Undoubtedly, selling or buying a property is not an easy task. You need to deal with a wide range of challenges to ensure the process is successful. However, you can take the stress of the process by simply hiring an amazing real estate agent that knows what to do. With the help of a real estate agent, buying and selling a house will be easier, faster, and more comfortable.
To find a great real estate agent, you should consider these 5 tips.
1. Get recommendations
When looking for a real estate agent, you can start by getting referrals from people you know. These people can be your family members, friends, colleagues, and acquaintances that used the services of an agent recently. Inquire about the quality of service and expertise of the agent from the referrer. If you are convinced about the referred real estate agents, contact them.
2. Research extensively
Whether you have found an agent online or gotten some recommendations, you should take the time to research them. The research should be done before any face-to-face interview with the persons.
Thankfully, the internet puts various sets of information at everyone’s fingertip nowadays. So, you should search the internet to learn about real estate agents. Find more information about their credentials, wealth of experience, expertise, previous projects, etc. Also, check out the customer reviews of the agent on independent review sites such as Zillow.com, Yelp.com, and Google Reviews.
3. Interview the agents
Another essential tip is to interview the selected realtors. The interviews should be done individually with each agent via a phone or face-to-face. During the interviews, ask about credentials, expertise, skills, and costs of hiring the realtor.
Similarly, you can take the opportunity to inquire about how the realtor will handle your project. Be attentive to the answers of the real estate agent. Any shady answer should be seen as a red flag.
4. Get references
As you are rounding up the interview, you should request references of past clients of the realtor. A great real estate agent with a vast wealth of experience will not hesitate to provide many references.
Try to call a few of these past clients. Let them know you want to work with the realtor and ask relevant questions courteously. Most of the previous clients will give you their honest opinions about the real estate agent.
5. Understand the contract
Lastly, you need to read the contract between you and the agent. In general, the contract should have all the terms the parties have agreed on, such as the length of the contract, commission, work schedule, home evaluation, etc.
Make sure you understand everything in the contract before signing it. If you have any doubt about any term in the contract, let an experienced third party help you to interpret it.
If you can follow the 5 tips above, you will be able to hire a great real estate agent that can help you to achieve your real estate goals.