This is the second installment in an on-going series of posts dedicated to helping 1st-Time Home Buyers successfully achieve their home purchasing goals. We have been identifying and discussing, in chronological order, key events in the home buying process. In the first post, we began to identify the Top Ten Traits of a Great Real Estate Agent. We had discussed the first 5 traits: Advocate; Knowledgeable; Ethical; Accessible; and Communicator.
Here then, are the remaining 5 traits:
Top Ten Traits of a Great Real Estate Agent, Part 2
Highly Recommended: They say that you’re only as good as your last transaction. As you interview prospective agents, ask them to provide you with recent testimonials from past clients, including the client’s contact phone numbers or e-mail address. Great agents will always have lots of great clients who say great things about them!
Empathetic: A great agent is genuinely sensitive to your needs. They are patient and understanding. They recognize the emotions, fears, and anxieties that usually accompany a first-time home purchase. Their constant and confident assurances provide a much-needed calming anchor throughout the entire transaction.
Willing to educate: As a professional real estate agent, you can never share too much information. This is especially true with 1st Time Home Buyers. The first time you meet with your chosen agent; have them walk you through the entire home-buying transaction, step-by-step. This will help to ensure that there are no surprises along the way and you can anticipate the various events as they occur.
Tech Savvy: Great agents stay current with emerging technologies, and willingly adapt them to better improve their business and services. Does your prospective agent have a smart phone, and implement mobile technology/apps? Do they utilize a digital signature program like DocuSign? Does their website or blog provide current, up-to-date information on their market, and tools to easily search for area listings?
Continuing Education: A great agent has never “arrived,” but is committed to constantly learning new things. They are consistently engaged in on-going education and training opportunities. Many top agents have earned numerous designations such as ABR (Accredited Buyers Representative), GRI (Graduate of Realtors Institute), or CRS (Certified Residential Specialist). These designations often indicate further study, more experience, and greater degrees of knowledge.
So there’s your Top Ten Traits of a Great Real Estate Agent.
Selecting a Great Real Estate Agent is the first important step in successfully achieving your home buying goals. With the amount of information that is available today on the Internet, you can learn a lot about potential agent candidates before ever meeting them face-to-face. Most real estate agents have their own website, publish their own blogs, or actively participate on social media platforms, allowing for greater transparency regarding their work ethics, practices, and personality.
Next time, we’ll discuss the next vital step in the 1st-Time Home Buying process, "Signing a Buyer's Brokerage Service Agreement."
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