One of the biggest decisions regarding the sale or purchase of a home is your choice of real estate agents. Be sure to take the time to find someone you feel comfortable with. If you don’t feel that you have a base level of trust with your agent where you can ask him or her any questions, you should probably rethink your choice.
There is a lot of good criteria for finding the right real estate agent to aid you in buying or selling a home. But before we get into that, let’s look at some mistakes people make.
1. “The last agent we interviewed said it was worth more than that.” Decide which is more important: Finding the right real estate agent or finding the agent who tells you your house is worth the most. Does the latter automatically mean he or she can actually sell your house for that amount? Remember, it is entirely possible that the agent inflated the price to get your listing with the intention of getting you to lower it after a certain period.
2. “We’ll Sell your House for Less!” An agent who offers a discount commission is most likely going to give you discount services. If all you need is a sign in the yard and a listing in the MLS, then go with the agent with the lowered commission. But if you want a full-time real estate agent who will actually market your property and walk you through the entire process, dealing with any problems that arise no matter when they occur, go with the full service agent.
3. “Go with the (Company) Name You Can Trust.” Choose an agent, not a company. Many agents rely on the name of a big real estate company as some sort of reference. The only problem is that the company is not your agent. Choose your real estate agent based on his or her ability, not the company they are affiliated with.
Now let’s look at some of the criteria for finding the right real estate agent.
1. Make sure your choice of real estate agent has an active real estate license in good standing with the state. If your agent has any ethics violations, do you really want to sign your name on anything?
2. One of the many marketing tools of real estate agent is the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) so make sure your agent has access to it.
3. Does your choice of real estate agent work full-time as an agent? Agents who are successful work full-time at it. This includes early mornings, late nights, and weekends. Be sure to choose someone who will work full-time to help you and doesn’t have time commitments to another job or profession.
4. There are many different types of agents out there and some are better than others. Be sure to ask your choice of real estate agent how they will help you accomplish your goals. If you don’t think your agent can do a better job than you, why hire him or her.
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