Friday, April 3, 2015

REPOST: 7 tips for picking a real-estate agent

It is often recommended to pick the right real estate agent to help you with buying or selling a home  process. They will help you manage time, do much of the work,  and offer great deals for you. Here are seven tips to help you choose the right one.


Couples in Real Estate Agent's Office
Image Source: realtytoday.com


Ever wish you could hire the best real-estate agent for buying or selling your home?

When it comes to choosing real-estate agents, “We don’t have the information that we have about other service professionals,” says Stephen Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America, in Washington, D.C.

However, there are things you can do to assess a real-estate agent’s past performance and potential success with your home. Whether you’re the buyer or the seller, here are seven ways you can find out more about your agent before you hire.

1. Check references

Ask agents to provide a list of what they’ve listed and sold in the past year, with contact information, says Ron Phipps, past president of the Chicago-based National Association of Realtors (NAR). Before you start calling the names, ask the agent if anyone will be “particularly pleased or particularly disappointed,” he says.

And, if you’re the seller, ask if these past properties are similar to yours in price, location and other salient features, Poorvu says. What you want is someone who specializes in exactly what you’re selling.

2. Check the licensing
States will have boards that license and discipline real-estate agents in those states, says Phipps. Check with your state’s regulatory body to find out if the person is licensed and if there have been any disciplinary actions or complaints, or check to see if the information is posted online.

3. Pick a winner
Peer-given awards count, says Phipps. One that really means something is the “Realtor of the Year” designation awarded by the state or local branch of NAR.

“These agents are the best as judged by their peers,” he says. “That’s a huge endorsement.”

4. Check credentials
Just as doctors specialize, so do real-estate agents. And even generalists will get additional training in some areas. So that alphabet soup after the name can be an indication that the person has taken additional classes in a certain specialty of real-estate sales. Here’s what some of the designations mean:

• CRS (Certified Residential Specialist): Completed additional training in handling residential real estate.

• ABR (Accredited Buyer’s Representative): Completed additional education in representing buyers in a transaction.

• SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist): Completed training aimed at helping buyers and sellers in the 50-plus age range.

If the agent calls himself a Realtor with a capital “R,” that means he’s a member of NAR. By hiring a Realtor, “the most important thing you get is an agent who formally pledges to support the code of ethics,” says Phipps.

5. Check experience

You can often find out how long the agent has been selling real estate from the state-licensing authority. Or, you can just ask the agent.

“If they haven’t been in business five years, they’re learning on you and that’s not good,” says Robert Irwin, author of “Tips & Traps When Buying a Home.”

Ultimately, what you’re looking for is someone actively engaged in a particular area and price range, says Phipps. You’ll want to know what knowledge of those two factors they can demonstrate and “what kind of market presence they have,” he says.

6. Check current listings
Check out an agent’s listings online, says Brobeck. Two places to look are the agency’s own site and Realtor.com, a website that compiles properties in the Multiple Listing Service into a searchable online database.

Most buyers start their search on the Internet, and you want an agent who uses that tool effectively. “A key thing is an attractive presentation on the Web,” says Brobeck.

You also can look at how closely the agent’s listings mirror the property you want to buy or sell. Are they in the same area? Is the price range similar? And does the agent have enough listings to indicate a healthy business but not so many that you’d just be a number?

7. Ask questions
A good agent should know about other area properties that are available “off the top of his head,” says Irwin. Mention a house in your area that’s sold recently or is for sale. If the agent knows the property and can give you a few details, that means he or she really knows your area, he says. “You want someone like that who’s on top of the market.”


Riyesh Menon is a real estate professional. Follow him on Twitter for more real estate articles and news.