How to Find the Right Real Estate Agent

How hard can this be, right?  You pick up the telephone book and look until you find a good looking ad for a company in your area.  But wait, there are things you should do before you take the Russian roulette approach.

Ask Around. Certainly the input from family and friend is valuable in this situation.  But be careful of two things:  one, family members who are in the real estate business.  Not because they might not be good, but because they are referred to you by other family members.  Just because they are family does not mean you should do business with them until you know that they are good at what they do.  Hence, the next step should be to ask acquaintances for referrals.  Even if it is one of your family members.  What is being said about them in the community when it comes to their skills and abilities as a real estate representative?

Go Visit. Take time to go visit with several real estate agencies in your area.  Take a list of questions that you feel are important to you as one who will be entrusting the purchase of a house into their hands.  You might be surprised to find that some agencies are better than others.  Some might not value you your business as highly if you don’t look a certain way or act in a manner acceptable to them.  This is certainly discrimination, and it should not be tolerated.  A good real estate agency and its representatives value everyone who walks through their doors, no matter how you look, talk, act or how much money you appear to have.

What to Value. You should value their attention to your concerns.  Do they question you often about your preferences?  Do they make comments about the types of issues that a buyer in your position should be watching for?  Do they make time for you when you call?  Are they responsive when you call them?  Remember, they are a representative and should be working to find you a house that fits you not the other way around.

What They Value. Are they all about appearances?  Do they have to drive fancy cars for show?  Do they try to direct you towards properties that you are clearly not in the position of being able to afford?  Do they go out of their way to show you that they value you as a client by keeping in touch, even when they have nothing to show at the moment?  Do they appear to be good listeners?

All of these things are important for you to think about when choosing an agent.  If you take your time in finding the right representative, you will find one, because the best rise to the top, and they are not hard to discover.