When there are 14,000 in your area, chances are you know one.... or more.
The time has come and you're ready to buy or sell a house. The first step (or second if you find a lender, first!) is to find a Realtor. Sure, you can do it alone, but you're likely not going to want to do that.
Within 30 seconds of posting "anyone know a Realtor" on your Facebook page, you're flooded with 500 answers. Some are family, some are friends, and some are family and friends referring someone the know.
So, HOW DO YOU CHOOSE especially when you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings? AND when you're overwhelmed?
First things first, put yourself first.
Buying and selling a home is often a very emotional and expensive decision so having the right person by your side to guide you through the ups and downs is critical to making the right decision.
This person will keep you focused, sees things without the “excited goggles” which will help you avoid costly mistakes.
Here’s how you do it.
Just say NO to family
Haven’t you heard the line, “don’t go into business with family.” There’s a reason this has been said over and over and OVER again. It’s true with Real Estate as well. What happens is you don’t want to hurt their feelings by using someone else. Maybe they’ve even offered you a lower commission fee to help you save money. That’s great, but what happens when emotions get involved. Are you prepared to have a hard conversation with them? Are they prepared to have one with YOU? Unless you both can separate personal from business, consider keeping it separate.
Set up a consult to get a feel for personalities
With 12,000 Realtors there are plenty of personalities and experiences to choose from. At the end of the day you want to get the job done in the most efficient way possible, but unfortunately not every Realtor does that. If you’re serious in your search you’re going to need someone who does this full-time (or has help to do so). This will allow them to be ready to jump with you when the right property arises. You’re also going to want to make sure your personalities match as you’ll be spending quite a bit of time together.
Ask questions
When you set up a consult with a Real Estate agent be prepared with some questions to ask them. Some examples are how many serious buyers are they working with at a time? How many homes to they generally buy/sell in a year (the average is 12)? What is their communication style? What sets them apart from other Agents? How will they help you find homes in your price range? For buyers: How will they help you make competitive offers and negotiate? For sellers: How will they help you read through offers and pick the right one? How will they market your home? Do they work with a team or are they solo?
Read reviews
If you’re going to leave a review it’s likely because the experience was SO GOOD you just can’t help yourself, or SO BAD it’s important to warn other people to consider staying away. Eek. Keep that in mind as you read all their review be it on Facebook, Google, or Zillow. Read between the lines and look for repeated words. Good communication, knowledgeable, smooth process, negotiation, good advice, feels like family, and stress-free are likely words that will help you with your search. (You can even ask for referrals!)
If you’ve never had a good experience with a Realtor before (or never had one at all!), you’ll learn the best ones begin to feel like your business partner, best friend, and therapist all at the same time.
At the Taylor-Made Team, we have 4 amazing Real Estate Agents all with different personalities, experiences, and specialties waiting to answer all your questions and help you through this process. Contact us today to see if we’re the right fit for you!