The Agent You Work With Matters

As someone who works in this industry + sees what happens behind the scenes, this thought crosses my mind all the time. However, for buyers or sellers who are just excited to get started, they probably don’t give it enough credit: 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 + 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. 𝗔 𝗹𝗼𝘁. It will be one of the most important decisions you make, and can often mean the difference of getting the house you want or losing it…or potentially earning or losing tens of thousands of dollars.

There are a wide variety of characters when it comes to Real Estate Agents. Tbh it’s not that hard to take the classes + get licensed…then they can run their businesses however they want. As a result, you get a lot of people who practice real estate as a hobby, do the bare minimum when it comes to presenting or getting offers for clients, and have terrible communication skills.

Of course you should you find someone that you get along with personally + trust, but here are some things you should look for when choosing an agent.

𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 - They should be active in the market, meaning if they haven’t sold a house for several months they probably aren’t aware of what’s happening in the current market or what types of offers + terms are being written. They should be familiar not only with competitive offer strategies, but what options may be when the buyer has more negotiation power.

𝗥𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗲𝘄𝘀 - If an agent has done a good job for clients they have worked with in the past, they will have testimonials to show for it. Find some online, and don’t be afraid to ask for references.

𝗘𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 - Do they call the other agent to find out what a great offer would be for the seller + put in the extra effort to build some rapport with the other agent, do they present your offer in the best light possible with a cover letter + lender communication, do they FOLLOW-UP multiple times after submitting an offer to ensure you’re in the best position possible? On a listing, is the agent conveying your priorities + wants…are they even answering their phone? Ask these questions.