When you’re looking to purchase a home, finding a great real estate agent is critical. A lot of people believe that they can go through the process on their own, and while it’s entirely possible, there’s an enormous amount of responsibility and pressure involved. Whereas a real estate agent has the know-how to help you navigate the often complicated world of real estate and facilitate the contract process.
From negotiating to getting to know the local market, a real estate agent is your greatest asset in finding the perfect home. When looking for a real estate agent, make sure that they have the following qualities.
Experience
A common mistake that people make is hiring a real estate agent who doesn’t have enough experience under their belt. Having a real estate license alone doesn’t qualify you to be the best person for the job. Make sure that you take a good look at how many clients they’ve had over the last year as well as how long they’ve had their real estate license.
Make sure that their clients are similar to you. For example, were they looking for homes within the same price range as you? It helps to bring on someone who has experience finding the kind of homes that you’re specifically looking for.
Positive Reviews
Thanks to the internet, it’s easier than ever to see the reputation of a real estate agent before working with them. Make sure that you dig through their online reviews and get to know whether they have a history of happy clients.
Make sure that you look for specific compliments and criticisms to get the best feel for their reviews. Sometimes people can leave a negative review that has no basis. By reading every review carefully, you’ll know which reviews to weed out and which ones to hang on to. No single review should convince you. You should take it all in and judge for yourself based on the total picture.
Great Communication Style
Communication is everything when working with a realtor. You want to make sure that they get back to you as soon as possible. Nobody wants to contact their realtor about a house they are interested in, only to wait for them to get back to them for what seems like ages.
In addition to timely communication, you also want to make sure that they have quality communication. Since you’re trusting this person to negotiate for you, you want to make sure that they’ve got the right kind of communication style that works for you. Are they clear? Are they friendly?
Take all these things into account when searching for a real estate agent, and you should find the perfect person for the job!
