Your REALTOR® should be many things - helpful, knowledgeable, experienced, confident, and ready and willing to help guide you on your new-home-buying-journey. You and your REALTOR® will be spending a lot of time together searching for your dream home so you will want to be sure she or he is the right person. .
Many times, recommendations are the best way to find a REALTOR®–and we are very thankful that we often receive five-star reviews and recommendations from previous clients. Once you have a few recommendations, or have checked out the online reviews for REALTOR®s in your area, you should interview your selected list to make sure you find the right fit. This will help you to really learn more about their background and experiences as well as make sure that their personality is a good match for what you are looking for.
To help you with your interview, below are some questions to ask.
Questions to Ask When Selecting a REALTOR®
- How long have you been in residential real estate? Like most professions, experience is no guarantee of skill. But much of real estate is learned on the job.
- Do you have any designations or certifications? Real estate professionals have to take additional specialized training in order to obtain these distinctions. Designations and certifications help define the special skills that an agent can apply to your particular real estate needs.
- What’s your business philosophy? While there’s no right answer to this question, the response will help you assess what’s important to the agent and determine how closely the agent’s goals and business emphasis mesh with your own.
- What’s the average variation between your initial offers and final sales price? This is one indication of a REALTOR® 's pricing and negotiating skills.
- Will you represent me exclusively, or might you choose to represent the seller as well? While it’s usually legal to represent both parties in a transaction, your REALTOR® should be able to explain his or her philosophy on client obligations and agency relationships.
- Can you recommend service providers who can help me obtain a mortgage, make home repairs, and so on? Regardless if you buy a brand new home or a property that is many years old, there are bound to be updates or changes that need to be made or fixes that need to be taken care of. Having trusted referrals from your REALTOR® is very helpful.
- How will you keep me informed about the progress of my transaction? The best answer here is a question. A real estate agent who pays close attention to the way you prefer to communicate and responds accordingly will make for the smoothest transaction.
If you would like even more tips to help you through the home buying process please reach out to us for a copy of our ebook, The Essential Handbook for Buying Your Home, this helpful guide was created to guide you through the home buying process. Drop us an email and we send you a copy.