4 Demands to Make to Your Real Estate Agent

To distinguish between average real estate agents and great ones, you should make sure they can accommodate these four demands.

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Are you thinking about buying a home but dreading the challenges that come with the process? If you’re concerned about the unanswered questions surrounding what kind of house you can afford, how to schedule showings, and making sure that the paperwork is done right, I have a solution for you.

Hiring a real estate professional can take away most of the challenges involved in the home buying process. Like a great doctor or great accountant, a great real estate agent is always worth more than the commission that they charge.

Here is the best part: when buying a home, you don’t even pay the agent; you only pay for the loan officer who is getting your loan. I think that this is the reason that we hear more horror stories about buying a home than we do triumphant ones.

A great real estate agent is always worth more than the commission they charge.

If you want to lock down one of the best agents in your market, you must be able to distinguish an average agent from a great agent. According to many studies, an average agent sells just one to two homes per year. Great agents like us sell more than 50 homes every year. The agent you work with matters every single time. Here are the four demands you should make of your real estate agent when deciding which one to hire:

1. Tell the truth about the price. When making an offer on the home you want to buy, make sure that your agent walks you through the entire plan for getting your offer accepted. Too many agents just take the offer that you suggest and then try to work both you and the seller in negotiating phases later. In a competitive market, you need an agent who is going to help you make the best initial offer so that you stand out from the crowd. In today’s market, every house must be sold twice: once to you and once to your bank. If your agent doesn’t discuss this with you at the time of the original offer, this should raise a red flag.
2. Understand the time table that you and your family are dealing with. You’ll be moving yourself and your family into a new home. Whether the move revolves around the start of a new school year or a new job relocation, balancing the move and your life can be very emotionally draining. Demand that your agent appreciates the timetables you’re setting. Your agent cannot pick the exact time for your move, but they should exert any influence they can to make sure it all works out for you and your family.
3. Remove as many challenges as possible for you. It’s imperative that your agent knows how to handle the challenges that will arise in the transaction, and, more importantly, set the right expectations for you so that you’re prepared for them in advance. An agent’s ability to negotiate is critical in this market. Remember, if you have a weak agent who’s negotiating with you on parts of the purchase offer, don’t expect them to turn into a superhero when they’re negotiating with the seller.
4. Find the right house for you. There is a reason that you’re putting yourself and your family through this arduous moving process. You’re moving on with your life for the better in most cases. The reason for moving is important, or you wouldn’t be dealing with all the headaches and challenges that come with buying and moving. Do not allow your agent to forget these motivations. Make sure that they keep you and your family’s real estate goals at the top of their list of priorities. If they discover that something needs to be done in order to obtain your real estate goals, insist they have the courage to inform you about it.

Good agents know how to deliver good news; great agents know how to deliver tough news but get you fantastic results. In today’s market, you need a great agent! If you have any other questions about buying or selling real estate in the Orange or LA County area, give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you!

Taking a Look at Past Interest Rates

There are many great Orange & LA County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions. 

There's been quite a bit of speculation about whether interest rates are going to rise soon. While everyone agrees rates will rise sometime next year, no one really knows when. One thing we do know is that rates are currently at historic lows. Based on a $200,000 home and a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, we put together this chart to illustrate how lucky we are right now:

• 1970s: The average rate was 8.86%, the average payment was $1,589
• 1980s: The average rate was 12.7%, the average payment was $2,166
• 1990s: The average rate was 8.12%, the average payment was $1,484
• 2000s: The average rate was 6.29%, the average payment was $1,237 
• Today: The average rate is 4.10%, the average payment is $966

Even with rates expected to rise, we are in great shape historically. If there is a one point increase, rates will still be well below the average of the last four decades. The market is in a strange place right now - prices are softening, inventory is starting to rise, and interest rates are incredibly low. Really, it's a fantastic time to look for a home.

One thing to think about, however, is the potential for rates to rise more than a single point. If the past decades tell us anything, it's that rates are never this low and if they are, they don't stay low. Years from now, people won't be talking about the price they got for their home, but the interest rates they were able to lock in!

Whether you're refinancing, downsizing, or upgrading, now is the time to lock in an incredibly low interest rate and increase your future spending power. Low rates make or break what you're able to afford payment-wise, so give us a call and we'll set you up with some great lenders. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

The Benefits of Trading Up

There are many great Orange County area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (714) 335-0844 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

The Benefits of Trading Up
I want to talk to you about a subject that  I am very passionate about. I want to discuss trade up purchases. We specialize in these types of property sales at Frank Del Rio and Associates, and there are many benefits of trading up that you need to know about.

"Trading Up" refers to selling your existing property in order to purchase a more expensive property. This has become a common trend with our clients for a couple of different reasons:

• Our clients want to lock in the mortgage rates on a more expensive home. Mortgage rates are at an all-time low and locking in these rates now is a wise investment. 
• Trading up also locks in any future appreciation that a home may have. The more expensive a home is, the more it will appreciate in value over time.

 There are a couple different ways that you can trade up: 

•  You could sell your existing home first and then purchase a new one.
•  You could purchase the new home first and sell your old home at a later date

Whichever method you prefer, I am more than willing to aid you with expert guidance and advice throughout the entire process, ensuring that you make a sound decision with the best results possible.

If you have any questions about how to price your property, then please don't hesitate to contact me. You can reach me via phone or email and I would be more than happy to share some advice with you.