Do Your Homework Before You Choose An Agent

Choosing your agent.  Part 1 of 2.

Before the interview...

If you live in Maryland, or anywhere in America, you probably know a Realtor or two or three.  You might even be related to one or more.  So how do you choose a professional to help sell YOUR home?  There are several steps you can take to narrow down the list before you interview any agent in person.

1. First, create a list. - Start with any agent who has done a good job for you in the past and any that you've heard friends or family rave about, based upon their pleasant and profitable home sale or purchase.  You may wish to add any agent who has kept in touch with you regularly through postal mail or email, or whose signs you've noticed in your neighborhood - assuming, of course, those signs read "sold".
2. Do a google search or a yahoo search (or both) to find out whether they have a presence in cyberspace.  That is essential in today's market, because cyberspace is where most buyers start their home search, and you want to work with someone who is comfortable in that world.  They don't have to be on page 1 when you search by community, because that is often dominated by the large firms' corporate websites, but the agent should at least appear when you search their name and their local office.
3. Visit each agent's website.  Ask yourself, "What's in it for me?"  Is their focus on YOU-YOU-YOU, the consumer, or is it me-me-me, the agent...  Of course, you want to learn about the agent's professional background and qualifications through their website, but you'll also learn a lot about them and their approach to business by the articles and links they provide, including mls searches.  If there are non-working links and mis-spellings throughout the website, ask yourself if that lack of attention to detail is a quality you want in the agent who represents you.
4. Contact each agent by email or phone (or both), to find out how quickly the agent responds.  The Number 1 complaint I hear from consumers about their agents is "He didn't call me back" or "I never hear from him."
5. Contact each agent's office to inquire about a listing.  (Or ask a friend to do this for you.)  You will get a good indication of how inquiries about YOUR property will be handled.  If they encourage the caller to make an appointment to see the property, that's a good thing.  If they tell the caller about another listing they have that is better priced or a better location or ..., that is probably not how you want inquiries handled about YOUR home.

If you take these steps before you interview an agent, it is likely that one or more of them will be eliminated from your list.  That will help you to minimize the risk of succumbing to personality over substance when you meet face to face.  While it is important for you to like your agent, personality alone is not enough to get the job done in today's tough real estate market.

The next step, interviewing prospective agents face to face, is a topic for another day.

Do Your Homework Before You Choose An Agent.  Copyright 2007.  All Rights Reserved.  Margaret Woda.