A good real estate agent: Your partner in finding the right home
So you want to buy a home. Perhaps your family has simply outgrown your current house, and it seems to be getting smaller every day. Or maybe the opposite is true, and you’re an empty nester who suddenly has too much house on their hands. You may be looking for a property with more outdoor living area or moving due to a major job change. Whatever your situation, you may find that your search for a new place to call home can be made much easier with the assistance of a real estate agent.If you are moving to a nearby area, ask friends and family members for any referrals. If a specific agent’s name comes up time and again as having provided excellent service, put them on your list. By the same token, if an agent or agency gets bad reviews, you are probably better off to eliminate them from your list. Keep asking until you have a good selection of potential agencies and agents to choose from. Your next step is to narrow down your choices to several of the top names and set up a time to meet with each of them personally for a one-on-one interview. If they’re too busy to talk to you in this way, they might also be too busy to respond promptly to your future calls for assistance. Attention to customer care is critical. Ask to speak to their former clients and also inquire as to what services they will be committed to providing for you. An agent may be full time or part time, and may or may not have an assistant who you can also expect to be dealing with.
Agents may come highly recommended, but still may not be experienced in handling the type of real estate you are looking for. No one agent can be fabulous and completely competent in absolutely all phases of real estate. If a potential agent typically only handles high-end sales with high-end commissions, you may be disappointed to find that your search for an $80,000 property doesn’t rate much attention from them. Be realistic in your expectations, and keep looking until you find a real estate representative who seems like a good fit for your particular situation. They should respect your time, as you should theirs. Neither of you should waste precious hours looking at homes that are way over your budget constraints. This isn’t fair to the agent, and though it may be fun to look, it may also only serve to make you unhappy with your options. A good agent knows this, and will assist you in finding homes to tour that you can truly potentially purchase. Save any “window shopping only” homes for open house events in your area.
Make sure you feel comfortable with your agent. Do they encourage you to ask questions about things you are unclear about? Or do they take a know-it-all attitude and leave you feeling out of the loop? A home is most likely the largest purchase you will ever make, and you deserve to have all of your questions answered fully. Still, don’t forget that a fair amount of responsibility in having a successful real estate transaction lies in your follow-through in fully educating yourself about the process. Know about the licensing and professional association options in your state so you know what to expect in terms of ethics codes and other standards.
Make sure your agent is also skilled at networking, marketing, and negotiating. He or she should represent your best interests, and can make a huge difference in determining final terms and conditions of the sale. The agent should also be resourcing all types of media and possibly multiple listing services to help you locate the right home. The same principles hold true if you are using a real estate agent to assist you in selling your existing home.
Finally, although your agent is definitely different from your lender, an agent should be well informed about multiple financing options so they can intelligently discuss these with you. Although these suggestions are not comprehensive, they are a start to finding a good agent who can be an invaluable asset in finding and purchasing the right home for you and your family.