Whether you are selling or purchasing a property is getting an experienced real estate agent you can trust, it’s just one of the most significant decisions to make.
Many people believe that it has become too risky to hire an agent rather than some good. This is true in some situations that require first to understand that, is up to you to ensure that you get a reliable real estate agent and not the dishonest one.
Some people may have such a bad experience working with a real estate agent because they did not bother to do some research about the agents that will help them and identify the unscrupulous from the right agents.
You need to understand that protecting your money yourself and investment you have to do is to ensure that the people involved in this process are ethical and can entirely rely on. If you’re facing challenges when trying to figure out the good agents from the terrible ones, you can try these simple steps.
Speak to your lender before hiring a real estate agent
Homebuyers sometimes hire an agent and the dive into the home hunt before they even talk to the lender. It is recommended that you to be successful in purchasing your dream home, it’s better if you speak to the lender first to learn and understand how much you can afford.
Getting pre-approved for a loan will offer you the maximum amount you can be lent and identify any problems that you need to work on early in the process.
This will also help stick to properties in the right price range, and it will prove to potential sellers that you are serious in purchasing their properties. In some competitive markets, you will require a pre-approval letter for the buyers to consider your offer.
Get referrals
Ask relatives and your friends if they can recommend any professional real estate agent with whom they have had a good experience. Ideally, you will need someone with enough experience in working with customers who are similar to you.
You can still ask recommendations from your co-workers and ask if they can introduce you to any agent they had a good experience it. The people you know will not offer you the agent; most likely, they will point you in the perfect direction perfect person to get the right agent.
Research your potential real estate agents
State the process by examining their online presence. Check the active social media accounts and their websites that are they have used to promote their listings. Ensure that you check the online reviews as well. Don’t mind about two or three negative reviews, but more than that could be a red flag.
Also, check the real estate companies that house the agent. Look at the agents who are on the top of the listing. Ensure that you look for their achievements, and if any data checks client satisfaction, it is a better idea to check that.
Interview your potential candidates
Like any other company trying to hire an employee, it interviews, so it is advisable if you do the same. You should research how to conduct interviews online if you’re not familiar with them. You can just ask for assistance from your friend or family members to do an interview and have somewhere ready to write down important information about the agent.
This also gives you a chance to understand the agent preferred way of communication and their availability. If most of them are comfortable with texting and emailing and expect to visit houses after work hours during the, you will need an agent to do the same.
Check their references.
Demand information on how they have listed and sold houses in the past six months with contact information for a few recent customers.
Call those customers to determine the agents’ experience and what type of support these agents can provide throughout the entire process, including negotiation of offer. Ask if they would like to hire that agent again for the next transaction.
Put the entire list together.
Now that you have at least three possible real estate agents after you took the above steps. Hence, it is ok to ask them for references and then check those references you will want to interview them to determine which one you feel most comfortable to partner with. There is nothing wrong with you trusting your instincts.
Still should ensure that you avoid an agent who doesn’t display confidence in his knowledge. If he doesn’t, it shows a lack of professionalism and experience that will almost guarantee that your best interests are not well served. You should interview multiple agents and see if you see anything that the current agent being interviewed cannot help you. It’s better to move on and get another one.
Keep in mind that the purchasing or selling a house there is a lot at stake—this important to get a competent real estate agent if not better. Otherwise, if you don’t want to go through the whole process, you can opt to check houses online from movoto.com.