Over half a million new homes were sold in March of 2020 alone! That goes to show you just how bullish buyers and sellers are, even in today's market.
Whether you're a home buyer or a seller, you're likely considering partnering with top realtors in your area to help you get the most bang from your transaction. With the number of realtors offering their services though, how can you be sure you're working with a great partner?
While there's no way to absolutely know how your relationship will go with an agent, there are things you can do to find, vet and choose a person that can give you the best odds of being satisfied.
Here are a few of our recommendations...
1. Hit Review Boards
Just like you'd search reviews before going to a restaurant, you should look at reviews before hiring a realtor. More and more, we're seeing consumers take to platforms like Yelp and Google to share their thoughts on top realtors in their areas.
While having a robust collection of excellent reviews shouldn't be your only qualifier when hiring an agent, one's online reputation can certainly nudge you closer or further away from engaging a prospective partner.
2. Talk to Friends and Family
If you're lucky enough to have trusted confidants in your life, consider asking them for an agent recommendation. Not everyone you know will have worked with an agent in the past but all you need is one or two leads to potentially turn you onto a great person.
3. Keep an Eye Out for Signs
The best realtors are often the ones that have the most clients. A great way to find realtors that are working is to keep an eye out for sale signs in your community. If you're seeing a certain realtor representing several people, that should say something to you.
Note that a busy realtor isn't always the best partner. After all, the more time they're spending managing other people's accounts, the less time they may have for you.
4. Ask Your Lender for Advice
Lenders aren't only good for giving you the money you need to purchase a home. They also tend to be great at pointing you towards reputable realtors.
Why? Because lenders have constant exposure to the housing market which makes it easy for them to pick up on chatter regarding which agents are worth working with and which aren't.
Also, lenders have a vested interest in keeping you happy when they recommend you to the realtor as a bad recommendation from them could mean you moving your loan to another financial institution.
5. Check Out NAR
NAR stands for the National Association of Realtors. On the NAR website, they have a database that lists agents from all over the country.
While NAR doesn't necessarily tell you which agents are better than others, it can serve as a great tool for scraping up leads.
We recommend using NAR to write down the names of agents that service your area and their websites. From there, you can discover which agents could be a fit for your sensibilities. Whichever candidates rise to the top are worth calling up for an interview.
6. Schedule Multiple Interviews
We understand that the process of hiring an agent and moving through a home transaction can be stressful. That stress often leads people to want to get through things as quickly as possible
Don't fall into that trap! Moving too quickly through a real estate transaction almost always means leaving money on the table.
To avoid that, plan on meeting with at least three agents before making a final decision on who to hire. If none of the agents you meet with align with your expectations, be comfortable with finding a new batch of leads.
7. Always Ask for References
We've seen time and again people bill themselves as being among the top realtors in their areas only to have no track record of buying or selling homes. To ensure that you don't end up doing business with a puffed-up phony, ask for references.
Realtors should always have two or three past clients that they can direct you to.
In some cases, new realtors may not have references. So long as they're straight-forward about you being their first account, that shouldn't be an integrity flag as everyone needs to start somewhere.
Whether or not you're comfortable doing business with a new agent is up to you.
8. Trust Your Gut
If you feel confident that you've done your diligence when it comes time to make an agent decision, go with your gut.
Remember, hiring an agent isn't a do or die proposition. If an agent is not meeting your expectations, you should be able to contractually let them go.
And if all else fails, you can always try to sell your house without an agent!
Your Community's Top Realtors Are Waiting and Ready to Facilitate Your Dreams
So much of our dreams are tied to where we live. Maybe you want to buy a dream home or perhaps you'd like to sell your house so you can spend the rest of your life traveling.
In any case, your area's top realtors can help make your dreams come to fruition faster. And, in all likelihood, they're ready to manage your account today!
We wish you the best in finding the perfect agent for your needs and welcome you to read more of the content in our real-estate focused publication for additional advice.
