What should I look for in a good real estate agent?

A recent question posed via e-mail asked “What should I look for in a good real estate agent?” and of course my immediate answer was…Look no further you have found me! Then I thought about it and realized that the question deserved a real answer. So, if I was looking to buy a home somewhere where I knew nothing about the area… what would I do or better yet what would I look for in an agent?

# 1- I would look for an agent that is a REALTOR because I know that they would have to abide by a strict code of ethics and I know that not all agents are REALTORS.

# 2- Internet presence. I would Google their name and see what I could find out about them and the firm they worked for.

# 3- I would contact the licensing authority to see if there had been any disciplinary action taken against the agent.

# 4- I would contact the local board of REALTORS to make sure they are indeed a REALTOR in good standing.

# 5- Experience matters. I would want a buyer agent, someone who would represent me in the transaction.

# 6- I don’t care about someone being a Top Producer. I’d rather work with someone who makes me feel important to them. If they are too busy telling me about all the awards they’ve received and how many homes they’ve sold then I know it’s all about them and not really about me or worse yet that I am nothing but a dollar sign to them.

Lastly, there are many agents to choose from, I know this first hand but if you don’t feel right about the agent and if they do not go over an Agency Disclosure with you from the get go…walk away. In New Hampshire a REALTOR must give the consumer an agency disclosure upon first business meeting. You need to know who that agent represents BEFORE you spill your guts to them. There are many good ethical agents out there but there are many bad ones as well. Don’t risk it…

Of course you can save yourself a lot of grief and just call us :)

Jay and Monika @ 603-548-7685

NH Real Estate Professionals Jay and Monika McGillicuddy


Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, covering southern NH and the Seacoast area. If you’re thinking of selling or buying a southern NH or Seacoast area home give us a call…we’d love to help make your home ownership dreams come true.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

603-944-9172 direct

E-mail Jay and Monika

Prudential Verani Realty

603-926-3648 office

New Hampshire Home sales… it’s more than statistics

Opportunity Knocks

Opportunity Knocks

New Hampshire Home sales it’s more than statistics…much more

You can read all the statistics in the press and hear the dire reports on the news. In fact today’s New Hampshire Business Review, business news and analysis, had a headline crying out “NH Home Sales Drop 23 % in August” which talks about the drop in the real estate market in comparison to 2007. Those of us that lived through the infamous real estate year 2007 know that it was a pretty bleak year so you can imagine how 2008 has been for many. REALTOR membership numbers have dropped as well with many agents leaving the business. Those of us that are hanging in are finding it extremely hard but at the same time realize what a great opportunity we have.

I wish I had a crystal ball

The hard thing of course is to predict what will happen in the next year and how is the current financial crisis going to effect the real estate market. For buyers this is a prime picking season, as long as they are able to secure mortgage funds of course. Sellers are getting very creative and realistic if they have to sell. Last night I showed a new listing, it had been on the market one day and already had four above asking price offers in. [Read more...]

NH Real Estate Professionals Jay and Monika McGillicuddy


Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, covering southern NH and the Seacoast area. If you’re thinking of selling or buying a southern NH or Seacoast area home give us a call…we’d love to help make your home ownership dreams come true.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

603-944-9172 direct

E-mail Jay and Monika

Prudential Verani Realty

603-926-3648 office

Real Estate’s Paradigm Shift

The shifting New Hampshire Real Estate marketI’ve been thinking about this lately. When I entered the business in the mid eighties all the REALTORS knew each other and everyone worked hard to cooperate with each other. Then the market shifted, prices rose dramatically and everyone and their mother thought it would be cool to sell real estate. One day it all came to a screeching halt. The market changed and for those that were unaware, it felt like an over night change. Those that keenly watched the market knew what was happening and what was coming. It took awhile but the market eventually improved and the up cycle started all over again. [Read more...]

NH Real Estate Professionals Jay and Monika McGillicuddy


Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, covering southern NH and the Seacoast area. If you’re thinking of selling or buying a southern NH or Seacoast area home give us a call…we’d love to help make your home ownership dreams come true.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

603-944-9172 direct

E-mail Jay and Monika

Prudential Verani Realty

603-926-3648 office

Prudential Verani Hampstead takes the lead

I’m pretty excited about the fact that my office manager Carol Souter was recently installed as President of the Granite State South Board of REALTORS. While I understand 100% the time commitment involved in being president, I also know first hand the benefits that come with that position. Not only benefits to the agents in my company but benefits to our clients and customers as well. The cool thing is that Carol will be in the loop as far as changes and innovated marketing trends develop next year. Make no mistake about it, this market will continue to bring us changes. [Read more...]

NH Real Estate Professionals Jay and Monika McGillicuddy


Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, covering southern NH and the Seacoast area. If you’re thinking of selling or buying a southern NH or Seacoast area home give us a call…we’d love to help make your home ownership dreams come true.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

603-944-9172 direct

E-mail Jay and Monika

Prudential Verani Realty

603-926-3648 office

Don’t touch my blog!!!

I posted this article yesterday on Active Rain a social real estate blogging site. So far there are 89 comments on the post. My first post back in June on the topic had 129 comments on it. So you can tell Blogging or anything to do with curtailing it is a hot topic for many agents.I love blogging and I was very interested, when this past May blogging was brought up at my National Association of REALTORS Professional Standards committee meeting in DC. My ears perked up and I watched and listened closely wondering where this was going. I was relieved when the topic was referred back to sub-committee for further study. This Nov 14th my committee meets again in Vegas and I’m sure the sub committee report will be interesting.

My article as it appeared on Active Rain yesterday….

[Read more...]

NH Real Estate Professionals Jay and Monika McGillicuddy


Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, covering southern NH and the Seacoast area. If you’re thinking of selling or buying a southern NH or Seacoast area home give us a call…we’d love to help make your home ownership dreams come true.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

603-944-9172 direct

E-mail Jay and Monika

Prudential Verani Realty

603-926-3648 office

Flat Matt and Anna Banana..fun at the beach!

 Flat Matt and Anna Banana experience camping… albeit for a short time!!!

Ann Cummings and her honey Bear, brought Active Rain’s Flat Matt to Salisbury State Beach Reservation Camp Ground to visit us recently.

Jay and I were deeply honored to have Flat Matt visit our humble home on wheels and I was a nervous hostess as I really wanted Flatt Matt’s 1st New England camping experience to be exceptional.

Flat Matt took a little walkabout checking out some camp sites and the very pretty campground beach.  He seemed to enjoy himself very much even though his goofy expression never changed much!

Salisbury Beach is a perfect place for Flat Matt to feel at home and “fit in“, as there are so many interesting characters here that nobody thought much of a few ADULTS walking about with a paper “doll” LOL!!!

After our walkabout we went back to our campsite and enjoyed a few beverages while waiting for fellow guests and REALTOR /hairdresser Trish Callahan and her honey Jack.

Flat Matt was entertained by the Callahan’s who recently bought a new to them camper and if you have seen the movie RV…the Callahan’s could be the main characters in the movie. No exaggeration!!! LOL they are a hoot! I wonder if Trish and Jack have seen the movie RV???

Flat Matt enjoyed a campfire meal prepared by yours truly and I even started the campfire all by myself. Now that is a first! I must have really wanted Flat Matt to enjoy himself camping!

 It was a late night, as Flat Matt, Anna Banana, Bear, Jay and I sat around chatting by the fire. It was fun to be out at the beach enjoying the company of Flat Matt and our good friends.

We were due to leave the beach on Sunday but Jay surprised me by booking and extra 5 days….Yippee!

He was lucky to be able to get a spot as this place is very popular especially for the Labor Day holiday. Wonder if he has any other surprises in store for me????

Sunrise at Salisbury Beach…it is so pretty!

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy

Serving Southern New Hampshire and Rockingham County

Monika McGillicuddy Real Estate Training Website

NH Real Estate Blogs 

Prudential Verani Realty

Hampstead NH Real Estate

603-548-7728

NH Real Estate Professionals Jay and Monika McGillicuddy


Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, covering southern NH and the Seacoast area. If you’re thinking of selling or buying a southern NH or Seacoast area home give us a call…we’d love to help make your home ownership dreams come true.

Jay and Monika McGillicuddy, NH REALTORS

603-944-9172 direct

E-mail Jay and Monika

Prudential Verani Realty

603-926-3648 office