Who should you trust?

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Someone once said “trust your gut” and others have said “follow the money” while an obvious good rule of thumb is to pay the most attention to facts when considering something. Is it possible to do all of these, and more, when you are about to make a decision? If you are selecting a professional to represent your best interests, how many questions do you ask them as you come to a decision about their involvement? Have they sold the most homes? Have they been in business for many years? Do they reside in the same area as you?

Not everyone would come to the same conclusion when interviewing a sales professional. Some sellers, or buyers, would prefer to work with someone who is newer in the business and has the time and energy to help they get what they want out of a real estate transaction. Others might anticipate difficult negotiations and lots of complications and prefer to work with someone who has been a professional for many years (and knows what constitutes a red flag).

Should the title of this post be “whom would you trust”? If your needs are different from mine, our respective choices may be different and both may be exactly correct. So yes, trust your gut, pick someone who has knowledge and experience, select a person or team with ethics and a drive to help you accomplish your goals. Follow the money in that you can ask for past results, although we know well past results are no guaranty of future performance!

Keep asking questions, even after the process has begun. If you become disappointed down the road, consider starting over again, or at least reconfirming your needs and how the professional will address them to your satisfaction.

Trust is very important. An early impression I learned, from advertising, was to “trust the man with the star”. Was that a Texaco service station employee or a member of a police force? If I wear a star, would you trust me?

Posted in Posts & Updates, Real estate career, Santa Fe, Uncategorized and tagged , , .

The writer is a 68 year-old young man engaged as an active REALTOR (associate broker) with Keller Williams, in real estate sales and management in the Santa Fe NM market area. My career has been in and around the real estate industry for more than 35 years, ranging from mortgage lending (interim, commercial, residential); residential property management and leasing; shopping center development and leasing; real estate sales; sales training; title insurance as an executive and an escrow officer; various management positions; consulting and other related activities. That plus a bunch of banking experience including our family-owned Bank of Santa Fe in the 1980s. Where has the time gone?
My background means you have my working knowledge of the entire transaction process at your disposal. That comes with honesty and no bullshit.