subject: Real Estate Agent: Some Great Tips To Find A Good One [print this page] Real estate agents come with a wide variety of personalities and levels of business expertise. Some are wonderful partners in your real estate adventures and others can be difficult to work with. Here are seven tips to help you discover how to find a good one.
Get recommendations: Ask around to find out who your friends and neighbors have used recently in their transactions. Be sure to find out specifics of their experience such as professionalism, enthusiasm, and communication skills.
Check out the yard signage: Look around your neighborhood and the surrounding communities to see whose real estate signs are often posted, especially those whose properties sell quickly. Yard signs are a good indication of real estate agents who are popular and hired often in your locale. You want an agent who knows the ins and outs of your particular area's trends in sales.
Attend Open Houses: Maybe you're not interested in buying a certain house, but seeing an agent in action as he or she is trying to sell someone else's home at an open house will give a bit of insight into how they operate. Are they knowledgeable and able to communicate clearly about this house's potential? Are they polite, intelligent and easy to talk to? Or do they give you a bad vibe with oversell methods or hints of incompetence?
Peruse their website: You can also tell a lot about a potential real estate agent by their website. Is it professionally laid out and easy to maneuver around? Are there outdated listings left on the website due to either a bait-and-switch technique or simply lackadaisical upkeep? Both are red flags regarding business tactics.
Set up interviews: When you think you've found a few agents that could work well with you, set up individual interviews in order to ask specific questions about sales tactics, fee structures, their sales history and whether selling houses is their full time job or just a hobby. You want someone with a good bit of experience under their belt and a sincere dedication to home sales.
Flexible fees: In today's market, agents are yearning for your business and are often willing to negotiate their commission. Even saving a percentage point or two can make a huge difference in terms of money you'll keep in your pocket.
Knowledgeable about mortgages and funding: One of the good things about an experienced and reputable realtor is their expertise about mortgages and funding. They've put together a lot of deals and so know who to rely on in the banking industry as well as which financial products are available and appropriate for each homebuyer or seller.
