Is it that time again? Time to look for your new home, or, maybe if you are lucky, your dream home. As we all know the housing market has been a little bit weedy in the last couple of years, but luckily there are options for the motivated buyer who knows the savvy tricks to get your dream house while not breaking the bank.

The Right Realtor can Mean the Difference Between Success and Failure

A humorist once said that choosing between Realtors was like finding the right lawyer for your capital case. Basically this means that your Realtor could be your best chance or your Achilles heel when buying a home. When looking for a Realtor you might have luck by searching at home first. Your family and friends can be invaluable resources when looking for the right real estate agent for you. Talk to your loved who may have recently bought or sold a house to see if they were satisfied with their Realtor, you may just luck out and not even need to lift a finger to get the right advocate.

Use The Web

Another good way to get the right Realtor in your corner is by doing something that you probably do everyday, a web search. Research your potential candidates, see what kind of listings they have on their website. Are they managing several homes for sale or just a few? This might be able to give you an idea of how much time they devote to their realty. For some, they may just be moonlighting. Also check to see what kind of properties they usually deal with. If their clients are more of the beer drinking college type and you are of the champagne and cocktail party variety, they may not be able to accommodate your tastes effectively.

Get Sneaky

While ideally your Realtor might be your best friend during your housing search, it might be a good idea to sneak around behind their back from time to time. Nobody knows your tastes when it comes to looking at homes for sale better than you, therefore you should still be doing housing research on your own. Check out a couple of open houses, look at listings online and check with your friend circle to see if they know of any new properties. By expanding your search on your own you can double your chances of finding that perfect forever home.