Category: Tucson Realtor

Why You Should Hire a Tucson Realtor Rather Than Do a FSBO

“I need to sell my home, but want to save myself some money. Instead of working with a Tucson realtor, I’ll sell my home on my own; I bet it’s
easy!” Have you ever thought this to yourself or know someone who has? You’d be surprised to find out that selling your home on your own can
actually end up costing you more money in the long run. There may be several different reasons why a person tries to complete a FSBO (For Sale By
Owner) on their home rather than hiring a Tucson realtor, but a vast majority of the time it’s in their better interest to pick the latter.

When you work with a Tucson realtor to sell your home, your property is marketed a number of different ways. When you attempt to sell on your own, your only real options are a yard sign, newspaper and online sites that cost you money. While many people to look online for homes before purchasing, they can be deterred by someone that is selling on their own or often look to the MLS, which only real estate agents have access to. Not only are there more marketing and networking options when you work with a Tucson realtor, but your home is more accurately priced to sell. Often times when a homeowner lists their property on their own, the home is overpriced when compared to other houses for sale in the area. This is where the homeowner ends up losing money; their home sits on the market because it is overpriced and, if the homeowner does end up selling the property on their own, it is generally for much less than what they could have sold it for had they initially worked with a Tucson realtor.

The most important statistic that really shouldn’t be ignored is that only about 2% of FSBO attempts are successful. Are you experienced enough in the real estate market to ensure that you’re going to be part of that 2% or should you save yourself the time and money and contact a Tucson realtor to help you sell your home?

First Time Home Buyer? Work With A Long-Time Tucson Realtor

First time homebuyer? New to the area? Someone who’s been out of touch with the market for some time? Looking for a new Tucson realtor? If you fall under any of these categories and are looking to purchase a home, there is one thing you can do to ensure you get exactly what you’re looking for and that’s find a Tucson realtor that has been working in the local real estate market for a significant amount of time.

Buying a home in a new area that you’re unfamiliar with, or if you’re unfamiliar with the purchasing process, can be a very overwhelming thing but when you work with a Tucson realtor that knows the process and the area like the back of their hand it takes a lot of the stress and anxiety out of the entire situation.

So, how can you determine if a Tucson realtor has been around long enough and is experienced enough to provide you with what you need? Besides checking them out online, whether it is via their personal website or other sites with reviews, you can always set up an initial consultation with them to ask a few questions. If you do so, you should find out how long they’ve been a Tucson realtor, if they’ve worked in any other markets, how many transactions they close in a month on average as well as if they cater more to buyers or sellers. You may think of a number of other things that you’d like to know about them and that’s okay, too.

Buying a home is generally never a worry-free process for the buyer, but it doesn’t have to be a difficult one. The more experienced your Tucson realtor is, and the more you know about them, the less you’ll have to worry about so you can just focus on finding the home that is perfect for your needs.

Should My Tucson Realtor Have Short Sale Experience?

If you are considering a short sale on your home, you may have already been in contact with your Tucson realtor about getting the process started. We want to caution you, though, to be aware of whether or not they have an adequate amount of short sale experience. Many homeowners don’t realize that the process of completing a short sale is completely different than a traditional real estate transaction. Because of this, you need to ensure that your Tucson realtor has short sale experience and knows how to navigate the sometimes tricky waters of the short sale world.

While we don’t mean to deter you away from your current Tucson realtor, we’d like to help you understand that using an experienced real estate agent for your short sale transaction can actually make the difference when it comes to getting approved for your sale. One of the most important pieces of the short sale process is the short sale package that’s submitted to your lender. Is your Tucson realtor familiar and up-to-date on all the documents that your lender requires for this? Are they going to be able to help you write your hardship letter as well as have easy access to all lender-specific forms that you need? Also, if your short sale is at a stalemate, is your Tucson realtor going to know who to call to get the ball rolling again or are they just going to let your paperwork sit there, causing your transaction to take even longer than necessary and possibly jeopardizing the sale?

These are all important things to consider when working with a Tucson realtor on your short sale. Completing a short sale is completely different than a traditional real estate transaction, so just be sure that whomever you decide to work with has an adequate amount of experience rather than little to no experience. It’s worth the time and effort in the beginning to make sure that your short sale is going to be a success in the end.

About Shawn Polston

Shawn has been a Realtor since 2006. Prior to becoming an agent Shawn and his wife were active real estate investors. Shawn takes his education seriously; he’s taken over 200 hours of continuing education classes, to keep up-to-date on current laws and trends. Shawn is a member of the Arizona Association of Realtors Master of Real Estate Society and a Graduate of the Realtor Institute. He is also a HAFA certified Short Sales and Foreclosure Specialist in addition to being a National Association of Realtors Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource.