Just about everyone has an opinion about who is the best real estate agent - heck even advertising on TV is still promoting the best agent.
There are literally millions of real estate agents in the US. Is it realistic to think that there is one agent who sits a top as the best? NO! Heck, Tiger Woods doesn't even win every tournament he plays in.
How Do I Find A Real Estate Agent To Work With?
With so many choices - how does someone go about picking a real estate agent to work with to buy a home or sell a property? Well, the simple answer is that it takes you asking questions of the agent, listening to their answers, and deciding if you like their answers as one part. And the other part is how much do they ask you about what you are looking to do. And do you like what they asked you and did they seem interested in you. It is Gut Check time.
To help you interview real estate agents, I have put together a list of questions that you can ask of the agent. This list isn't all that there is to ask, but it should get you started. I have also given you some favorable answers to these questions to give you a guideline to work from. Pay attention to their answers.
What Are Your Qualifications
Ask this along with Why Should I Pick You? "Tell Me A Few Things That Put You On A Different Level Than Your Competition?"
I have great communication skills - I listen and observe and use what is around me to get the deals that my clients want. I'm like a bird dog, I just keep going until I get a yes. The agent could say things like: I have a long list of satisfied customers who are repeat customers and who have referred customers that I could put you in touch with. I use the Internet extensively to market all my properties and to locate properties. I can negotiate with the best of them.
Ask To See References With Phone Numbers
I can provide quite a few references. How many do you want to see? I do have some online with my website, but I can also give you some cards and letters. I can also give you some phone numbers to call.
Ask To See A Sample Real Estate Sales Contract
I can certainly get you a sample contract to review. In fact, I can let you see one that has a contingency clause and one without. When do you want to get together to go over this information.
If the agent is hesitant to discuss certain things about the contract, press the issue a little. If they remain hesitant, you might want to find another agent. There should be nothing in that contract that an agent would be slow to discuss.
Buyer Agent Home Shopping Plan - Example
Well, one thing I'll do is put you on some automatic feeds so you can get word of the latest listings if you want that. I'd like us to start looking at a minimum of 5 houses a day as your schedule allows until we find you the right house. I will monitor all the sources I have as well put out the work in my professional networks what kind of home I'm looking for with you.
I will not represent two clients at the same time for a particular property. I do believe in first come first served however. If you see a property first and put in an offer and I have another client that sees the house and wants to put in an offer, I will not do that. To me it is a conflict of interest.
Buyer Agents Should Always Use Cell Phone and Email
Well that depends a lot on what you want to do. I always carry my cell phone, but I don't always answer it. I'm often on calls and I do not like to interrupt, just as I won't be interrupting calls that we're on. I do check voice mail a lot during the day so leave a message and I'll call back when I can.
I also text a lot with my phone to touch base. Email is always a good bet with me as I'm always using my computer and the Internet to be as efficient and up to speed as I can for my customers.
So the bottom line is that I'm flexible, and will always reach out to you in two different ways to make sure I get through to you.
Real Estate Agents Should Know All About You
This one isn't a question but you should do it anyway. At some point the agent should ask you about your needs and wants. After you tell them what you want to tell them about what you want you should ask them to summarize what you said. This will tell you if they were listening or not. If it doesn't sound right, you might get the sense that they are not the agent for you because they weren't listening.
Remember, you will be with this agent for quite a while, perhaps for 20-30 years. You want to make sure the fit is right and that it works for you.
That's it for this list. Hopefully you have garnered enough information from it to make talking to a real estate agent better and more fun for you. In general, the agents who I have worked with over the years, with a few exceptions, have been really outgoing, active, friendly people who work very hard for their customers. I've stayed friends with many of them.
Good luck and happy house hunting.
