A Great Auctioneer/Realtor Passed Away

A great Auctioneer/Realtor has gone home to be with the lord. Dannie Hess set a high standard for us in the real estate profession to follow. Integrity, kindness, concern for others and willingness to do the right thing...are my memories of Mr. Hess. He will be missed.

OAR

Jeff and Karen recently attended the Ohio Association of Realtors Annual Conference. The Convention Center located in Cleveland played host to this annual conference, held in mid-September. The continuing education classes were great! Jeff's favorite classes were led by Terry Watson and Dave Beson. Information regarding advanced techniques of marketing homes, websites, the latest technology available to Realtors was presented. A stay at the Marriott across from the convention center provided excellent accommodations!

Tags: Ohio Association of Realtors, OAR, Annual Conference, Cleveland, Terry Watson, Dave Beson, Realtor

All Realtors are the Same

The greatest misunderstanding I see taking place in the market today is the idea that all Realtors are the same… and nothing could be farther from the truth. That’s like saying all doctors are the same, all teachers are the same, all attorneys are the same… ask OJ about that one, all mechanics are the same. Simply not true!

Realtors are as different as the East is to West! In my mind, about the only thing Realtors have in common is a Real Estate license. From there, you the buyers and sellers need to compare when choosing representation.

Experience, number of years in the business, full time vs. part time, education, number of yearly transactions, and satisfied past clients should be taken into consideration when choosing a Realtor. Let’s say you are faced with major heart surgery. Would you choose a doctor who says this is his second surgery and the first patient died! I don’t think so. You would choose the surgeon who has performed hundreds of successful surgeries with no losses. Just like the importance of heart surgery, for most families, their real estate transaction represents the largest financial event usually in their lifetime.

Let’s look at education. Those letters you see after a Realtors name are very important. They represent professional designations that the Realtor has obtained. Many of those designations have taken months, with travel, covering a multitude of real estate related subjects, and thousands of dollars to obtain so that you can be represented in your real estate transaction by the best. Trained to negotiate. Trained to get you the most money, in the shortest period of time, with the fewest hassles. Defenders of your equity! You’ve worked hard for your money… don’t give it away!

Marketing. No two real estate companies market the same. You, the buyer or seller owe it to yourself to discover the differences. After all, you are paying for these services! Meet with your Realtor and discuss a proactive marketing plan for your property, what methods of marketing will be used, and obtain a satisfaction guarantee. Interview three Realtors and compare marketing, then choose the best one for you. I know you’ll be surprised!

"I’m going to list with the Realtor who offers the lowest commission." I like this one! Let me start by saying, Are real estate commissions negotiable? Absolutely! The old saying, “you get exactly what you pay for” pretty well applies to just about everything in life… including real estate! There are many limited services brokerages to choose from. When a Realtor says they will do it for less, your antennas need to go up immediately! You need to begin to look very closely at what services you may or may not be about to receive. The best is never cheap.

Shop for a Realtor the same way you would any other service! Compare and then decide. You’ll be glad you did! Visit our website to see The Dickey Group difference!

Tags: Realtor, Real Estate, Marketing