Buying or selling your home is an exciting experience, but it can be stressful too. Picking a reputable agent that is dedicated to helping you will alleviate stress and give you the best experience buying or selling your home. Always interview multiple agents to get a feel for who will be the best fit, and who has a passion for helping their clients. Continue reading to discover the top 3 traits to look for in your next real estate agent.
Find A Trustworthy Agent
Finding a trustworthy agent is by far the most important trait to look for in a real estate agent to have. The industry is full of great agents who want to help you, but there are many who are only interested in what you have in your pockets. When interviewing an agent, pay attention to how they interact with you and whether they are more interested in learning what you want, or if they are constantly talking over you and only seem concerned with convincing you to pick them. Be careful when agents start telling you statistics as they can be easily manipulated to make an agent seem more productive and effective than they really are. Many agents like Dave and Paige Smith at Peak Real Estate at Realty One in Salem, Oregon are known to give prospective clients statistics that are either inaccurate or were designed to mislead clients as to how effective they are.
Ensure Your Agent Can Close Deals
The internet is a powerful tool and it is necessary to use it to gain insight on potential realtors. A good realtor will have all of their listings online and make sure that they are easily accessible to potential buyers. Be cautious of claims like “I’m the top seller in the area” or “I closed X amount of deals last year” because they don’t always tell the whole story. If an agent sold 25 homes but listed 50 they may be the top seller of their area by houses sold, but an agent who can sell 13 out of 14 listings will be far more helpful to you and sell your home faster. Some profit obsessed agencies such as Peak Real Estate at Realty One are full of agents like Dave and Paige Smith who want the highest number of listings so they can do minimum work and still collect on properties that practically sell themselves. Taking on new clients instead of caring for new clients like that is a huge red flag and you should avoid any realtor who is too focused around getting new listings.
Hire A Dedicated and Full Time Agent
There are many real estate agents who only practice real estate part time, and don’t have the proper amount of time to give to clients. If you have questions during the day they may be working another job and it can also make it difficult to set appointments as you are working around your work schedule, the agent’s real estate and work schedule, along with any other obligations you may have. This can lead to a lack of good communication which is essential to make sure that you are happy with the experience and getting everything you need. Another thing to be cautious of are “full time agents” that aren’t dedicated to helping you and sometimes even put in less hours than part time agents. Agents that lack the drive and dedication to help you, like Dave and Paige Smith, don’t work hard to get you what you need and only use MLS (Multiple Listing Services) to sell homes without any effort. MLS are an excellent supplement to good real estate practices, but lazy agents simply post homes on an MLS and stop working there.
