Michelle Richardson

The best advice I can give a buyer trying to purchase a home in today's market, is to use a buyers agent that represents them. Find an agent experienced in the true art of selling a home. What I mean by that is how much education, designations, years of experience to they have to know when a problem is going to arise... before it does! This alone can save you thousands of dollars. Nobody likes deadlines; however, the real estate contract is full of them... make sure you have an Realtor that points out every deadline there is, so you are not in default to possibly lose your deposit. When it comes to the real estate process, years of experience can help you with finding the best mortgage brokers, title companies, home inspectors, and insurance companies! My team has saved buyers at least 1% in interest rates, explains the ins-and-outs of title, insurance, and also home inspections. Also, if you are a first time home-buyer your Realtor should have a home-buyer guide explaining the process for you to go through. And lastly, every agent can talk a good game over the phone, make sure to meet them in their office for a 30-45 minute meeting going over what you are looking for, your financial means, and to make sure you are both comfortable to work together for a 1-3 month process.

Commission shouldn't be the first thing that you are worried about.... Statistics should be! Depending on your motivation and how fast you want to sell your home, statistics can help you position your home to sell quickly or sit on the market. Home sellers are savvy today. They know the value of a dollar, and they know the market is strong right now. With less than 4 months of inventory on the market right now, there are tons of buyers and not enough homes for them. Last year Pompano Beach, double the homes sold from this year, but at a lower price. This year it's half the sales and higher the $$$ in home sellers pockets in certain areas. A good agent can provide you with these statistics to let you know where you stand, and how much closing costs are going to be. Depending on what you are selling, a single family home or condo... marketing is mostly done online. Top Real estate Companies like Re/Max, Coldwell Banker, Keller Williams and others, know this is a fact, and use their marketing dollars to make sure your home gets the most exposure. This is especially important if your home is unique or luxury. RE/Max First, the company I work for is in over 90 different countries, we have a massive global market that your home will be exposed too. Also, hire a Realtor that has been in the business over several years, they have built up great relationships with other Realtors in the area to make sure your home received hyper local exposure to their clients. Lastly, don't hire a YES Realtor, hire a Realtor that is honest with you about pricing, shows you statistics, past sales, and tenacity to want to do whatever it takes to get the home sold!

First Time Home-buyers, Downsizing, Upsizing, Foreclosures, Short Sales, Waterfront, Luxury, Single Family, Townhomes, Condos, Relocation, Divorce, Seniors moving upstate, Foreign Buyers

I just sold a condo where the woman was 95 years old, she was moving upstate with her daughter and had dementia. She was just adorable and so sweet. I am pretty sure she had over 100 cow ornaments in her home LOL. She had it on the market with a another Realtor for 6 months and it didn't sell. Her son-in-law who was a commercial broker from upstate called me and told me they couldn't get it sold. So I met with the woman and her daughter, explained everything to them in detail and sold got their condo sold.

I worked for a apartment leasing company. They would offer Realtors 1 month commission if they brought in the renter. This one Realtor would come in almost daily and bring us someone... She would walk out with a hefty check and I would get $100.00. That always sat in the back of my mind. A year later I was worked in the billing department for a temporary stay company, they told me they were going out of business that that I had about 30 days left to get everything in order before they closed their doors. My manager was the nicest woman I had ever met, and so I signed up for the Real Estate course and studied while I worked! 30 days later I was a Realtor, and I had no idea what I was getting myself into LOL... 10 years later, I'm still here!

The day I got my Real Estate license, I knew absolutely nothing about real estate! The course basically teaches you how to stay out of trouble. So I decided to take several designation courses over the past 10 years to stay on top of the market, marketing, and negotiating. (SRS) Sellers Representative Designation (RENE) Real Estate Negotiation Expert (CLHMS) Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialistr Licensed Real Estate Broker All of these designations along with years of training courses, has helped me to stay on top of the market and help buyers and sellers with their 1 goal... get the home to the closing table~