Jane and I were recently on a flight and we were in the front row; giving us plenty of leg room.  It wasn’t just coincidence that we got those seats; my wife knew what she was doing because she is an experienced traveler. 

The same applies to real estate; you want someone with experience – who knows what they are doing.

If you went in to have heart surgery, you would want a surgeon who has been working for a long time as opposed to going to a brand new doctor. 

Experience pays off.

I recently had the opportunity to go to Israel and we learned a lot about the Holy Land.  We spent some time at the Dead Sea and our guide told us that you cannot get the water in your eyes or mouth because of the salt and to definitely not splash the water. 

One night we were getting ready for bed and I noticed a man outside and he ran and jumped in the water.  I  just knew what was going to happen next – he rubbed his eyes and immediately jumped out and started splashing regular water in his eyes. 

I laughed but felt sorry for him at the same time.  It was obvious that nobody had explained the rules of the game to him as they had to us. 

This same sort of thing happens in real estate sometimes; it is so hard when I see a friend or someone else I know hire a real estate agent who hasn’t “had his first rodeo”. 

When you want to buy or sell real estate, you want a seasoned pro – someone who knows what they are doing and what they are talking about.

I recently had a phone call from a homeowner asking for me to come over and list their property.  Before we hung up the phone she started to give me directions to her home.  I stopped her quickly and told her that if I didn’t know how to get to her home that she probably didn’t want to list with me.  She started to laugh and agreed with me. 

Experience is a valuable tool if applied properly. 

It amazes me that people will spend hours researching cars or a television before they purchase, but that they don’t seem to do the same thing when it comes to selecting a Realtor to buy or sell their home. 

I always say that you pay for advice, but that you pay twice as much for bad advice.

I had a friend who called me to list their property and I told them to list at $300,000.  They decided to list with another Realtor who told her the price she wanted to hear.  Unfortunately, she ended up “chasing the market down” and is now upside down on her home.  She said that the bad advice she received was very costly for her.

As most of you do; I often receive mail outs from Realtors at home.  Recently, I have had one Realtor mailing something about once a month claiming to be an expert in my particular market.

I find it funny because this particular agent has never made a sale in this market; in fact, his company has only made a couple of sales in this market. 

Unfortunately, this happens too often; people designate themselves as an “expert” at something just because.  I think this title is something you should earn. 

So when looking for the “expert” in your market, check the stats – and work with a real expert!

Welcome to the most current Housing Trends eNewsletter. This eNewsletter is specially designed for you, with national and local housing information that you may find useful whether you’re in the market for a home, thinking about selling your home, or just interested in homeowner issues in general.

The Housing Trends eNewsletter contains the latest information from the National Association of REALTORS®, the U.S. Census Bureau and Realtor.org reports, videos, key market indicators and real estate sales statistics, a video message by a nationally recognized economist, maps, mortgage rates and calculators, consumer articles, plus local neighborhood information and more.

Please click here to view the SEPTEMBER – 2010 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter.

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SEPTEMBER – 2010 Newsletter Housing Trends eNewsletter

I was on my way home one night and Jane asked if I could pick up canning jars at the grocery store.  I stopped at the store and I had no idea where to look – I started looking at the signs and realized that there was no sign that said “canning jars”. 

Instead of walking around aimlessly, I decided to ask one of the clerks who was stocking the shelves.  He told me right away that canning jars were on aisle 11.  If you want to find something in the store, you ask the clerk stocking the shelves because he is the professional – that is his job.

It is the same way in real estate.  You can begin your search online as many people do, but there are questions that you need a professional Realtor for, and that’s why I am here.  I know almost every home on Hilton Head Island and if there is something you want to know or a home you want to find, I can point you in the right direction. 

Click here to see a list of my featured listings on Hilton Head Island.  Be sure and let me know if you need additional information on any property or area on Hilton Head – I’m your Hilton Head Island professional Realtor.

I went to the dentist recently because I thought I needed a root canal.  The dentist told me that I did not need a root canal, but that I needed my tooth extracted because I had a broken root.  I asked how he tell my tooth had a broken root because I could not see anything.  He then made a comment saying that this is why he was the dentist and I was a Realtor. 

I started laughing when he said that because I have used a similar statement before; going to real estate school doesn’t make you a Realtor. 

I have friends who tell me that they want to take a real estate course to learn a lot about real estate.  You might learn the art of real estate, but getting your license only gives you the opportunity to sell real estate.  Being a Realtor involves knowing the market and putting to use your skills to good use.  Just like going to dental school doesn’t make you a great dentist – it takes experience and putting your skills to use that gets you there.

I spent a day at my farm with my son, son-in-law and one of my good friends and we did some work.  We were putting a roof on the shed and everyone realized that nobody had a power screwdriver.  It made me realize what a hard job it is to do something without the proper equipment – there were nails and screws flying everywhere!  It would have been so much easier if we had the tool we needed.

We were laughing about it, but it made me realize that so many real estate agents try to sell property without the proper equipment.  I know of one Realtor who does not even have a computer.  I have to ask myself how that works. 

I would be the first to admit that I am not the most technologically oriented person in the world, but to try and do the job without the proper equipment – you might be able to get it done, but not very well.

I decided to drive out to my farm one Saturday afternoon.  Everyone knows the villa schedule on Hilton Head – Check out Saturday morning, check in Saturday afternoon. 

As I was driving over the bridge into Bluffton, the traffic starting backing up driving eastbound on Hwy. 278; in fact, it backed up almost all the way to Interstate 95. 

With my local knowledge, I knew that there were several alternatives to get around the traffic – driving further south on Interstate 95 to Exit 5 or taking the Bluffton Parkway.  I knew that all these visitors in their SUVs with foreign license plates did not know these “local secrets.”

I think there is a lot of value in local knowledge.  This is not only true relating to traffic, but in real estate as well.  So many people make mistakes because they don’t ask an expert – remember, not all markets are created equal. 

And the next time you are in a traffic jam, remember that there are other options.  Give me a call and I’ll tell you how to get around it and if you need help with real estate, I can help you with that too.