I'm looking to leave this wonderful slice of Northern Virginia this summer, how would I find a real estate agent that will most accurately tell me (a) the value of our property and (b) be able to provide the maximum value?

Is there a website that compares realtors, how many properties they have on the market, their success rate, etc?



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2011 11:52PM by Rambunctious.

Where are you moving to? I've lived in Centreville my entire life, but I'm moving sometime in the next year or two.

Inside the Beltway, I just can't take the commute anymore.

Rambunctious Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Inside the Beltway, I just can't take the commute
> anymore.



Oh god. I'm moving further west down 66 to get out of this hell hole, and you're going deeper into it! God speed!

I gotta go where the jobs are, good luck on your mission.

Your best bet if northernvirginiahomes.com or northernvahomes.com

I've used a great couple to handle a few of my transactions over the past 4 - 4.5 years. In fact, they actually represented us by selling our townhome at the peak of the market in Centreville, so we could get out. They've also represented other family members of mine in real estate transactions, with lots of success. They know the Centreville market will - are honest about competitive market analysis numbers. Many agents will tell you the news you want to hear - but, they may be over-exaggerating a bit to get your listing.

http://www.ahome4youtoo.com - these are the people I recommend for the Centreville market.

When and if you ever find a real estate agent who is a real person, you better hold on to them, because the majority (THE GREAT MAJORITY) of them (in this area) are complete and total lying, stealing, cheating, superficial Trash of the Highest Order (esp. if you see em driving Mercedes or BMW).

The Sniper missed their asses. :(

interview them

vaburbia.com

Nice timing, apparently Zillow provides these ratings http://rismedia.com/2011-01-13/zillow-surfaces-thousands-of-real-estate-agent-ratings-and-reviews/

My theory (works all the time) for selecting a realtor: Find the one with the biggest boobs and flashiest car! That way, even if you don't find a house you like, at least, you can boink her in the back seat.

I always like finding a good, reliable and honest one, and sticking with them. I have had a lot of bad ones before. A good group is the Dare to Compare team with Century 21. Ask for Rich L.

A realtor isn't who tells you the value of your home. An appraiser is. Higher one independently and then go see a realtor if you want to sell. Realtor's want to price your home as high as they can for maximum commission (same goes for selling you a house---they want you to buy the highest priced home they can get for you). Doesn't necessarily mean that's what it is worth.

Get some recommendations from friends and schedule three or four over to your house (at different times of course). Then go with your gut and pick the one you like best.

Good advice in this thread.

Spoke with the manager of my housing community and she passed on a pair of names of agents that have been in the area for ~10 years. Both are coming by tomorrow to give their sales pitch and provide comments on what is needed to sell my house this summer.

I don't know about buying, but if any you are selling and not buying, hire a Korean realtor -- he has many fellow countrymen moving into C'Ville.

NOT Spectrum Realty. Completely unprofessional, and weighted heavily in favor of the seller.

I had a really good experience with a Samson Realtor, and the commission was only 4%, although it looks like they recently raised it to 4.5-5%. I also got money back on the transaction.

remax.com
their agents sell more than any and on the site you can search based on a butt load of criteria.
I have some friends that were real happy with Kelly Jones in Springfield

My advice is to hire an appraiser to give you an appraisal of your home (cost is going to be between $300-$400 more then likely) Line up a few realtors, interview them and see which ones give you a price in line with what the appraiser said your house's market value is.

I would suggest this guy, Mike Giampa (www.yourappraisalservice.com) as he is a certified appraiser and a real estate broker and has been in the business for nearly 20 years now.

Kelly is in springfield. He has been doing it for over 20 years. From the area, played basketball and football at Edison.
www.buyahome.net
Good guy. but to be fair you should talk to a few agents.

An appraiser is NOT going to give you an accurate value for a listing price. Very rarely does an appraisal come anywhere close. The appraisal only has meaning to the lender giving the loan. The buyer obviously needs the appraisal to come in close to what they are paying for financing but if they were paying all cash, it doesn't mean much.
An experienced realtor will know what homes are listing and selling for. They stand to make nothing if priced too high and less commission if priced too low.

Whobe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
"An appraiser is NOT going to give you an accurate
value for a listing price. Very rarely does an
appraisal come anywhere close."

Are you refering to the originial listing price or what the house sells for in the end? I find that realtors generally inflate the listing price (asking price) only to have to drop it in the end.

"The buyer obviously needs the appraisal to come in
close to what they are paying for financing but if
they were paying all cash, it doesn't mean much."

Of course rarely does anyone pay cash in this market so you are making what point? Oh that the appraisal is based on what houses actually SELL for Not what they are LISTED for? Hmmmmmmm?

"An experienced realtor will know what homes are listing and selling for. They stand to make nothing if priced too high and less commission if priced too low."

And theres the rub in your arguement/debate...well two rubs actually. First the realtor makes a COMMISSION, meaning the more the house sells for, the more he/she makes...so list it high and hope like hell some Korean buys it. Second, where do you think the appraiser gets the info for the appraisal? The SAME MLS that the nitwit realtor uses to get his/her info. Appraisers are paid a fee ($300-400 generally) per appraisal, not a commission based on how high they appraise the house. They would be an impartial 3rd party that will know the area better then a reatlor that sells 10 houses a year, a good appraiser will apprasier 10 houses a week.

Do you really need to waste your money on some scum sucking real estate agent? Market isn't great, so what is the point in giving those pieces of crap 6 percent for nothing. Oh right, listing it. Big fucking deal. Sell it yourself.

Had two realtors come out last Friday, they differed in what they wanted to put the house on the market by $50k! Both wanted to have the house on the market by March or April at the latest. They said there was a flood of houses in the summer and if you put it on the market in May that was just giving up and too late.

Neither seemed interested in finding home that I could move into or concerned that I might sell my house and not have a place to go into. Yea, I'm going to keep looking.

Charlet Shriner is the best in town. She is based out of Clifton/Centreville so she knows the area like the back of her hand. http://www.shrinerhomes.com/

Yes Charlet Shriner will give you a nice reach around while she screws you up the butt, making off with her commission...

They're all a bunch of uneducated, money hungry, conniving old cunts that assume clients and potential clients are just as stupid as them. Problem is, most are.

Seriously, finding one that actually knows what they are doing is nearly impossible. Finding an honest one...forget it.

You can find the exact same info and sell your place on your own, it'll be more work for you, but worth it in the long run. The internet and Google are your friend.

Dude, google that. Trust me, and Google can provide you with much more information than you think. Considering the number of real estate agencies we have nowadays, I don't think it's tough to find one. You just have to find the one with the best feedback from previous customers, and it's not a tough thing. You can find many real reviews on different forums and so forth. Besides that, you can also find a great job in this domain. The best paid jobs in real estate are incredibly popular among young people.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/17/2022 06:10AM by Reidlake.