Guide for Hiring an Amazing Real Estate Agent

- Finding and Hiring a Real Estate Agent -

When you’re buying or selling a home, it’s crucial to work with a qualified real estate agent. Not just a professional, but an amazing agent and a market expert. So how do you ensure you’re hiring an amazing real estate agent?

There are currently more than two million real estate professionals in North America.^1,2 With so many options to choose from, how does a prospective home buyer or seller choose the right agent or broker? According to the National Association of Realtors®, trust and reputation are the top deciding factors consumers use when hiring an agent.³

But how do you measure trust and reputation ... and what criteria can be used to help you make your decision?

In this guide, we've outlined the top attributes that great agents possess, as well as the questions you can ask to make sure you’re working with the right market expert to achieve your real estate goals.
 

5 ATTRIBUTES OF AN AMAZING AGENT

As mentioned above, not all real estate professionals are the same. Areas of expertise can vary widely. For instance, a wonderful downtown condo specialist may not be the best pick if you are looking for more rural horse property or a home within a golf community. And, it’s easy to be overwhelmed by the options and information about working with real estate professionals to buy or sell your home. In fact, many real estate markets are oversaturated with agents.

To help you understand what makes top agents and market experts stand apart from the competition, here are five key attributes of an amazing agent:

1. A Pricing Specialist

If an agent has their real estate license, they know the basics of the transaction process. and know what goes into buying and selling a home. However, there’s a difference between knowing the process and navigating it for an ideal result, like buying or selling a home for the best price.

For buyers, amazing agents have a strong understanding of market trends, competition, and how to make your offer attractive to sellers. They can help you identify and secure a deal to ensure you get the home you want, in the community or area you want, within your desired budget.

If you’re selling a home, market experts have experience pricing homes optimally for the market and creating pricing plans to minimize the time spent selling the home. This will help you sell sooner and avoid carrying costs like additional mortgage and utility payments.

2. An Effective Time Manager

It’s common to underestimate the amount of time it takes to buy or sell your home. The average real estate agent may not be utilizing the latest tools and technology to make the transaction easier and more cost-effective for their clients. Market experts have tools and strategies at their disposal to minimize the amount of time you spend on the process.

For sellers, market experts can make sure you only deal with qualified buyers, not the “tire kickers” who can waste your time. We also utilize the latest marketing practices online and offline to advertise and price your home effectively, ensuring it gets sold quickly.

When looking to buy a home, inexperienced agents may waste your time by showing you homes that are not a good fit for you. A market expert knows how to prioritize your needs and wants to find you the ideal home within your budget. We are big proponents of helping our clients find the area or community that is the best fit for their lifestyle before even looking at specific homes. Good agents also know how to spot “red flags” and can steer you away from homes that may not be a good fit or are likely to turn up with major issues in a real estate inspection, saving you time and money. For instance, many lovely homes in North Scottsdale get their water from private or shared wells. This setup is something that may or may not work for you and a knowledgeable agent will educate you about how it works and see if it is something you are open to.

In addition, well-networked Realtors can gain access to the hottest listings before many websites do or can get the word out about your home going onto the market. Their extensive professional networks can help identify “pre-list” homes before they’re officially on the market as well as drum up pre-listing excitement and showings before the homes are listed. This large network can be invaluable in a highly-competitive real estate market.

3. A Market Insider

While most agents can pull market stats about a neighborhood, community or city, they may not understand important trends or developments that would affect your transaction. These can include the state of the school district, issues with a homeowner association, new businesses in the area, zoning rules or trends in home prices.

Market experts live and breathe local real estate and know the trigger points for buying and selling in this market. We also stay current on effective marketing and negotiation practices, resulting in our track record of success.

For sellers, we understand what features of your home and neighborhood are assets in the selling process. And for buyers, we share a deep understanding of market factors, including neighborhood quality, speed of sales, price data and more. Plus, Joyce is on the Government Affairs committee for the Scottsdale Board of Realtors. This allows her to stay on top of developments and regulations that can affect real estate sales.

4. A Strong Negotiator

Amazing agents truly set themselves apart in their ability to negotiate. Unfortunately, a large portion of agents do not commit their time to improving this key skill.

Real estate negotiations can be challenging, even for seasoned professionals. It takes skill, experience and a knowledge of how to fight for your client’s best interests. While any agent can enter negotiations to buy or sell a home, they may not know the effective strategies to exit those negotiations with the result you want.

Experienced Realtors® focus on negotiation as a key skill. We understand what to do before entering negotiations (establishing the upper hand to set up the best outcome), as well as during the process (when to offer or accept concessions). Joyce and Heather have both earned their Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) designations and apply the skills learned in those classes to each and every negotiation.

5. An Effective Closer

Closing a deal fast is often a good thing. For buyers, it means you found the home you wanted quickly. For sellers, it often means you can avoid the added expenses of mortgage and utility payments, and maximize the value of your home sale.

However, an agent solely focused on speed can make decisions that aren’t in your best interests. Top real estate professionals know how to not only help you achieve your real estate goals quickly, but they make sure they are handled in the right way to avoid potential pitfalls.

Just like negotiations, the paperwork and process of closing a real estate transaction are complicated. And they can be overwhelming for the average agent who hasn’t handled a lot of transactions. Sales contracts, property disclosures, contingencies, occupancy agreements and even lead based paint records need to be executed with precision. Your agent not only needs to be familiar with these, but also stay current on any changes in requirements or regulations.

Market experts have a strong understanding of real estate contracts, timelines, clauses and contingencies within the closing process. In fact, avoiding pitfalls during the closing process is where many sellers find an experienced Realtor® is a huge asset.

6 QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR REAL ESTATE AGENT

So how do you know if you’re working with an amazing agent?

The first step would be to “shop around.” Many people work with the first agent they come across without a firm understanding of their level of experience. It’s always a good idea to interview a number of agents before selecting one. If you’ve gotten referrals from people you trust, then you may only need to interview 2-3 agents.

However, it can be tough to know what to ask in the interview process. Here are some questions that can help you qualify the best agent to help you achieve your real estate goals:

1. Can you send me some information about yourself?

Look for professionalism and consistency. What are their professional accomplishments? Also, try to identify how they approach their work. Look for a business person who has a strategy and solid support system. If they’re a newer agent, ask about their team’s dynamic and accomplishments.

2. How long have you been in real estate?

The average Realtor has 10 years of experience⁴. But while longevity is important, even more telling are the number and/or type of transactions they have closed or been involved in. So feel free to also ask: “How many homes have you sold in this area?” If you are looking for a specific type of property, for instance, golf communities or horse properties, ask about experience in those areas as well.

3. How do you work with clients? 

And, it is also important to understand how an agent and their team (if they have one) work. Some agents and agent teams are focused on closing hundreds of transactions a year. Whereas, other agents and teams are more focused on lower production numbers and providing additional customer support and time.

Depending on how an agent has their processes set up, you may work with your selected agent through the entire process from search/pre-listing to close and even post-close. Other agents may be there for you in the selection/pre-list and offer process, but once under contract, you will be serviced by their team of specialists.

4. What will you do to keep me informed?

Do you want daily or weekly reports from your agent? How do you want them delivered? Will the agent be able to meet these expectations? Determine how much communication you want, and then find an agent who will give you the attention and time you want and deserve.

5. Can you provide me with further resources I may need?

From market reports and pricing trends to school performance and crime statistics, top agents have resources at their disposal. In addition, market experts have built strong relationships with their extended team of professionals, and can often get expedient service.

6. Seller only: Can you share with me your plan to market my property?

Many agents will simply put your home in the MLS and wait for it to sell. An amazing agent should have a detailed plan of how to get your home exposure on online and offline, on social media, to their local networks and more.

GET STARTED

Now that you’re armed with the 5 Attributes of Amazing Agents and the 6 Top Questions to ensure you work with the best possible real estate agent, you’re ready to start interviewing agents.

We’d love an opportunity to win your business. Schedule a free consultation with us to find out how true market experts can help you achieve your real estate goals!

Sources:

1. National Association of REALTORS – https://www.nar.realtor/field-guides/field-guide-to-quick-real-estate-statistics
2. Financial Post – http://business.financialpost.com/personal-finance/mortgages-real-estate/canada-housing-bubble-agents/wcm/b49d4e3a-bd8d-4d1c-9566-bd3d80c8e23a
3. National Association of REALTORS –

https://www.nar.realtor/reports/highlights-from-the-profile-of-home-buyers-and-sellers

4. National Association of REALTORS – https://www.nar.realtor/field-guides/field-guide-to-quick-real-estate-statistics

Originally posted on Live Better in Scottsdale

Disclaimer: Information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed.