What You Need To Know About Finding Destin Realtors

Were you thinking of buying some property in Destin, Florida? I hope that you’ve thoroughly educated yourself on the market and are ready to proceed ? having done over 50 million in property transactions in my time, I have a few helpful hints for you as you begin your search.

Personally, I think that about 95% of agents and brokers really won’t do all that much for you ? but the other 5% are truly great. While this may sound a little harsh, I’ve found this to be true in my personal experience; in Destin and every other market I’ve worked in. I’m going to assume here though that you are looking for a Destin realtor to buy a property.

Here is my challenge to you. Go to Google and type in the search term “Destin Realtor”. After you get back 14 bajillion results, now start clicking from Google to their web sites…. What do you see?

Probably that almost all of them look exactly the same. The typical realtor’s website you’ll find will have a smiling photo of the realtor, a place to search MLS, a spot for their listings, an about me section and a brief profile of the community ? everything a prospective buyer needs, right?

Having done my share of searching for real estate agents all over the country, I’ll tell you what you won’t find on these sites: no way to tell whether or not he or she has any idea what they are talking about. I know that any agent can show me the MLS and that they could take me around to look at some properties.

But why would you or anyone else want to deal with a real estate agent or broker who doesn’t know the market and the community like they know the back of their hand? I know I’d rather work with an agent who is intimately familiar with the territory.

How Do You Find The Top 5%? So while there here are a number of ways to find a REALTOR or agent in Destin, how do you go about finding a good one? I know this will sound counterintuitive but the simple most important step you can take is to FIRST, EDUCATE YOURSELF ON THE MARKET. Recently I wrote a blog post where I suggested that the potential buyer spend some time on realtor.com really studying what is for sale, what does it cost, where is it located, what features come with what dollars, etc.

Why? Simple ? you will ten know when you are actually talking to agents and brokers whether or not they are knowledgeable about the market in Destin. Tell the broker what you’re looking for exactly and then listen. If they’re good at what they do, then they’ll get what you’re looking for and be able to give you truly valuable information. If they are not so skilled, be prepared for them to not make a whole lot of sense and have them push one or two properties in particular at you.

Even if you think you have the best person on your first call, don’t stop there. Interview a few more until you are absolutely convinced you have the right person. Now you are in a position to really start working hand in hand with person finding the right property for you in Destin.