Buying a house/ property is both exciting and stressful. Selling your property is just plain stressful. Many people do not know where to even begin when they are buying or selling their home. This is why it is essential for home buyers and home sellers to find a great Realtor to help them through the process. Follow these ten tips to make the process of finding a Realtor less difficult.

Great Property For Sale or Rent. Two Bedroom Fully furnished unit in the heart of Makati.

1. Find a Realtor that you trust. There are so many real estate agents so take the time to interview each agent before you decide to work with him or her.
2. Choose a Realtor that knows his or her facts. Most real estate agents have charisma, which makes it hard not to like him or her. When it comes down to it, choose a Realtor that provides you with honest facts, even if it is not what you want to hear.
3. A Realtor should know his or her way around the area. As a buyer you want to know that your agent can get you to each house on your list without getting lost. An agent that pulls over to look at a map does not instill confidence in a buyer.
4. The highest selling agent in the office may not be the best for you if you need extra attention. Choose an agent that has time to meet your specific needs and is not overwhelmed by other customers.
5. Choose a Realtor that works full time. There are some agents who work part time and buying or selling real estate requires the work of someone who can be there for you anytime.
6. Avoid pushy agents that push you to buy a house that you’re not sure of or that pushes you to list your home with him or her. Big decisions require time, avoid pushy agents. You wouldn’t believe the horror stories about pushy agents… I just recently worked with one who was actually pushing me to take a LOWER OFFER just so he could get the commission! Stay a thousand miles away!
7. Choose someone that is internet savvy and up to date on technology. A technological agent will have the world of real estate at his or her fingertips.
8. Choose an agent that has a strong network of professionals around him or her. This can be personal assistants or a great home inspector. If your Realtor recommends someone to you, it is likely that there is a good working relationship between the two professionals.
9. Find a Realtor who enjoys what he or she does and is happy and excited to work with you.
10. Word of mouth. Get a recommendation from someone that knows a great Realtor.

A good Realtor can make even a bad deal seem not so bad. Following these tips will help you to hand pick a Realtor that will help you with your real estate needs.

Investors use a variety of methods to help them evaluate potential investment opportunities. These range from as unscientific an approach as a hot tip from a realtor who has inside connections, to general rules of thumb, to advanced mathematical models. The goal of the Investors Toolbox Series is to identify all of these mathematical models and present them in an integrated manner showing their relationship with each other.

A comprehensive approach to real estate investment involves the use of all or part of 10 essential performance measures;

1. Net Income Return on Investment
2. Cash Return on Investment
3. Total Return on Investment
4. Net Operating Income
5. Capitalization Ratio
6. Debt Service Coverage Ratio
7. Turn Over Ratio
8. Gross Rent Multiplier
9. Operating Ratio
10. Break Even Ratio

The use of ratios in the analysis of income producing property is essential to properly and completely understand their respective values. Furthermore, ratios provide a gauge or general rule of thumb so that a specific property’s value can quickly be determined relative to similar properties that may be available.

Two precepts must then be remembered when applying ratio analysis. The first is the notion that Value is Relative. The smart investor knows that perhaps more important than any other part of the investment process is having a thorough understanding of the concept of real estate values. Steve Bergs likens this process to buying a car… If you are anything like most people, you’ld probably look at the newspaper ads first, call a few of them to get a firm understanding of what the Low, Mid and High price points are. After that, you would probably look at cars in each price point to see distinct differences. Having shopped around quite a bit, you may already be familiar with a car’s price and what represents “good value”. Good value in this case means a car that is equal or less than fair market value relative to others with similar features. Finally, you’ll begin the arduous task of negotiating price and terms. If you can’t reach an agreement, then its off to the next seller until you find a deal that works for you. Since an investment property is probably 10 times more expensive than a car, then it would make sense to spend at least as much the same time and effort shopping for that investment property.

Using the logic above, we can establish the precept that, Value is Relative. This logic leads us to the second precept that Performance Measurements Are Relative. The idea that Value is Relative leads us to conclude that measurements used to determine that “Value” must also be relative. For example, what might be considered a good Cap Rate (Capitalization Rate) in one area may be considered a poor one in another area. A Cap Rate of 8% may be considered good in Makati but extremely low in Ortigas.

The idea that Value and Measurement is Relative is essential for investors to both understand and apply. Without this knowledge it would be very easy to overpay for a property. Be sure to factor these precepts when analyzing potential investment opportunities.

Our next topic in this series is the one thing that all investors have in common and that is the desire to answer the question “How much will I make on my Investment?”. Stay tuned to find out how smart investors are able to answer that question using the mathematical models described above.