How to Choose a Realtor: Expert Secrets

The most important financial decision you will ever make is choosing a realtor. We recommend that you interview several agents before making a decision.

Start by researching online for real estate agents to pre-screen. Focus on reviews, sale activity and where the sale is taking place.

We recommend Clever Real Estate’s agent matching service to match you up with top agents in your area quickly. Clever can also negotiate lower fees with local agents, saving you money.

After you have compared a few options, it is time to schedule interviews and compare them to find the right agent. Below is how it works.

A guide to choosing a realtor

Before you set up interviews, it’s smarter to vet agents online. Here are some tips to quickly screen agents.

Review past clients’ reviews

You can quickly identify poor real estate agents by looking at online reviews. You can search for reviews from past clients on sites such as Zillow, Trulia and Google.

Agents who have few or no reviews are a red flag. This indicates that the agent is new, unproven, or has no online presence.

Although it’s not unusual for agents to receive negative reviews from unhappy customers, a pattern of negative feedback can be more alarming.

These are some of the most common negative comments you should be aware of:

• The client felt pressured into signing a listing agreement or buyer’s agency agreement.
• Agent rushed to get a buyer to make an offer on a house.
• The agent took too long for a house to be sold or forced the client to accept a lower offer.
• Agents who are not hardworking or a bit lazy.
• The agent was slow or unresponsive to client calls and texts.
• The agent failed to negotiate a contract.

Note: Agent Matching Services like Clever do the work for you. They filter out poorly reviewed agents and match you with the best in your market.

Determine whether you are full-time or part time.

Both homebuyers and sellers should work with a full-time, dedicated realtor. It can be not easy to verify work status, and most part-time agents won’t. Here are some tips.

Zillow shows the agent’s sales activity. An agent who has closed at least 10 sales within the last year is likely to be active and not just a side hustle in real estate.

Try to reach the agent during normal business hours. Agents who are unavailable between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. could be working on another job.

Browse through social media accounts. Part-time workers are less likely to have active social networks accounts than full-time employees.

Searching an agent’s Instagram and Facebook pages can help you gauge their online presence (1-2 posts per day shows that they are active).

Find the most recent experience

In a changing market for real estate, it is important to have recent work experience.

To search for sales data, view each agent’s Trulia or Zillow profile. This will show you the number of sellers and buyers they have helped.

How to locate an agent’s transaction history using Zillow

1. Zillow’s agent search tool can help you find the agent’s profile
2. Scroll down to “Sold”, on the agent profile. You’ll find the address, the sold date, the closing price and the agent who represented the buyer or the seller in the transaction.
3. Click on each listing to find out more about the transaction including the date and length of the sale.

You can also check their real estate license online to see when it was issued. This will show you how long they have been licensed.

Interview agents with at most 2 years experience and at least 1 closed deal in the last month. Also, be sure to mention your type of transaction (buying/selling).

Look for sales in your area

It is best to work with an agent who has closed at most a few sales within your area in the past two months.

Agents who specialize in your area are able to value homes accurately and have likely built a strong network that includes inspectors, appraisers, contractors and inspectors to assist you with closing.

Zillow is an excellent resource for finding local sales. Zillow’s agent profile shows the most recent sales and their full addresses.

Do you need to search for real estate agents or realtors?

Realtor is sometimes used interchangeably with real-estate agent. This can cause confusion for home buyers and sellers.

A realtor is an agent who is a member of The National Association of Realtors (NAR). A real estate agent is anyone licensed to help people sell or buy real estate, but not a NAR member.

The bottom line is that Realtors (NAR members), are bound by the NAR Code of Ethics. However, they are only sometimes more competent at their jobs than agents who are not NAR members. It is important to choose a good agent to work with.

How do you choose the right listing agent

What should you look for?

Experience: While there is no magic number of years of experience, it’s a good idea to find an agent with at most 2-3 years.

Have a hustle mentality. Find a motivated agent who is ready to sell your house quickly. It would be best if you had a plan and everything ready to go when you come in so that you can begin showing your house as soon after it is listed.

Smart marketing: Find a professional who can do more than post a sign in your yard and put your house up online. Professional photos and social media activity are essential. It would be best if you also had pro tips to help you make your house attractive for potential buyers.

Create listing presentations

Why it is important: To test the agent’s personality and responsiveness before you sign anything.

To test their responsiveness, call the agent and get their number. If they don’t respond to your call, you can text or email them. Some agents prefer these methods more often.

Although good agents may not always be available immediately, any agent who is interested in your business will respond within 24 hours if they have a valid reason such as a personal emergency.

Meet the agent at your home

Why it is important: To verify the agent’s skills, experience, and real estate knowledge. The agent will provide a market update, a report on home value, and a netsheet, and review the listing agreement.

How it works: Most agents will love to meet with you, if you ask. You should confirm the meeting and let them know if you have any changes.

You should bring your home information and the agent will provide you with a CMA and a net sheet. They also need to show you photos and videos of their current listings.

Expert tip Ask each agent you interview for a seller’s net sheet. This sheet shows your estimated net profit after taking into account all expenses.

One of the seller nets you receive is higher or lower than the other. This could indicate that the agent either overpriced or underestimated your home or needs to know the local selling costs.

Follow up with the agent

Why it is important: The post-meeting call gives you another opportunity to assess the agent’s communication skills and responsiveness, and to find out if they are really interested in helping you.

How do you go about it? Call, text or email the agent within one day of your first meeting. You can see if they respond immediately or if it takes them a while to reply.

Text “Hi John”, and you will say “Hi John, thanks so much for meeting me yesterday.” Based on our conversation about my house selling, what is [blank]?

An agent who responds quickly and personally is a strong indicator that they will be available for you during the selling process.

It’s a sign that they don’t want to help you.

Check out the listing agreement

Why it is important: The listing agreement usually spans 10-20 pages and details all your responsibilities and the duties that your agent owes you. It also outlines your initial listing price and when it will go live.

It is important to sign it as it will kick off the home-selling process and allow the agent to work for your benefit.

What should listing agreements include?

• The agreement’s length (normally 3 to 6 month).
• The commission rate for agents.
• You agree to pay the agent for the buyer.
• If you are ready to leave the agent, the cancellation policy of that agent will apply.
• How buyers can gain access to your home for showings.
• Listing includes services (photos, videos and listing on the MLS).

What to do: Let agents walk you through the listing agreement during your first meeting or follow up phone call. A real estate attorney can help you go through the listing agreement before you sign.

Next steps

Are you still undecided about agents? These are some options for next steps.

• If you are not happy with your selections, find more agents to interview. Clever, an agent matching service that connects you with multiple agents in your area, can save you thousands of dollars on realtor fees.
• Verify the real estate agent’s license. It should be in good standing and active.
• You can review the listing agreement again, and learn more about an exclusive right to sell listing agreement. Or, call an attorney for additional help.
• Ask each agent to provide the contact information. Refer to 3-5 previous sellers for references.
• You can call 1-2 clients from your client list to further vet them (a random selection keeps agents from cherry-picking referrals and prevents you from getting biased perspectives).
• If you are comfortable signing the listing agreement, consider interviewing other agents.

Save thousands of dollars by finding full-service agents

Clever helps you connect with top agents in your area who charge less! Sellers pay only $3,000, or 1%, in listing fees. Eligible buyers get 0.5% cash back.

How do you choose the right buyer agent

What should you look for?

Experience: Meet with an experienced agent that has closed many deals (over 10 in the last year) and they have strategies to help you beat other home buyers.

Market Knowledge: Strong Agents are knowledgeable about the local real estate market and can identify potential problems before they happen.

A strong network: Buyers agents have access to a large network of contractors and agents that can assist you in your transaction and help you close it faster.

73 percent of home buyers hire the first agent they meet.

Interviewing multiple agents is a good idea.

It’s easy to compare buyer’s agents because contracts offer more flexibility than listing agents. Before you submit an offer on a property, you might not need to sign a buyer’s agency agreement. You can take advantage of this opportunity by visiting homes with several buyer’s agents before making a commitment to one.

A great buyer’s agent won’t waste their time. They’ll vet you by asking questions such as:

• Are you a pre-approved or have you already spoken with a lender?
• Which neighborhoods are you most interested in?
• Are you looking to rent or sell your home?

If you want to impress the buyer’s agent and get their attention, be prepared to answer these questions prior to you begin touring houses.

Interviews

Why it is important: Your first phone call with an agent will allow you to assess their responsiveness and discuss your goals. You can also get pre-approved by a lender. We will walk through the home buying process and address any concerns.

What to do: Call your top choices to schedule Zoom or in-person appointments. Ask any questions you may have about the home-buying process and get their expertise, knowledge, and experience.

Five questions you should ask your buyer’s agent prior to meeting

1. Do buyers or sellers primarily make up your work? Request recent sales data to find out how many buyers and sells the agent has represented.
2. Can you help buyers find their ideal neighborhoods? An agent who is knowledgeable about your area is essential.
3. What’s your average price range? Try to find agents that can help you with your budget.
4. How can you help buyers compete on the current market? There are strong sellers in many areas and you need every advantage that you can.
5. I would appreciate your assistance in the home-buying process. It is a sign of their desire to help that they take the time to guide you through the home buying process.
6. Set up a home showing by meeting and setting it up

Why it is important: The agent enters your purchasing criteria into the multiple listing system (MLS), which is the system that realtors use for sending homes to buyers. You can request showings if you like the property.

Consider changing agents if you visit houses and there are red flags flying, such as if an agent insists that you make an offer on a house immediately.

A person who is only interested in getting paid will sugar coat each tour and hope you make an offer. Experienced agents will quickly answer your questions and identify any issues.

The buyer’s agent should take the tour to get to know you better. The agent should help you to understand why if you don’t love the home after viewing it.

How to do this: Most buyer’s agents are happy to meet you, help you with your home search and show you houses if you ask.

Meeting with an agent is risk-free, except for the possibility of spending time with them and discovering that they aren’t right for you.

Choose an agent to sign an agreement

Why it is important: A buyer’s agent agreement means that you will only work with the agent for a set period of time while the agent will represent your best interests.

How it works: You can read and sign an agency agreement for a buyer in person or electronically using DocuSign.

STOP! Read the fine print! Buyer’s agency agreements tend to be exclusive. This means that you will have to use the agent in order purchase a house. You can cancel the contract for a nominal fee. However, it all depends on the agreement.

Ask them for references from clients who need more time to be ready to commit and then give them a call. If they truly want your business, they will not pressure you into signing a buyer’s agency agreement. Instead, they will earn your trust through hard work and dedication.

Realtor red flags to be aware of

These are the warning signs of a realtor in lake geneva to look out for, whether you’re searching for a seller’s or buyer’s agent.

They pressure or rush you

It’s not good to work with a realtor who pressures or rushes you into making a decision, so that they get paid quicker.

These are red flag situations that you should be aware of:

• To move forward in the relationship, the agent will insist that you sign an agency agreement for buyers or a listing agreement immediately.
• The agent will show you houses that aren’t within your budget, pressure you to make an offer, or force you to accept an offer on your home.
• They force you to sign an agreement without fully understanding the terms and conditions.
• Major concerns that were discovered by an appraiser or home inspector are ignored by the agent.

You can often tell if an agent is patient with you during your first meeting.

They are unresponsive

Avoid agents who are slow to answer your calls, texts or emails (24 hours maximum).

In the fast-paced world of real estate, responsiveness is crucial. These are the nightmare scenarios that could occur when you work with an agent who is not responsive.

Sellers
You receive a fantastic offer on a house, but it has an expiration date that is 24 hours. So it would help if you acted quickly. Your agent calls you to decline the offer. The offer expires.

Buyers
You can find the house of your dreams online but you have to hurry to get there before others do. Your agent returns your call the next day, so you miss out on the opportunity to view the house.

They lack integrity

You want to work with professionals, not untrustworthy salespeople.

These are signs that a real estate agent is dishonest:

• They claim that their commission rate cannot be negotiable, which is often true. Or they will hide additional fees.
• Their commission rate is high and they need to know what it covers.
• They will make bold claims that are not supported by evidence, such as “I sold 100 houses last year!” or “I closed 3 deals last week in that area.” Ask them to verify their data.
• They make fun of other agents. This is not only unprofessional, but it could also violate state laws and cause problems in contract negotiations.

Avoid agents who raise any of these red flags.

They don’t get your market

Real estate is local. It’s important to find an agent who knows your market. Ask them questions about your neighborhood to get their opinions.

These are some great questions to ask:

• What is the rate of home price growth in my area?
• What number of active listings is there in my area?
• What is the inventory for the current month?
• Which type of home buyer might be most interested?

Buyer’s agents need to know the area like the backs of their hands, and point out any recent developments such as new schools or businesses moving in.

They are too commission-driven

Avoid realtors with “commission breath”, which makes every conversation about them or their paychecks instead of you and your needs.

These are warning signs to look out for:

• Instead of asking about your goals as a buyer or seller, the agent will bring up their commission rate during your first conversation.
• They pressure you into accepting offers on homes you don’t like or force you to buy a home they don’t like.
• During showings they are overly positive, saying things such as “this home has it all!” or using phrases like, “If you sleep on it you might not be able to sleep in it.”
• They will ask you to list your house at a lower price than you are comfortable with. Agents will list your home at a lower price than they are comfortable with in order to make a quick buck.

Agents should be more concerned with making clients happy. This is how they will earn their salary andpotentially refer clients.

What to Look For in a Realtor

These are important traits and skills that realtors should have to help you gauge the quality of your first phone call or interview.

Positive personality

Top agents are approachable and friendly. They are also friendly and easy to talk with.

A sense of humor is a big plus. If things get tense (e.g. contract negotiations), laughter can help to ease the tension.

Strong communicator

Real estate requires communication skills, especially when negotiating with other agents and showing your home to potential buyers.

If they do these things, you can tell if a realtor communicates well.

• During your interview or initial call, ask for your preferred communication method (phone, text or email).
• It would be best if you were focusing on your conversation and not on work calls, texts or emails.
• Listen to their words more than what they say, and focus on your goals and situation instead of how they talk.
• Real stories and experiences about their time working as realtors.
• Communicate proactively and point out potential roadblocks before they happen.

Good agents will follow up with clients after the initial interview or phone call to find out if they have any additional questions.

Real estate knowledge

Real estate agents stand out from the rest because they have the right knowledge. For many reasons, knowledgeable and experienced agents are well-worth their commission. Here’s why:

Buyers

• Agents with knowledge can guide first-time homebuyers from start to finish.
• They are skilled in structuring offers that help buyers win the house of their dreams in a highly competitive market.
• They are familiar with all forms, disclosures and legal documents that are required to close the deal.
• They are a great resource for local information and can answer all questions about utilities, zoning rules and homeowner’s association dues.

For sellers

• They will help you prepare your house for sale, explain the process, and highlight any potential obstacles.
• They are experts in completing comparative markets analysis (CMA), reports that accurately price your home and can also provide you with a seller’s net sheet.
• They will help you market your house to potential buyers to help you achieve your real estate goals.
• They leverage their knowledge and experience to negotiate with buyers.

How do you know if a real-estate agent is knowledgeable? They will answer your questions and share real-life stories with you. Inexperienced agents may need help finding the right answers.

Transparency and honesty

Although real estate agents are required to adhere to a code or state law, there are still bad apples in the business.

These are some ways to determine if you’re with an honest and trustworthy professional.

• Commission The agent should disclose their commission (as well as any fees) and explain what they cover. The commission for a Realtor is negotiable. Beware of agents who claim otherwise.
• Expectations No agent can guarantee your home will sell for a high price or that the transaction will be smooth. Agents who are good at setting realistic expectations and not making promises will be successful.
• Experience:Beware of agents who lie about their credentials or experience, such as how many houses they have sold. You should verify the online information of an agent.
• References Transparent agents can provide contact information for several clients that you may wish to reach out to.

How do you choose a realtor to help you in your situation

Consider your situation when choosing a real estate agent.

Here’s the advice that experts have given us on how to deal with these situations.

Maximum savings

If you need to figure out who to contact, an agent-matching system (AMS) can help you find one.

AMS’ will match you with the best local agents based upon your requirements as a buyer or seller. You can use them for free and get significant commission savings.

Clever is a great tool that matches you with top agents in your area and pre-negotiates either a flat $3,000 fee or 1% of the listing fee. Clever claims that its buyers receive 0.5% cashback on qualified homes while sellers save $9600 in commission fees.

To buy

54% of people use the same agent to purchase a home and sell an existing one. However, this is only if they are selling and buying in the same place.

A listing agent may be willing to give a discount on their commission because they will get two paychecks instead.

First, make sure to check if the agent has previous experience selling and buying clients simultaneously – they must be extremely organized and attentive to detail in order to manage both the sales and the purchases.

First-time sellers or buyers

Because you will have many questions, you need to be able to communicate with your agent immediately after you purchase or sell a house.

It is important to work with someone who is motivated and willingly helps you through the whole process.

Agents who have been involved in a lot of transactions for a long time may not be able or willing to work with you as closely, or might give you to someone less experienced.

Relocation agents

Look for an agent to help you relocate if you are looking for a way to reduce stress, such as hiring movers and closing deals in your absence.

For buyers: It’s smart to search for tech-savvy agents that can give virtual tours to those who are unable to visit homes in person.

For sellers: You’ll need a trustworthy agent since they will be handling your keys. They will be responsible for selling your house to potential buyers during your absence.

Foreclosures

It takes more time and research to buy a bank-owned property than buying from a homeowner. This can lead to a stressful and lengthy process.

It would help if you looked for an agent who has extensive experience in real estate owned (REO), including the ability to help buyers buy government-owned properties (HUDs, VAs, and USDA foreclosures).