Choosing Ocean City Real Estate Agent or Ocean Pines Real Estate Agent

Buying real estate in Ocean City MD or real estate in Ocean Pines MD should be a fun, enjoyable and stress free process.  You are purchasing an Ocean City condo or Ocean Pines home to come and live the good life with us at the beach and that should start when you begin looking for your Ocean City property.  The overall process of buying or selling real estate in Ocean City or Ocean Pines is going to be largely influenced by the Ocean City Realtor or Ocean Pines Realtor that you choose to work with.  You are going to spend a fair amount of time with this real estate agent in search of your beach destination and they eventually are going to be responsible for a majority of the details of which will likely be one of the largest, most expensive purchases you will ever make.  Needless to say you want to find a good agent and that is not necessarily the one whom has the property listed or is sitting in the office that you may walk into.  You will want to do some research in finding a good Ocean City Realtor or Ocean Pines Realtor and that should begin by asking friends and family, researching on the Internet for agents that have a strong web presence, checking agent review sites, etc.  Once you have found a few candidates you should then go and interview them and choose one that you are comfortable with and is knowledgeable of the Ocean City real estate market.  The primary factors to look for in a good Ocean City MD real estate agent are local market knowledge, their experience and results, the systems and procedures they have in place, are they full or part time agents,  web presence, responsiveness, high pressure vs. low pressure, their network of affiliates and their negotiating skills.

Ocean City and Ocean Pines Real Estate Market Knowledge

One of the first things to look for is an agents overall knowledge of the Ocean City real estate and Ocean Pines real estate markets.  The Ocean City MD real estate market and Ocean Pines real estate market are unique in that they offer a large variety of property types and locations, from Ocean City oceanfront condos to Ocean Pines waterfront homes.  All of the various property types offer their own unique nuances and specific things to look for and you want to ensure that the agent is familiar with all of them.

You also will want to check on the potential agents knowledge of the current market conditions at any given time.  They should be able to tell you how many and for how much properties in specific areas are selling for, at what percent of list price are properties settling at, what is the days on market for the properties that have sold, etc.  These are all important factors that will go into your decision of which properties to pursue and more importantly, to ensure you get the best deal possible.

Ocean City MD Real Estate Experience and Results

Looking at an agents experience,  results and track record in the real estate business are also important factors to consider.  There is no other way to learn the ins and outs of the Ocean City real estate business than by getting into the trenches and assisting Buyers and Sellers with their specific needs.  Experience shouldn’t be gauged only be years in the business.  There are a ton of agents who have been in the business for many years and only do a couple of transactions a year.  There are just as many agents who have been in the business for a lot less time whom have jumped in feet first and are doing 15-20+ transactions a year.  The only way to learn the necessary negotiating skills, handling the unique nuances of Ocean City MD real estate and Ocean Pines real estate, finding the right property, etc. are by actually doing the deals.  Don’t be afraid to ask an agent how much business they are doing in terms of number of transactions and dollar volume and in what parts of the market.  If they don’t want to tell you or dance around the question there is probably a reason.  The goal of all of this is finding a competent, experienced agent that you are comfortable with and whom is familiar with the property type and location that you are interested in.

Full Time, Part Time or Some Time Ocean City Realtor or Ocean Pines Realtor

Real estate markets across the country are comprised of agents who sell real estate full time to support their families, others that sell real estate as a supplement to another career and agents who sell real estate sometimes, like when a Buyer falls out of the sky.  There are plenty of good part time agents out there, but I would keep an eye on the some times agents.  If possible you want to find an Ocean City Realtor or Ocean Pines Realtor who does this full time as the current real estate market and all of the various components of the overall transaction require it.  Any given real estate transaction is comprised of financing, inspections, Home Owners Association reviews, title and deed preparation, utility transfers, obtaining insurance …. the list goes on and on.  In order to properly handle a majority of these items, so you don’t have to, an agent needs to be available pretty much at any time.  In addition with the tight lending guidelines and tight negotiations currently going on, things are going to pop up and they need to be handled immediately in order to get the best deals and keep the transactions together.

Systems and Procedures for Buying or Selling Real Estate in Ocean City MD

An agent should have a clear plan of action for you regardless of whether you are a Buyer or Seller.  For Buyers they should be bringing you up to speed on where the market is when you begin your search for Ocean City property, provide you with ALL of the listings that are available relative to your wants and needs, provide you with instant updates as new opportunities become available,  arrange for you to see any properties that may be of interest to you and provide you with market data to determine the true value of properties that you are interested in.  Once you have identified a property they should be competent in preparing all of the necessary paperwork for the offer, ensuring you understand the entire contract and process, presenting the offer to the Sellers agent and validating the basis of your offer and negotiate the best terms possible based on your comfort level…ultimately securing the best deal for you.  Once the deal is ratified they should have a clear process for getting through the contract phase to closing. 

For Sellers the agent should be able to provide you with a comprehensive market value based on recent comparable property data and market conditions, their plan of action for marketing your property, their intentions for securing and negotiating an offer that is acceptable to you and their abilty to oversee a transaction and ensure it settles at the original terms that were negotiated.

Responsiveness

If you call an Ocean City Realtor or Ocean Pines Realtor initially and it takes them a half a day or day to get back to you …. RUN!  In today's technology age there is no reason why you shouldn’t be supplied answers to your questions or requests for information in a timely and thorough manner.  Getting the best deals and keeping the transactions together for those deals requires an agent that is on top of there game and able to respond and react quickly.

High Pressure vs. Low Pressure Selling

There are all types of sales people out there.  There are agents out there that will hound you till you are so sick of it you will buy something to get rid of them.  On the opposite end of the spectrum there are the agents that don’t get out of bed till noon and might look at the multiple listing service once a week.  We prefer to be in the middle and allow you to move at your own pace and comfort level, but are not afraid to let you know when a good deal relative to your wants becomes available or when a specific part of a transaction needs to be handled in a timely manner.  Quite frankly we don’t care when you buy, so long as when you do you are happy and comfortable with your purchase and tell all your friends and family about it.

The Ocean City Realtors or Ocean Pines Realtors Network of Affiliates

The purchase of real estate in Ocean City MD or Ocean Pines MD will be comprised of a lot of working parts which will include the Buyer and Seller, their real estate agents, mortgage lenders, settlement attorneys, home inspectors, insurance agents, etc.  A good agent should have a cohesive group of vendors that they work with that are accountable to the particular Ocean City Realtor to ensure a smooth transaction.  A good agent should be able to get questions answered with supporting documentation regarding financing, settlement costs, insurance, etc. through their network for you in a timely manner.  In addition the various members of this network should be available to you prior to your purchase or sale to address any specific questions or concerns you may have. 

Ocean Pines or Ocean City MD Real Estate Website Presence

Having a website in today’s real estate world is imperative and if an agent does not have a site I would question their commitment to this profession.  Over 90% of Buyers who purchased real estate last year used a internet search portal at some point in the process.  For Sellers an Ocean City Realtor or Ocean Pines Realtor has to have a strong web presence in order to effectively market and sell Ocean City MD real estate and Ocean Pines MD real estate.  For Buyers the Ocean City Realtor or Ocean Pines Realtor should have a dynamic website that provides all of the tools you need including the ability to search ALL of the Ocean City and Ocean Pines real estate listings, calculators to determine the various costs associated with your potential purchase, articles explaining all of the various steps involved, opportunity to receive new, relevant listings as they become available, etc. 

An Ocean City Realtors or Ocean Pines Realtors Negotiating Skills

One can not go to college and take negotiating 101, it has to be learned through life's experiences and for a Ocean City Realtor, by successfully completing real estate transactions.  It is more imperative than ever to have an agent with proven, proficient negotiating skills in order to secure the better deals, such as Ocean City foreclosures or Ocean Pines foreclosures, and oversee the transaction through to settlement.  There is a lot of emotion from Buyers and Sellers in any given real estate transaction and it is a good agents job to manage that and not let it get in the way of the big picture.  This market requires out of the box thinking, persistence and experience in order to get our Buyer clients the best deal possible, and for our Sellers to get the highest price possible in the shortest amount of time.

 

In conclusion the Ocean City real estate agent or Ocean Pines real estate agent that you choose to work with is going to be responsible for a large part of one of the biggest financial transactions you will ever make.  You want to spend some time and find a good Ocean City Realtor or Ocean Pines Realtor that you are comfortable with, knows the ins and outs of the Ocean City real estate market, is responsive, thorough and committed to his or hers line of work and provides you with all of the information that you need in order to realize your dreams of owning property in the Ocean City MD area.  Feel free to contact us directly anytime at 443-614-9179 if you would like to discuss this process in greater detail.