How to Choose a Real Estate Broker
Most people spend more time deciding what to eat for dinner than on choosing a broker. The broker you choose makes a huge difference when it comes to buying or selling a home. It’s important to know what to look for and what questions to ask.
When Selling a Home
The skills that a broker needs to have to sell your home include knowing the market and understanding how to negotiate. Here are some ways to find a great broker:
Get Recommendations From Friends
It’s likely that you know someone who has sold their home. Ask around and see if any of your friends have worked with a broker they like. Consider hiring a family member if they have a broker’s license.
Interview in Person
It’s not enough to interview prospective brokers over the phone. Make appointments to interview brokers in person. Interview at least three brokers so you can compare them with each other. See which one strikes you as being the most capable.
Ask About Recent Deals
A good broker should be able to tell you about some recent successes they’ve had. Don’t be afraid to ask for details. Find out why the sale was a success. Did it have to do with the market? Did the broker have to use any special negotiating skills?
When Buying a Home
You want a broker who really knows the area when you are buying a home. Here are some ways to choose:
Consider Their Network
Look for a broker with a very large network. This means that they’ll know about all the available inventory for you to look at. Some brokers may even know of available homes that haven’t yet been listed.
See If They Listen Well
A good broker listens to what the buyers want. Tell the broker what you’re looking for in a home. Then, ask them to recite it back to you. Did they remember all the important details?
Ask If They Will Drive
You want a broker that will give you good service. This means they’ll use their own gas and drive you around to look at homes. You shouldn’t have to use your own fuel.
Take your time when choosing a broker to buy or sell a home. The broker plays a large role in the success of the transaction.
Utilizing Social Media in Real Estate
Globally, around 2.8 billion people are active social media users. A large percentage of this population uses social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. Social media has advanced from being a mere socialization platform to becoming a major hub where businesses and business persons can establish crucial links through networking. To real estate investors, social media is handy in various ways.
Posting new listings
Social media platforms such as Facebook allow real estate investors to market their products by creating new listings. Such posts comprising of images and descriptions of properties can be promoted to increase viewership using social media marketing opportunities. The listings help generate leads from prospecting customers.
Efficient networking
Social media is a major hub for effective networking between real estate property developers, marketers, and prospecting clients. Different social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter give businesses and customers an opportunity to achieve peer-to-peer communication. Such communication comes in handy in facilitating business transactions in various perspectives.
Promoting trust
Social media gives real estate property developers and marketers as an opportunity to build a brand for themselves while promoting customers trust. For instance, marketers can boost their reputation and win the trust of other customers by posting images of the successful handover of property ownership after a successful deal has been negotiated. The social influence generated in this case helps to facilitate the generation of further leads.
Facilitating events
The real estate industry is packed with events such as the launching of new phases of real estate developments and property open days. Such events should be well attended by potential customers if they have to achieve their objective. In most cases, social media comes in handy in helping real estate event organizers to promote their events and attract the interest of the market. Live feeds and news from the procession of the events can then be fed to the general social media population as a way of reaching out to the mass market.
Customer service
Social media platforms also give businesses an opportunity to promote their customer service operations. By communicating directly with customers, realtors get a chance to interact directly with prospecting clients. Such efficiency in communication helps promote seamless business operations while lowering the cost of running a successful real estate business.
Common Misconceptions with Renting or Buying a Home
Homeownership is one of the milestones we are supposed to look forward to in our lives. It’s the stepping stone in life and a right of passage to being an adult. It is almost ingrained in our heads that buying a home is more cost-effective than renting an apartment or house. This is not always the case and is heavily based on your particular situation.
Many people go out and start looking for houses because they have been told over and over the benefits of buying property. It’s important to take a good look and debunk some of the common myths associated with real estate and homeownership once and for all. Potential buyers should understand if renting or buying a home is best for them.
A common misconception is that buying is better than renting. As previously mentioned, this is based on an individual, a couple, or a family’s situation. When buying a house, you will only start to see the savings and rewards from being in the home for at the very least, five years. People who are looking to uproot themselves and move often would be better off renting as not to have the liability of waiting to sell a home.
The majority of people who rent find that they don’t have the freedom to create a space that is their own. If you rent, you aren’t able to make in-home and property adjustments while living there. This is, in fact, true and the main reason why many renters will look to buying a home.
What many don’t understand is that even when you become a homeowner, there are stipulations in what home improvements you can do. This also includes how you maintain your property. For example, zoning guidelines, township regulations, and the homeowners association all dictate what can and cannot be done to your home.
Homeownership doesn’t need to be the most significant investment you make. Being a homeowner does create wealth over a long period of time, but it shouldn’t be an investment that will necessarily provide for your retirement. Even though renting can bog down many who want to own their own home, everything that is associated with homeownership may not always be understood.
Potential buyers should take a good look at their situation and what makes the most sense for the long term. If you are planning to stay in one place for an extended period and settle yourself in a location, then buying a home would be the right choice for you. It is best to way pros and cons that come with decisions in real estate because it’s one of the more substantial investments you will have during your lifetime.
About Avraham Glattman
Avraham Glattman is the owner of First American Properties Group, a real estate business based in New York City, New York.
Avraham brings over 26 years of experience working as a real estate agent in the city, where he continues to work today. He graduated from Newport University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management and remained at the university to attain his Masters of Business Administration (M.B.A.). After graduation, he jumped straight into the real estate field in 1992 in the greater New York City area. Throughout his career, Avraham has explored listings across the New York area, keeping a detailed account of the locations, pricing and comparable properties in the housing market.
After gaining a wealth of knowledge about the real estate marketing in New York, Avraham Glattman decided to take it a step further by creating First American Properties Group with his longtime business partner, Pete Jacov in 2008. First American Properties is a real estate and development company that services the five boroughs of New York. The company currently owns residential and commercial properties in Queens, Downtown Brooklyn, Harlem, and Manhattan. The company focuses on monitoring the growth and development in different areas of the city, so they can work to establish more patterns of growth and help revitalize the area.
While monitoring the different areas of New York City, Avraham Glattman consistently keeps an eye out on up-and-coming neighborhoods that he could potentially invest in. For example, after seeing Harlem, Avraham was immediately impressed by the neighborhood’s charm, leading him to invest in properties in the area. With a convenient location next to the subway and charming business like music venues in the area, it was not hard to see what attracted Avraham to the area.
Today, Avraham Glattman continues to find new investments with First American Properties Group, alongside his business partner, Pete Jacov. Together, they are working towards the goals that they set for First American Properties Group. The goals include acquiring property in the Harlem area to renovate and sell, as well as acquiring properties in all five boroughs.
Avraham Glattman is also the proud owner of 1927 Café Bar Popularr. Located in Harlem, the café serves a variety of open-faced Mediterranean sandwiches, called ‘Toastics’, and many types of coffee. Café Bar Popularr is proud of the rich artistic traditions of Harlem, and invites local musicians, authors, and comedians to visit and share their talents with friends.
Avraham was born and raised in Israel, where he went graduated high school. Not long after, he served in the Israeli army for three years, before he was sent to the United States to work with an Israeli newspaper in Brooklyn, NY. Not long after making the move to New York, Avraham met the woman that would become his wife in 1991. Together, they have three children.
In his spare time, Avraham Glattman enjoys spending his time with his wife and three children and loves to explore new parts of New York City. Avraham’s incredible dedication to both his work and family brings him immense happiness and purpose each day.
To learn more about who Avraham Glattman is, visit AvrahamGlattmanNewYork.com.
