A Guide to Finding the Best Real Estate Agent
January 20th, 2021 by Administrator
Buying and selling a home is no easy feat, especially in this competitive market. It’s one of the biggest financial decisions as well as one of the most important decisions of your life, which is why finding a top-rated real estate agent with the skill to guide you through the process is vital. With so many real estate agents in your locality, it becomes quite difficult to pick a professional with the right set of skills to match what you are looking for. Thankfully there are a couple of things to look for when hiring the ideal real estate agent
Interview your agent properly
With growing trends and other third-party services capturing the buyer’s attention, most buyers will go for the first agent they see and not research about him/her properly. Buyers need to interview agents and their firms as well as ask questions like what were the requirements for being hired at your current firm? Or, what is the experience of your team and employees?
Look for an advocate, not a best friend
Your advocate and agent should be able to support your end goal of buying or selling a property, help you with the paperwork and get you through the entire process. An experienced seller may decide to do everything while a first-time buyer may need a little hand-holding. Be sure to pick an agent based on his experience and skill as you are hiring them to do a job, not just based on their friendliness.
Evaluate their availability
Buying or selling a home takes a lot of time and effort and most of it doesn’t align with normal working hours. Look for an agent who is willing to put in extra time alone or with his team and take care of most of the busy work along with meeting clients to sell or buy your home. It all comes down to the amount of time they are willing to put in for you.
Spend time with your agent
You need to feel confident that your agent is doing everything they can to help you and this can be done by spending time with them, either over text, call, Skype, or more. Think about if your agent has the time to talk to you, keep you updated, or handle your transactions. Also, check if the agent is doing all he can to bring you the type of clientele you want.
Ask for references
Always ask for past client references, ask them how long they have been in business, what their area of expertise is, and more. Ask around or check online if they were ever fined by real estate organizations and if their negotiating skills are on point. Buyers need to know if the agent can win a bidding war, whereas sellers should ask if the agent can help prepare the property for sale.
Test their market knowledge
An agent’s market knowledge plays a major role whether in rentals or sales. An agent needs to keep up-to-date with their market knowledge as well as attentiveness and be able to follow up on clients. If you spend all your time chasing an agent for answers and information then that’s a red flag.
The Bottom Line
The above questions will help you to find a top-rated real estate agent who will bring in their skill and experience as well as their market knowledge to find you the best opportunities and clients, perform a comparative market analysis, and close a deal. Work with someone who understands you and the type of property you want to sell or buy.