When looking for a realtor, recommendations from your family, friends, lender, etc., are a good place to start. But remember, not all personalities will ‘click’.
The first thing you need to do is interview agents (including any agents that were recommended to you). Yes, you can find a good realtor (for you) by asking the RIGHT questions.. Please do not use/interview an agent by having them show you around and then not using their services – it’s a lot of time and money on their part they are out if you decide to go elsewhere. It is much better to find the right agent up front and use their services. As a buyer, the services should be free to you, as the seller typically pays the agent’s fees.
1. Use a ‘Realtor’ – there is a difference between licensed agents – only ‘Realtors’ are held to the Code of Ethics prescribed by the National Association of Realtors – a very strict code, that way the agent must be ethical in all their dealings with you – if they are not, they can be fined and/or lose their license!
2. Call at least 3 real estate agents (it is ok if a couple of them are with the same company) in the area you are looking. Once you get them on the phone, tell them you are looking to interview agents to help you in your home search. Set up an interview time for each.
3. Once you get the appointments, make sure you take notice:
Did they show up on time?
Were they professional in appearance?
Did they LISTEN to you, or were they all about what they wanted to say?
4. Ask these questions:
a) Are you a full-time agent ?
b) What is your strategy for getting me into the right home for me? This answer should include them saying something like, “First we have to determine exactly what you can afford to spend – you should be pre-qualified with a lender, that way we won’t waste your time looking at places out of your price range. Second we will sit down and put together a list of criteria, what your needs are, what your wants are, and what would be nice, but not necessary”.
If they are doing this, they will be doing all the leg-work up front and only showing you homes that are right for you.
c) What’s your success rate? (How many homes have they found for buyers this year?).
d) What area do you specialize in? NOTE: This question applies to larger cities….smaller cities (say under 500,000) most realtors will know what is going on throughout all areas.
5. Other information/thoughts:
Realtors should be practiced in negotiating price and finding potential problems up front.
If you don’t have an agent and are driving around and see a home that you are interested in and decide to buy….Think twice before you use the agent who is listed on a ‘home that is for sale’. Remember that this agent already has a binding contract with the seller. By using this agent, you have now created a ‘dual agent’ — this agent is not out to take advantage of you, but how can he/she TOTALLY have your best interests, when they already have a contract with the seller? Not that you can’t do this, it would just make more sense to have an agent that solely represents you.
If you have chosen a realtor and things haven’t been working out, let them know your concerns — see if they the two of you can figure out ways to meet the expectations of both parties. If that doesn’t work, inform them that you will be using another realtor. Once-in-a-while, due to a variety of reasons, the client/realtor relationship does not work (just like in any other profession).
There are other questions you may want to ask, but if they can’t answer these questions to YOUR satisfaction, move on. Finding the right Realtor makes the world of difference.
Nancy is a client first real estate agent in Tri-Cities, WA. If you have any questions on owning homes, living in the Tri-Cities, or purchasing your first home, you can contact her directly at: