is it near commercial establishments such as your place of work, your kids’ school and a mall? Again, there is no point in switching homes if you are simply moving away from these essential commercial establishments that play a role in your routine. You may not mind doing a long commute to work, to drop off your kids at school or to do errands at the mall, but all these will definitely catch up with you sooner or later. Aim for convenience at all times. It is the only way you will be able to measure that you did a good job in selecting a new property to live in.

Definitely, you need to factor in the indoor quality of the property you are buying. Prepare a checklist such as the one below.

• How does the kitchen look like? If you are particularly keen on the kitchen area, you should look carefully into the cabinets, the counters, the flooring and the appliances if ever appliances are included. If the quality of the kitchen does not meet your expectations, factor in the cost of repairs and replacements. 
• What is the quality of the bathrooms? Bathrooms are probably the most expensive to remodel. The replacement of bathroom fixtures and plumbing repairs for leaks can cost quite a fortune if you happen to inspect a home that has poor bathroom quality.
• Is the roof still okay? Next to bathrooms, roofs are also quite expensive to replace and even repair. Look for leaks, cracks, ripped parts, curled edges and missing shingles. If there are segments of the roof that are rotting or have algae growth, ask what the previous owner plans to do with it prior to selling.

There are definitely more things that you need to watch out for when buying a property. Consult the help of a real estate agent too to make the selection and inspection processes a lot easier to manage on your end. If you are looking for a property to buy in Victoria, consider Raine and Horne to help you in your selection process. 

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The Why's and How's of Property Inspections

If you make it a point to test drive a vehicle before buying it, the same goes when buying a property. Inspections are everything when it comes to property buying. You will never know what you are going to get or what you are getting yourself into 100% without a careful and calculated inspection of the property you are a few inches away from buying.

Why inspect?

• Property inspections will provide you the features and conditions of the property and its local area. If you are inspecting more than 1 property for the week, make sure to take down notes or take pictures. Of course, ask permission from the real estate agent if taking pictures is allowed. 
• Property inspections will let you know if the property indeed meets your basic (and not-so-basic) requirements. 
• Is the location convenient to commercial establishments such as a mall or a school?
• Is the size good enough for my family of 4?
• Is the location prone to flooding?
• Does the property meet my style?
• How old is the property?
• Regular inspections of the property you want to buy will tell you about the repairs and structural concerns you need to address eventually.
• Do the floors need replacing?
• Are there blisters on the wall painting?
• Are there cracks or stumps on the walls?
• Are there leaks in the roof?
• Property inspections will tell you if there were alterations made to the property. Especially if the property was extended or renovated, you need to know that these improvements were permitted by the local council. Not only do you buy the property, but you also inherit the responsibility in case the alterations were made illegal.

How to inspect?

• Attend an Open for Inspection. Check websites and the real estate sections of newspapers for Open for Inspection dates. If you are attending an inspection, you might have to show a proof of identity to the real estate agent for security.
• Get a professional to inspect the property. The cost of hiring an inspector is smaller than the cost of a property that comes with a lot of structural challenges. The inspector - an actual building inspector, an architect, an engineer or a surveyor - will tell you all the faults in the property, the repair potential of these faults and how much the repairs will cost you. An inspector can also identify structural faults that have been addressed with cosmetic cover ups.
• Do pest inspections. Investments need to be protected especially from tiny invaders that can crumble that piece of investment down. Do pest inspections with an exterminator present. This is a small price to pay to ensure that your property will not fall into pieces. 

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