Garland, Texas is a city that lies just outside the Greater Dallas Metro Area that is known as a great place for families to enjoy a laid-back lifestyle just a drive away from everything you can hope to find in big-city Dallas. Residents of Garland love to enjoy the outdoors and can be found enjoying one of the area’s golf courses or fishing on Lake Ray Hubbard. The expansive lake offers a variety of activities including numerous creek and forest preserves filled with trails for hiking, biking and getting in touch with nature. Whether you are looking to buy a new home or sell your existing one, homes in Garland is in an excellent position with over 12% growth in the average home value within the last year. The first step in your next real estate move will be to find a Realtor®in Garland. These tips will help you select the perfect real estate agent for your needs. 

Ask for Referrals
Don’t be shy about asking friends, family members and co-workers about their recent real estate experiences. You may luck out and gain a referral for an excellent realtor right off the bat. Remember, a word-of-mouth referral isn’t necessarily a guarantee that you will work well with that particular agent simply because someone you know had a good experience. Make sure you vet any recommended agents to ensure they will be a good fit. For example, if someone you know had a great experience working with an agent that specializes in million-dollar homes and you are looking to sell a modest 3-bedroom house, that particular agent may not consider your smaller home a priority. 

Work with a Truly Local Realtor
Garland, Texas is often considered part of the Greater Dallas Metro Area. However, it is truly a community unique to itself. When you search for a realtor in Garland, make sure that the agent you choose to work with has a strong record of real estate closings in Garland and doesn’t simply work there as an extension of the work they do in Dallas or nearby Plano. You can look at an agent’s past transactions to verify the zip codes are within decent proximity of the area you are looking to live in or the area the home you are selling falls within.

Let Technology Do the Legwork
These days, technology has made nearly everything easier and more streamlined. Instead of simply searching for real estate agents and finding yourself bombarded by a never-ending list of potential realtors, let data-based technology do the legwork for you. Effective Agents utilizes an algorithm that relies on past closing data to verify an agent’s level of success. The site will analyze the information you provide to give you a custom list of the best performing realtors® that are most likely to have success for your specific real estate needs. You can take things one step further and opt to have those on the list of top agents contact you directly to bid to earn your business, saving your time and energy. 

Find more housing in Garland and other real estate news by registering on 214area, your free guide to the Dallas area.