So you are ready to make an offer on a Carlsbad home (or elsewhere).

Are you new at this? Or do you already know the drill?

Heere are some thoughts on what to expect (keep in mind the process may vary a little bit in different states - but this is how we do it in California).

First, decide on an offer price, perhaps the most important thing you need to do...read more on making an offer here.

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Start your CARLSBAD HOMES SEARCH here (and other San Diego communities)

Download FREE BUYER AND SELLER REPORTS here

Visit CARLSBAD COMMUNITY REPORTS for profiles on communities, subdivisions and neighborhoods (including other areas)

Are you a first time home buyer. Check out First Time Buyer Central.

Whether you are buying or selling as part of your relocation, I suspect most of you will want to work with an agent in order to accomplish the goal of sellling your home and buying a new home.

You may have already selected that person. Or maybe plan to use the agent that helped you before and who did an outstanding job. Or a good friend who you trust has given you a referral. GREAT. You are on the way.

Maybe, however, you are looking for an agent, along with doing other research on home buying and home selling. The Internet is a great way to do this - but I imagine many of you already know that. If not, you will be amazed at what you can learn.

Say you are relocating to Carlsbad, CA (yep, my home town). Go to Google and type in Real Estate Agents in Carlsbad, CA and what do you find?

You will see a link for ACTIVERAIN, a fabulous real estate networking site with agents, loan officers, home staging professionals and many others from around the country. The link takes you to a list of professionals in California, and you will see that I am #5 in California (but #1 as a real estate agent - 3 of the top 5 are mortgage brokers, all excellent by the way - I know them -  and the top guy is president of a real estate software company - I know him too, and I use his virtual tours in my marketing). There is a tremendous amount of information here if you take time to look at it, and it doesn't cost you a thing. Sort of like an on-line interview, in the comfort of your home.

This is the important stuff you can learn:

• Each agent (or other professional) has a profile so you can learn more about who they are and what they do. This may answer some of your questions about someone you don't yet know and give you a feel about their experience and personality. It may help you decide if you would like to work with them or not.
• Each of us write blogs on ActiveRain, such as the one you are reading here. For example, on ActiveRain I write about all sorts of things for consumers - information for first time sellers (or seller articles such as Is Your Home Sale Being Sabotaged?), things to know as a buyer, how to find an agent, market reports and community profiles, and so on. You will find probably everything you need to know in your quest to buy or sell a home, plus learn a lot about the areas you are considering living in when you relocate. What a fabulous source of information, even if you aren't ready to buy or sell yet.
• Our blogs tell us who we are (this is part of transparency on the Internet) - in reading the articles that each person writes, you will learn a great deal about them. Their integrity, knowledge, and approach to working with clients. Their personality and temperament. Again, it is like having an interview, or reading their personal biography. So, without even having met the agent, you will know enough in many cases to make you WANT to work with that person. You will feel you already know them when you meet.

I know this is a bit of promotion, but I want to help YOU find the right person to assist in your home purchase or home sale. And ActiveRain is a terrific resource. Once there you can search for professionals in your STATE and COMMUNITY. Some people will share alot of information and others will not. What does THAT tell you?

Now this is important...

The other bit of research I would suggest is to simply GOOGLE the name of the person who are thinking of working with, of the referral, or the person you find on ActiveRain. What do you find? You may not even find the person you are considering on the Internet. Hmmmm. What does THAT tell you? On the other hand you may find all sorts of information. Don't you want someone who is active in their business, who can demonstrate their knowledge, and who uses technology? And certainly take a few moments to visit their personal

One last helpful hint...

Go to LOCALISM. This is a resource for buyers and sellers, and you can search nationally to find out all sorts of things on areas that interest you. Since you are planning to relocate, this is a terrific place to start learning about your new community. Once again, some areas will have lots of information (I write a great deal about Carlsbad, for example) and others will have less.

Good luck! I hope you find this helpful. Let me know if I can answer any questions. And I know a lof of the highly ranked agents around the country...so ask me about them if you like.

I wrote a post the other day for ActiveRain (a real estate network I blog on regularly) that really meant alot to me. And it touched a lot of people, too.

It was directed to some first time buyers I am working with, and all that I have learned from them during the process. We haven't reached our goal yet, but the journey has been a terrific learning experience, with some hurdles to overcome and others we could not get beyond. But that's part of the journey we all go through when buying and selling.

So I wrote this to thank them. Here it is.

Have you ever thought about WHY having a home is important to you, or what the advantages are to you and your family or friends? Since you are more than likely not a first time buyer at this point, those reasons may already be obvious. But if not, I wrote a bit about this on my blog about First Time Buyers.

Above is a tranquil view of the sun setting off the coast of California - lots of people living near the coast stop by the beaches in the evening to watch views such as this.

If you are a first time buyer, owned a home in the past, or perhaps have not bought a new home for many year (things have changed!!), there is some helpful information that may be of interest on my new blog for First Time Home Buyers. There are also some related reports that are free by email on my website.

"Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.  Years may wrinkle our skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul"

Samuel Ullman