🕵🏼‍♂️ How to find the right real estate agent

When you’re selling a house, you’ll want to reach out for professional help from a real estate agent.

But how do you choose one? You may not know, but not all realtors are the same. Some are Realtors® and some are just real estate agents. Some work part-time and some full-time. All of this can make the search for an agent a super tough.

Here are a few of our tips to help you locate the best agent for you:

1. INTERVIEW AGENTS

We suggest getting some recommendations from friends and family who have recently bought or sold a property.

Once you have a list, interview 3-4 agents. Like we mentioned before, not all agents are the same.

A few questions to ask during your interview might include:

• What services do you offer?

• What experience do you have in my immediate area?

• How would you price my home?

• How long are homes in this neighborhood typically on the market?

• What is your fee?

• How will your market my home?

• How will you stay in touch with me?

2. LOOK AT ONLINE REVIEWS

Do some research and check out their online reviews. Reviews from past clients will give you valuable insight into how the agent actually performs on the job.

Where to look for reviews:

• Realtor.com

• Zillow

• Facebook

• Google

Things to look for:

1. How many reviews do they have?

2. What are the dates of the most recent reviews?

3. Don’t focus solely on ratings - everyone’s opinion of five-star service is different

4. Look for specific skills to be mentioned - such as “knowledgeable about the market, strong negotiator, great communicator, patient, and always available”

3. Don't always pick the agent with the highest price

Great real estate agents will meet with you and will have a listing presentation.  The purpose of the listing presentation is to convince you they are the best real estate agent to sell your home.  Each agent will eventually provide you with a price. If you receive one price way above the rest, the agent might be trying to “buy your listing”.

What is buying a listing? It’s when one {or more} real estate agents will give you a REALLY high recommended list price.  As a seller you will probably be really excited when you see this high price for your home.  You may even sign a listing agreement with this real estate agent and place your home on the market. 

Then you wait, and wait, and no offers come in.  Your real estate agent will recommend a price reduction on your home.  You will reluctantly agree to a price reduction.  Another month may go by and your real estate agent will recommend another price reduction.  Again, you will reluctantly agree to a price reduction.  You may go through multiple price reductions before your home sells. 

If your real estate agent bought the listing, they knew your home was over priced from the beginning.  They had confidence they would buy the listing up front and then convince you to lower the price until the home sells. You might be wondering what’s in it for the agent? Marketing, and leads from open houses and sign calls.

Our team does not believe in this technique.  We provide our clients with our best estimate of what their home will sell for, even if it means we miss out on a few listings.  We want to sell your home at market value, to make the process as quick and easy for our sellers as possible.

If this does happen to you while interviewing agents, request the agent prove their recommended sales price, by showing you recent sales of homes similar to yours and in your neighborhood. 

Bottom line:

Find the right fit for YOU. Someone you feel comfortable trusting your largest asset with. Take time to find an agent you respect and trust.

📨 Questions about finding an agent? Contact us a message anytime.