Four Signs That You Have an Awesome Real Estate Agent
The real estate market is a complicated maze to navigate if you are not familiar with it. Whether you are interested in homes for sale because you are ready to buy a house, or you are selling a house that you already own, one factor that really determines your success is having the best real estate agents on your team.
Your home purchase or home sale involves putting thousands upon thousands of dollars on the line. Working with ill-equipped real estate agents could result in getting a deal that costs you a lot more than you need to spend (or selling your home for far less than you could have gotten for it), or worse, the home sale or purchase falling through altogether. If you are just dipping your toe in the real estate market for the first time, you should check out our handy list of qualities in great real estate agents.
Four Qualities in a Highly Successful Real Estate Agent
- Accessibility
There is a reason this is our first point. No matter how much you like your real estate agent as a person, if they are not available when you call them, you might not have a great real estate experience. You need to have your real estate service at your fingertips to answer questions, straighten out every little hiccup that inevitably arises along the way, and advocate for you with brokers, lenders, and inspectors. From the get-go, if your real estate agent is slow to respond to your calls or emails, it’s a good idea to hire a new one before you put an offer in (or accept an offer) and get stuck with them. - Experience
This might by your first or second time buying or selling a house, but good real estate agents have hundreds of home sales under their belts. The longer a real estate agent is in the industry, the more likely they are to have dealt with any unusual circumstance that arises in you home buying (or home selling) process. The know-how that a real estate agent acquires through years and years of selling homes is something that can only be obtained through experience. Experience is one factor in a great real estate agent. - Gut Instinct
The process of buying and selling a home sometime involves a delicate balancing act. When you initially put your home on the market, you have to create a listing price based on the market value and the home’s condition. If the home is priced too high, it discourages prospective buyers before they ever step foot in it. If it is priced too low, you could miss out on thousands of dollars when you sell your home. When you’re on the other side of the home buying process, you want to have a real estate agent on your team who has a good feel for the market and will help you create a competitive bid without spending more than you have to.
Beyond the price tag, there are a myriad of other factors that have to be negotiated while buying and selling a home. A good real estate agent will know when to hold em and when fold them on every detail to get you the best deal in your home buying or home selling process. - Reputation
A great real estate agent will leave a trail of happy clients everywhere they work. There is no better way to identify a great agent than finding someone who gets rave reviews from past clients. The best way to do this is by asking friends and family members for referrals of real estate agents who have done great work for them. If you are new to your area and don’t have the luxury of obtaining personal referrals, try looking for online. There are several great client review sites that will help you find an awesome real estate agent. If one agent gets a large amount of happy reviews, its a good sign that they’ll do a great job for you too.
Do you have any other great tips for people who are in the market for a real estate agent? Please share your wisdom in the comment section below!
