If you are like many people, you may meet an agent in an Open House or have a relative in the business. You might call a real estate company based on a home advertised for sale and get put through to the "duty agent" who happens to be doing floor duty that day. More than likely these days, you email a sales representative about a house you saw listed for sale on www.mls.ca. Are you doing yourself justice?
For most of us, real estate is the single largest asset that we buy or sell in our lifetime and average home prices top a quarter of a million dollars here these days. Think about this. If you had a quarter of a million dollars to invest, would you chose a stock broker out of a phone book or on the internet? Probably not. Chances are you would ask around for recommendations and certainly, you would want to know about their track record. Those same considerations should apply when you chose a REALTOR® to represent you.
Experience does count. It takes years to build the connections with the types of people that help make a real estate transaction smooth and, the experience of past transactions goes into every new one a sales representative writes in the future. Ask around for recommendations. If you are a Seller, don't assume that the salesperson with the most signs or most ads is the best. Those are properties that are NOT sold. What percentage of their listings actually sell? The internet today is the principal source of first contact with potential Buyers. Does the salesperson have a strong internet presence and do they respond quickly and thoroughly to requests for information? These questions merely scratch the surface. When you are looking for a REALTOR® to represent you in either a purchase or sale, I would suggest you interview more than one candidate and then commit to one who best fits your needs. You may find my list of interview questions helpful too.
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