Gonna buy in Pinellas...how do I find a real estate agent? (Clearwater: sales)

[Brimstone33]

If you are an agent or the relative of one please don't inundate me with spam telling me how great you are and what you can do for me. I am looking for info about the process. Thanks for the advice.

[floridagirl777]

You would need to contact an agent first. Here's what the process looked like for us:

1. We contacted an agent that was recommended to us by a personal friend. (But first we went through the pre-approval process with our mortgage guy … this gave us a little more power since everyone involved knew we could afford the homes we were looking for.)
2. We spoke with the agent over the phone and told her what we were looking for and what areas we were interested in. I sent her some houses I'd pulled off of Zillow so she could see specifically what we wanted.
3. We set up a day to go house hunting with our agent. She took us around to about 8 or 9 places.
4. When we found the one we wanted, she drew up our offer and presented it to the owner's agent that evening.
5. There was a counter-offer, which we counter-counter-offered. Unfortunately, they did not like that and we had to move on to another property we liked.
6. We made an offer on a second property. We were told there was another offer already in place, but the seller said she wanted to entertain both (smart seller!). Because we were pre-approved and were more stable buyers than the other person, she went with our offer instead.
7. There's a long waiting period if you are going through a lender. Inspections must be done on the house, appraisals, etc. It's a pain because there's always something missing or wrong with the paperwork or something crops up with the inspection! We've bought and sold several homes, and have yet to have things go through without any kind of hang up.
8. You'll be notified when a closing date is set, and you'll do a walk-through just before closing to make sure everything looks good. (Our walk through was a DISASTER as the home we were purchasing flooded from a broken toliet, but that story is on another thread here some where!)
9. You'll have your closing, and if all goes well there (it should if everyone did their paperwork correctly) you'll have your home!

Good luck!

[indytoflgirl]

My realtor is awesome and not related to us at all. When we moved from southern Indiana over 6 years ago, our realtor in Indiana used their relocation service to find her. I cannot say enough good things about this lady. She is professional, has professional contacts with bankers, mortgage companies, insurance companies...incredible work ethic.... Our daughter wanted to buy a house in Clearwater/St Pete. She started with Judy in late March and was in her home by the middle of May with terrific financing and insurance ...pm me if you would like her name... Good Luck!!

[bentlebee]

You can check realtor websites, ask around if someone has a positive experience to share but keep in mind that every person is different and what one person likes may not be the favorite thing for someone else.

Some people just want to check out some listings on their computer and get more info when they see something they like to learn more of the background of that particular property.

Shop around for a good mortgage broker and see what the different lenders have to offer since fees differ a lot and depending on your credit and situation one product may fit your situation better than another product.

When you know what you can afford it makes the process easier to look since it may eliminate some areas or open up a certain area you may not have thought about.

Flood zones may be important for you or not and have to be taken in consideration.

Some people are very interested in school grades and want to live in certain zip codes and if that is applicable for you than that needs to be included in your home search.

A good agent can help you with all these things and point out different mortgage brokers but I believe it is important that you are not having to deal solely with the agents affiliated mortgage company, etc.

Some real estate companies have their own mortgage department, title company, etc. and that may not be the company that fits your financial situation and you just have to known that you are not obligated to use that part of the company but some clients feel obligated.

Check out closing fees that mortgage brokers charge since we see a large range of fees and it all has to be paid, so keep that in mind.

The inventory is lower than it used to be so often when a nice property comes on the market offers are coming in faster so it is good to be ready so you won't loose out. That is not a sales pitch but real life real estate situations that are going on with certain nice homes. Overpriced and homes that need more work often stay longer on the market.

Decide with your brain and not with your heart, otherwise you may over pay and regret it later.

Good luck and hopefully you find the home of your dreams and you will become one of the happy Floridians who love to live over here and enjoy the Sunshine State!

[gulfporter]

Don't overlook FSBO ads, in Zillow or Trulia, either. We worked with a very competent realtor looking for a home in Gulfport. In the end, the house of our dreams was a FSBO that we found ourselves on Zillow and we worked directly with the sellers. It was the easiest house deal we've ever made, after buying/selling 8 homes.

[Brimstone33]

Hey thanks everyone for the great advice!

[flyboytampabay]

Here is how I look for a realtor.. Look online.. If they don't have a goofy picture, like holding the phone, or their thumbs are up, or goofy hat, that is the one you pick. For the life of me I think they teach that in the real estate class they have to take.

[bozothe clown]

be more concerned with your home inspestion- and GET A REAL ESTATE LAWYER- I had an agent in Duval and I had to vette all my offers through my atty cause she was so bad- its worth the money- also look at NEFAR online

[lavender]

Look on Trulia or one of those, actually Trulia just been purchased by Zillow so its all the same - glad I only paid to be listed on one of them LOL! Most agents have recommendations from clients.
If you are relocating, look for an agent that does relos more than say specializing in listings. Buyers agents, with ABR credential even better.
Really DONT advise you try and do it all alone (particularly with FSBOs) unless you are experienced like poster above. If you get a seller with no clue and you have no idea what you should and should not be doing - it could be fraught with problems and legal issues. Its not impossible mind you.
Almost every buyer I work with today spends months looking online and keeping in touch before buying, sometimes I'm lucky enough to get a buyer who walks into town, looks at a few and buys - but they usually know what they want as they have done all their homework. Not often though and its common for a buyer to completely turn around with criteria before buying and that means getting a good rapport with your agent and keep talking. Because an agent will figure out what other things buyers like and help them weigh up pros and cons - like school district v work access but not such great school zone (because buyer can do private schooling) or waterfront v beach location (one is flood zone, one might be close to beach but out of flood zone) etc etc.
The internet is a godsend to agents I think, its not competition, it makes our lives easier in many ways as buyers have a much better idea of what a market is like. If you have 100k or 1m to spend look at the homes at your budget, then you will see what you can afford, and be honest with your agent, if you want to spend $250K but tell an agent you only have $175K max, you will waste a lot of your time as well as theirs because odds are you won't like anything in the range requested.
hope that all helps.