How to Find Out If Your Agent is a Neighborhood Specialist

With the explosion of real estate websites and blogs over the past few years, it's becoming increasingly hard to figure out who online is a neighborhood specialist, since everybody and their grandmothers these days seem to be claiming that they are local neighborhood specialists when many are not.

It's especially worrisome for out-of-town buyers who are moving into a new area and may not know which agent to contact. The unsuspecting buyers who select agents based on the agents' puffed marketing may find they are in for a rude awakening after the home closes escrow. These buyers can end up living in an undesirable part of the neighborhood, pay too much for the home and not receive the types of home inspections specific to the area. For all they know, their agent might be brand new to the business, with no experience whatsoever in the neighborhood, much less in real estate.

A neighborhood specialist, in part, is a real estate professional whose home and / or office is located in or near the neighborhood, is actively taking listings in the neighborhood and / or represents buyers who buy homes in the neighborhood. A neighborhood specialist possesses intimate knowledge about an area that other agents do not, and can advise clients not only about the positive qualities in an area but also the negative. Neighborhood specialists provide full disclosure.

Sometimes I will see an "area expert" sign on a listing in my neighborhood of Land Park in Sacramento. Since I work with the active listing and selling agents in this neighborhood, I immediately know if the agent touting expertise is truthful or full of hot air. But buyers and sellers don't know the difference. More than one agent has been hauled before the Board of REALTORS for falsely claiming to be a neighborhood specialist because duped sellers and buyers have filed complaints. Why? Because the agents advertised they had specific knowledge, were held accountable for that knowledge and failed to deliver that knowledge to the client.

For more information about how you can you avoid being hoodwinked by some wanna-be experts . . . read more about neighborhood specialists.

More Articles by Elizabeth Weintraub, click below:

• Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent
  
• Working With Experienced Agents
  
• Relocating and Buying in a New Area

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_{At the time of writing, Elizabeth Weintraub, DRE # 00697006, is a Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate in Sacramento, California.}