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Are you concerned that you don’t have enough time or energy to tackle the real estate search yourself? Most people don’t. Reports show that 87% of home buyers reach out to realtors to get help with the home buying process.
However, you have a lot of options for real estate agents. Unfortunately, not all of them will give you the help you need.
The best real estate agent can make an important impact on your ability to find a fantastic home. Keep reading to learn how to look for the best realtor in your area.
Verify Real Estate Experience
Someone can’t just decide to start offering realtor services one day and start serving clients. There are many rules in the real estate industry. You have to prove you know and can follow the rules before you’re allowed to start taking clients.
Most agents get started by taking a real estate agent course. They learn everything they need for the licensing exam there and get a license after completing the coursework.
Ask a realtor to verify their license before deciding to work with them. Anyone that does the work to get licensed will have no problem proving their experience.
Find Someone Personable
You may be working with your real estate agent for a few months. The last thing you want to do is hire someone you don’t like and have problems working with.
Experience plays a lot in an agent’s success, but personality is just as important. Real estate agents work in a people-focused business. If you can’t communicate well and interact well with clients, it’s hard to meet their needs.
Use your time interviewing agents to see how they act. Do they explain their thoughts clearly and have a personality you can tolerate? If so, the chances are good that you’ll work well with the agent.
Ask About the Number of Clients
Real estate agents get busy at certain times of the year. In their quest to place as many people as possible in homes, some agents will overbook themselves and try placing too many people.
The problem is that you may not get the attention you deserve when this happens. Your agent will have limited time to help you with your search. You may get delayed responses and insufficient research in the homes you show interest in.
Ask every agent you think of working with how many clients they serve at once. If someone appears to take on more than an average number of clients, they may be overworked and provide poor service.
Find Someone Local
Even if many of the rules for buying and selling a home are the same across locations, that doesn’t mean every agent can work well in all areas. Local real estate markets can vary a lot. If an agent isn’t familiar with the local area you plan to buy, they may not know what to look for in the market.
It pays to look for a local real estate agent. A local agent will know all the trends in your area and what to look for in a home.
They will also be familiar with up-and-coming areas that have great buys. You can find great deals in these areas, which means you can get a better deal than you would by using a non-local realtor.
Look for the Right Experience
Not all property is created equal. If you’re only looking for a single-family home, any real estate agent should be able to help. However, things get more complicated when you have more to consider.
Take looking for homes for sale with acreage, for instance. You need to understand the land you’re buying. A typical real estate agent may not know enough about land sales to give you enough information.
Consider your needs before you search for an agent. Once you do, you can ask your options if they have experience with your specific requirements.
Check Into Additional Service
Many real estate agents can help with much more than a home search. Great realtors familiarize themselves with every aspect of the real estate process. Here are a few services you can look for when making your choice:
- Negotiation help
- Inspection recommendations
- Help with repairs
- Help understanding real estate contracts
- Introduction to lenders
If you’re weak in any of the areas above, it pays to work with a real estate agent who can complement your skills. Even if you can handle the above items yourself, you may not have the time. Working with an agent who offers additional services means you can deal with less stress during the house-hunting process.
Get Referrals
The chances are good that you know at least one person who has purchased a home before. The chances are also good that the person you think of will have used a real estate agent for the process.
That’s because most people use realtors during the home search. There are too many benefits to skip getting help.
Reach out to your network to ask them what agent they used for their home search process. People you know will be more than willing to let you know who did a great job and the people to avoid.
Once you have this list, you can reach out to the real estate agents you learned of and interview them for the job.
Don’t Settle for Less Than the Best Real Estate Agent
You deserve the best when you’re starting your journey into homeownership. Unfortunately, some real estate agents don’t do enough to take care of the people they serve.
If you want to avoid this happening to you, it pays to understand what it takes to be the best real estate agent. Keep the guide above in mind to find the best realtor for you.
Head back to the blog to find more tips that every smart homeowner should know.
