How to Find a Good Realtor

Sep 27, 2022

10

min read

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uying and selling a house is a big financial commitment and journey. In this journey, you are sailing through the real estate market, which is more profound and challenging than you think. Thus, it is wise to have someone with expertise on your side. A real estate agent helps you easily navigate this complicated and stressful journey of homeownership or home selling. However, there are numerous real estate agents to choose from, which may leave you feeling confused. To that end, this article will provide a complete guide to finding a good realtor.

What to Look For in a Realtor?

Understanding what qualities constitute a good realtor before beginning your search is crucial, as finding the best realtors on the market is much easier once you know what to search for. You should look for these qualities in a real estate agent:

Male real estate agent — Source: Freepik

Honesty and Integrity

The essential traits of an excellent real estate agent are honesty and integrity. The client's needs and interests should come before any agent's personal financial gain. In light of this, you must check reviews, research, and read testimonials from previous customers. To a real estate agent with integrity, you are more than just a paycheck; they will do all in their power to help you realize your dream of owning or selling a property.

Trustworthy

Finding an agent you can trust and depend on throughout the home buying or selling process is crucial. This is because it's possible to fall victim to a real estate scam in which you're duped into paying more than the home's value or are tricked into selling it for less. A valid license is a good sign of a reliable real estate agent. So, verify their National Association of Realtors (NAR) membership status before proceeding with any business dealings.

Communication Skills

The success of a real estate agent depends heavily on their ability to communicate effectively. S/he must be willing to listen to you to understand your needs and maintain regular contact with you to provide timely updates. Also, your agent should be someone with the heart of a teacher. Your agent should be a facilitator, providing the necessary information and guidance at every stage.

Real Estate Agent Talking to Customer — Source: Story set

Negotiation Skills

Real estate agents are negotiation sharks, and they know what and how much can be negotiated. They negotiate on your behalf for more favorable terms and circumstances to help you achieve your financial goals. An excellent real estate agent knows the psychological motives behind each action and employs strategic and tactical bargaining methods to maximize the home seller's profit or minimize the homebuyer's cost.

Also read: What Is A Counteroffer In A Home Purchase Negotiation?

Knowledge and Expertise

As you begin your real estate journey, finding a real estate professional with the knowledge and expertise of your market area is vital. One of the most essential attributes of a realtor is local market expertise. They need to have a well-rounded understanding of market trends and values. Additionally, they should be aware of future changes and updates, such as the construction of a new building or road. Future developments may increase or decrease the value of the property. So, you should look for a real estate agent who is knowledgeable about the area and can see the big picture and tiny details.

Experience

Experience is a vital factor when selecting a real estate agent and should be measured in terms of transactions rather than years. There is no magic number, although focusing on deals made within the last two years is advisable. When interviewing a real estate agent, it's crucial to find out how long they've been in the business. Also, inquire about the most challenging situation they've ever faced and how they dealt with it. Each real estate transaction is unique, so it's crucial to choose a professional whose skill set is as well-rounded as their experience. You should look for someone with plenty of relevant knowledge and skills to assist you in navigating challenging situations with ease.

Network of Professionals

If you're looking to purchase or sell a house, you must deal with a realtor with access to a reliable network of industry experts. An excellent real estate agent will have a team of experts ready to provide a hand when you need them. This group includes mortgage loan officers, property inspectors, escrow agents, surveyors, valuers, and others. A great real estate agent is resourceful and has all the tools and networks required.

Tech-Savvy

In the world of technology and innovation, you should look for someone familiar with social media, SEO, and video editing. To find an excellent real estate agent for sales, you must ensure they know how to promote their services online. People are also seeking virtual home tours due to the pandemic's impact on the housing market. Consequently, it's beneficial if your agent is familiar with and comfortable with technology like 3D and virtual tours.

Comfort Level

Along with experience and expertise, you must be comfortable with the agent. Since you will be spending a great deal of time with the agent, it is crucial that you feel at ease with them and develop a personal connection. Not everyone gets along with everyone, so you must ensure your vibe matches with the agent. If you have a negative feeling about the agent, it's best to listen to that instinct and find another one.

What Should You Look for Buyer Real Estate Agent?

Look for the following qualities while choosing a real estate agent for buying:

Understands Your Needs

A good buyer realtor will help you find the right home that meets your needs. While hunting for your dream house, they consider your needs, wants, budget, and desired neighborhood. A competent real estate agent will investigate several possibilities, filter them according to your requirements, and give you the ones that best meet your needs and budget. If the agent is unwilling to listen to your needs, you should find someone else.

Patience and Dedication

House hunting can be a stressful and exhausting part of the home-buying process. It requires dedication and patience while looking for a house. Visiting every property is time-consuming, so if you can, get a video tour of the options and then filter and choose which ones to see in person. It's possible that, despite exhausting efforts, you won't be able to find the house you were looking for. A good realtor will not push you to make a purchase but, instead, look for other viable options.

Negotiate an Offer

One of the crucial attributes of a great buyers agent is their ability to negotiate the best price for your home purchase. The top real estate brokers will thoroughly analyze the home's worth, considering its location and current market trends. They will then suggest how much your first bid should be. The good agent knows the tactics to win the negotiation battle, and you can buy a house at a lower price.

Also read: 10 Tips On How To Negotiate A Home Purchase

Offer Negotiation — Source : Vectorjuice (Freepik)

Resourceful

Buying a home is not an easy task. If you're a first-time homeowner, the sheer number of tasks and duties you'll have to take on may seem intimidating. Before buying the house, you need a valuation, title search, and inspect the property. An excellent real estate agent has a belt of professionals under his network to recommend professionals for you, so you don't have to go through the process of searching for one.

Communicate With Seller's Agent

The ability to communicate effectively is crucial for a buyer's agent. Your real estate agent should keep the seller's agent informed regarding the buying process. A lot of thought and consideration goes into a purchase, which is why the process may go on for quite some time. It is reasonable that you are considering alternative housing possibilities. On the other hand, the seller also has potential buyers. Thus, your real estate agent needs to communicate with the seller's agent and keep up with the process so you don't lose the deal.

What Should You Look for Buyer Real Estate Agent?

Look for the following qualities while choosing a real estate agent for buying:

Strong Marketing Skills

While selling, you should attract prospective buyers, which can be done through the magic of marketing. A real estate agent has to have solid marketing abilities to promote the home on the internet. Buyers research homes online, and a good marketing plan may make the listings stand out. What it boils down to is engaging writing, images, and videos. In addition to knowing how to stage your house, they should also be well-versed in promoting your property online and offline. They should also advertise the home on various digital real estate websites and social media platforms.

Negotiation Skills

The realtor's negotiating abilities are crucial to getting you the best possible price for your home. In addition to negotiating the price, they must handle the negotiation of repair requests, the post-inspection period, and any unexpected complications.

Honest and Trustworthy

A good sales representative is reliable and trustworthy. Some real estate agents play the role of a broker, asking the buyer for a higher price and giving a lower cost to the seller to maximize their commission. The primary goal of a seller agent is to sell the property at a profitable price to the seller and to inform the buyer of the exact price that has been agreed upon. You will also give the agent a set of keys to the residence. So, you want to ensure the agent is reliable and ensure no damage to the property during that time.

Supportive

Selling a home is not just a crucial financial process but also an emotional process. People are leaving a part of them, memories engraved on the house's walls. It's more than simply a home; it represents a family's history and memories. That's why realtors need to be supportive and patient. A skilled sales representative will be aware of this and support clients as they experience the rollercoaster of emotions while making such a significant financial decision.

Problem-Solving Mindset

Problem-solving is an invaluable skill for the seller agent as how the agent deal with unforeseen circumstances can break or make a sale. The seller agent needs to know what problems, issues, and challenges the potential buyer might have in the property and solve them beforehand so that it does not have an issue during the sale process. For instance, potential buyers may be put off by a stain on the wall, but you may fix this by painting over it.

How to Choose a Realtor?

Referrals

The best way to find a realtor is through referrals. There are good chances that someone you know has bought or sold a house. It's beneficial to ask for referrals from your family, close friends, and acquaintances as they have gone through the transaction and know the agent better than anyone else.

Research the Agents Online

Real estate agents are searchable online. There are plenty of websites where you may find real estate agents. Check out their online profiles on social media and real estate websites. Then, evaluate the real estate agents based on their track records, ratings, the frequency with which they've closed deals, and how long ago the deals were closed. You want to find someone who is active and an expert in the business.

Look for Online Reviews

Take online reviews with a grain of salt because they can be fake or manipulated. Look for the patterns in the positive and negative reviews and note them. You should consider the agents that have received mixed reviews, but you shouldn't base your decision only on the reviews you see online.

Review Sales History

Looking for experience in real estate with high transactions is essential. You should also look for details such as the number of houses sold or bought, recent sales or purchases, and so on to get insight into the real estate agents.

Screening Qualified Agents

After narrowing down the lists of agents:

Send an email or message to the realtor.
Email them that you are interested in hiring them as the real estate agent.
Tell them to send their CV and cover letter on why you should choose them and what makes them distinct from other real estate agents.
Specify your budget goals and the type of house you want to buy and sell, so they know what project they will be assigned if hired.

Reference Check

Ask for the references from the agent and call those clients to find their experiences and how cooperative the agent was with them. Also, ask them about the agent's strengths and weaknesses, what they were satisfied with, and what they were dissatisfied with. This helps you to get more insight into the agent.

Interview

Finally, interview the qualified agents. It's essential to gather information about them before you hire them. Ask the following questions to see if they fit the role :

How long have you been working in the real estate business?
How many transactions on average do you close in a year?
What's your specialty?
Do you specialize as a buyer agent or seller agent?
How well do you know the local housing market?
What are the average days on the market for your listing?
Do you work as a part-time or full-time agent?
How do you prefer to communicate?
Could you explain the buying or selling process?
Do you have a network of professionals?
Do you provide comparative market analysis?
How much are your commission fees?
What was your most challenging real estate transaction, and how you overcame it?

You should look if the agent is cooperative, humble, honest, experienced, and passionate. You are hiring someone to handle your life's most important financial transactions. So, you need to hire the right person so you won't regret it later.

Sign the Contract

After selecting a final agent, you and the agent must sign the agency agreement. The contract should include all the conditions you have agreed to, including the commission rate, so read it carefully. It's best to go for a contract applicable for no more than six months. Also, if you are dissatisfied with the service provided by the agent, you should be able to terminate the contract.

Top Sites to Find a Realtor

Exprealty

EXP Realty is one of the world's fastest-growing cloud-based real estate brokerages. Founded in 2009, it is a global online brokerage powered by top agents and cutting-edge technology. It offers highly competitive compensation packages, a unique cloud-based model, and a global community of agents, leadership, and partners.

What We Love the Most

Easy search for properties
Experienced and passionate real state agents
Highly experienced commercial real estate professionals
User-friendly platform for buyers and sellers
On-demand support
Market analysis and regulatory guidance

Helen Adams

Helen Adams is well known real estate brokerage headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. Helen Adams founded it in 1975 with the commitment to offer the highest level of personal service, unmatched area knowledge, exceptional real estate expertise, and unwavering ethical standards. It provides real estate brokerage services and has expert and knowledgeable agents under its belt to ease the process of home purchase and sale.

What We Love the Most

Easy search for homes
Free estimated home value
Transparent and accessible market reports
Relocation service
Mortgage and insurance service
Expert real estate agents

Allen Tate

Allen Tate Realtors is the largest real estate company in the Carolinas. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the company was founded in 1957. It offers real estate brokerage services and helps you successfully navigate the process with ease.

What We Love the Most

Easy and filterable search for homes
Mortgage and insurance service
Relocation service
Worldwide property search
Luxury Portfolio
Expert real estate agents

RE/MAX

RE/MAX ( Real Estate Maximums) is one of the USA's most trusted real estate agents. It is headquartered in Denver, Colorado, and was founded in 1973. It has a global network of knowledgeable and expert agents that guides you throughout the process of home buying or home selling.

What We Love the Most

A global network of more than 135,000 agents
Worldwide property search
Luxury, commercial and residential listings
Mobile app
Expert and knowledgeable real estate agents

Kellar Willams

Kellar Williams is one of the largest real estate franchises in the world. Founded in 1983, the company is headquartered in Austin, Texas. It offers a wide range of real estate services, including buyer's agent, listing agent, relocation, and consulting.

What We Love the Most

Best-in-class service
Top-notch real estate agent
Proper guidance throughout the process
Luxury, land, and commercial listings
Easy property search
Rental properties listings

Conclusion

Real estate agents help you to navigate the challenging real estate journey easily. Thus, choosing the right real estate agent while buying and selling a house is crucial. The best way to choose the best realtor is through referrals. Similarly, you can look up the agents online and judge them based on their experience, expertise, and reviews. A good realtor puts the client's needs first and is willing to go far to assist and support them in this complicated process of home buying and selling.