The effort that real estate brokers put into their clientele is not given enough recognition. Real estate careers include many potential risks, and true success requires consistent, hard labor. Few succeed despite many attempts. Your trusted advisor should be an excellent realtor. You may establish a great working relationship with your Realtor and complete success throughout your home-buying process by being aware of and appreciating what the Realtor does for you as the customer.
I want you always to think “real estate agent” and only to consider hiring a Realtor to represent you when buying a home. A real estate agent publicly pledged to uphold a high standard of accountability and professionalism is given the title “Realtor.” A Realtor follows a code of ethics; a real estate agent only signs a license.
As opposed to someone who paid a few hundred dollars, attended some lessons, and passed a test, you can anticipate someone who has invested time, money, and energy into the real estate business when you work with a Realtor. A license does indeed allow one to work as a real estate agent in the state where it was issued, but it says nothing about the person’s reputation. Most first-time homebuyers aren’t even aware that they should check the agent’s business card to confirm their credentials or even inquire, “Are you a Realtor?” A Realtor might pursue additional training to earn specialty certifications, which is more evidence of their commitment to competency and expertise. Typically, the more credentials, the better, as few people would invest the time and money in these credentials if they didn’t have a passion for the industry and the customers they serve.
Though it’s not an exact science, researching can help you choose the ideal Realtor. The finest agents are frequently not the ones you see and hear about; instead, the best agents are so skilled at their line of work that they don’t need to invest in promotion. These are the agents who receive qualified applicants every day and who mostly rely on word-of-mouth or referral business. Great agents who are experts in their field and have created a successful firm over a long enough period to attract new clients only experience this occurrence.
Many purchasers begin by examining agents they are familiar with. It can be the neighborhood Century 21 store next to the coffee shop across the street or the kind elderly lady who strolls down the street every Thursday carrying quirky flyers. That elderly agent is fervently hoping that her efforts will be rewarded and that one day, after years of handing you her odd flyer, you will pick up the phone and contact her. Similar to how the nearby Century 21 branch hopes you will walk in the next time you buy coffee and become their next lead. (and potential client). After all, businesses spend a lot of money for the visibility that has helped increase consumer awareness of their brand over the years whenever you see their sign.
These are just a few ways agents will try to win your business, but you shouldn’t worry about them. You should look for a Realtor on your own. In essence, the best salespeople are those who can close deals without making many cold calls or knocking on doors. They receive business through recommendations from previous customers who are happy with their professionalism, integrity, and outcomes. Choose your agent wisely to take the initiative and offer yourself the best chance to succeed.
Let’s take a moment to explain this situation about star agents and how they conduct themselves. Great brokers became great not by waiting for the business to come to them. Instead, their success results from years of toiling to expand their businesses and spheres of influence to the point where they are no longer dependent on intensive marketing. Please don’t interpret an agent’s aggression as a negative trait. An active agent is a positive indication! He or she is merely attempting to determine where you stand in purchasing. There is a big difference between looking to move next month and looking to start looking next month. Therefore an agent has to know! Even when they don’t have to, agents will occasionally promote to stay visible in their neighborhood. Choosing the best agent and how excellent agents sell and advertise themselves are not a perfect science.
Knowing what I do, I would use two fundamental strategies to discover the finest real estate agent for my first purchase: I would ask a few individuals I knew and trusted for Realtor recommendations, and I would search the internet community’s consumer blogs for highly recommended Realtors.
The best agents, as I’ve already indicated, are the ones who consistently receive referrals. One of those recommendations should be you! Everybody you can trust should be questioned about their most recent real estate experience. Asking people who recently purchased a home is ideal, though a referral to an agent that someone has previously used is also a good sign. Always have an open mind to what others have to say. You should accept any recommendations with open arms and then qualify them with inquiries about the event because, in general, human beings have an innate impulse to share positive experiences. I am happy whenever I receive a recommendation from a previous customer or close friend. I already feel a stronger connection to the referral, and there is a reasonable probability that the new client and I will get along.
I will ALWAYS provide clients that come to me through recommendations a better level of care than I give leads from the internet or other unknowns. A referral from a reliable source significantly increases the buyer’s degree of commitment. Although I don’t like to admit it, how I initially treat an Internet lead versus a referral differs in practice. I can rely on a recommendation but not on an online tip. I prioritize my referrals and save the best service exclusively for them. Request recommendations, look at the agents’ websites, choose your favorites, and arrange a meeting time.
Write down your most essential inquiries before you meet a potential agent. This will be beneficial for your interview. Informing the agent that you are also interviewing a few other agents can be necessary. This will ensure that they behave themselves, and you will receive their best work. The bottom line is that if I were in your shoes, I would want to shop around until I met the Realtor representing me in the most significant purchase of my life. Usually, I don’t enjoy it when I am referred to a client who is “shopping” other agents. Even if it offends the agent, comparing prices is a good idea. Most likely, the person you chose will pardon you.
In other instances, you can have such strong feelings for a particular agent that you won’t need to interview others. As long as you are confident this is the case, there is nothing wrong with it. With a highly recommended agent, it’s normal to see that you only need one appointment to determine whether they fit you. After that initial meeting, you’ll most likely be convinced of them. After all, there is a reason why they are already that good.
During the interview, give your prospective agent a test drive! Your primary reason for selecting your realtor is their real estate knowledge. Their most valuable assets are their local expertise (in the market, prices, and inventory), their ability to negotiate and handle contractual issues, their capacity to control their emotions and handle unexpected events, and their capacity to establish a personal connection with you so they can guide you through the transaction at your pace. How can you determine your realtor’s abilities before you start? Ask inquiries! Your agent should make you feel “WOW!” and enthusiastic about the process ahead. Watch for that “WOW” agent, please. Once you locate him or her, you’ll know and be glad you did!
I can’t tell you how often clients working with a non-WOW” agent approached me for assistance. It’s OK to go on if you find yourself dealing with an agent you once believed to be a “WOW” agent but later proved ineffective due to a lack of understanding, a failure to communicate, or an inexcusable error. I can only advise that as soon as you learn that your agent is not a “WOW” agent, you should break all relations with them. I mention this because many people are generally so terrified of conflict that they endanger themselves by failing to break off contact with the non-“WOW” agent. Give yourself a break. Be brave. This will expedite the process for you and serve as a wake-up call for the agent.
The simple solution is to hire a professional. Go with a seasoned professional who is aggressive and tenacious. (in a good way). Choose a partner who is a skilled communicator and negotiator. Go with a seasoned companion. Choose an agent you have a personal connection with since this will help you develop that crucial element of the agent-client relationship: trust. The rest will fall into place once respect and trust have been built. Ensure that your agent will help you achieve your goals.
Remember that being a good client will pay off in the end, regardless of how you select your agent. Nothing will be accomplished if you are rude or demanding to your representative. Set out with the goal of continuing to use your realtor as your go-to real estate counsel after that. Both parties benefit from a long-term partnership. Thus, no agency will put up with a persistently needy, obnoxious, or disrespectful client.
I’ve been organizing a wedding lately. I made it a point to ask each of our wedding-related suppliers who their “ideal client” is and how we might best collaborate with them. This would provide me insight into creating a positive and fruitful environment for our interaction and the task at hand. Similarly, there is no limit to what I would do for clients with this level of dedication to the client/agent relationship so that their experience is unmatched.
Amanda, a recent client of mine, exemplifies this approach. Her purchase price was little. Thus, my commission wouldn’t be very high. The job required a lot of work, multiple offers, a lengthy short-sale escrow, and a few delays. Given the kind of client Amanda was, none of this bothered me. She was top-notch, so it didn’t matter how much time and effort she put in. My dream clients would all be just like her. In reality, I have expressed my desire for my clients to be like the ones in question throughout transactions with numerous clients. When I say this, I refer to a client with the traits listed below. Regardless of the situation, I will ensure everything happens according to plan.
1. Be sensible! Never let yourself get too worked up. Agents become annoyed with highly emotional clients. You must conduct yourself appropriately because this is a mature setting. I’ll hold your hand the entire time, but unreasonable customers are never treated well.
2. Be receptive! Emails and phone calls that go unanswered are never positive indicators. This signals to the agent that you might not be as motivated as you seem.
3. Be on time! You have to arrive on time if I do. Even though this is a straightforward matter, many people are always late. If you arrive late for scheduled appointments, it’s a slap in the face, and you lose credibility in my book. If you fail to attend a meeting, consider looking for another agent; after a prank like that, I probably won’t continue working with you.
4. Be adaptable! You must be okay with it when your wants and needs don’t always match perfectly. The last thing I want is an unreasonable client; they are a huge time waster. It implies that the client is unaware of their desires or that what is practical for them (i.e., what they can afford) would not satisfy them.
5. Be frank and truthful. I can help you better if you are transparent and honest. I occasionally work with a customer for weeks before learning of a preference, financial situation, or unique need that has gone unmet. This may severely hamper the client’s ability to devise a solution. If you’re more open with your agent, they’ll be better able to find what you want!
6. Feel thankful! Love your realtor a little. Express your gratitude for the time and effort spent on your behalf. In contrast to a demanding customer, a grateful client is easier to work with and receives more recognition.
7. Be considerate! You are speaking with a professional and dealing with a business. Consider how you would like to be treated while dealing with an agent. When I receive disrespectful treatment, I have no trouble getting rid of a potential customer and moving on. Sometimes clients must be arrogant, imposing, or powerful to gain control of the circumstance. This behavior cannot foster a business connection that is mutually healthy and profitable.
8. Be dependable! Both you and I should desire to trust one another. Nothing can stand in the way of a client-agent relationship based on trust. The only time the relationship deteriorates is when one of my clients questions my expertise or capability.
9. Get ready! Prepare to move quickly! Although I know your hectic schedule, purchasing a property requires commitment and focus. We have a lot of documents to go over in a short time, so it doesn’t matter if you had a busy week; I shouldn’t feel terrible asking you to review items that you should have been studying throughout the escrow. I’m calling your attention to details and concerns that directly affect your decision to buy and the house you ultimately get. You must desire the house just as much as I do, and if you aren’t ready and committed, it will be more complex and stressful for both of us.
10. COMMIT YOURSELF! When you are devoted, your heart and head agree with the objective. This has consistently proven to be the most expected quality among all the buyers in my most profitable and easy deals. A committed buyer will overcome any obstacle that may come up in escrow. The entire procedure is less stressful when the buyer is dedicated. Success is inevitable when the buyer is committed!
Kudzu.com, yelp.com, and angieslist.com are just a few outstanding examples of websites dedicated to service providers for a specific geographic place. Today’s internet community offers an incredible opportunity for any consumer to check up on the history of their service provider’s reputation and work ethic. As more and more of us connect, this kind of virtual “feedback” will spread throughout society.
Aside from real estate, you should and may do this for any service provider, including your babysitter and mechanic. To identify any specific red flags about the agent(s), you are considering working with, you should spend at least a little time online. Check the agent’s website for any written testimonials and to check if they correspond with the online reviews. Remember that some people enjoy complaining, even about outstanding service, and this can lower your expectations of the person you are thinking about hiring. Please be aware that while correctness in the online community cannot be monitored, it is often more beneficial and accurate than it is burdensome and untrue. This type of research will undoubtedly spread because it is user-generated and has the propensity to provide a relatively fair assessment of a particular service provider.
It’s not always the case that choosing the correct agent will make or break your deal, but it can mean the difference between a rewarding agreement and an unfulfilling one, a good deal and a not-so-good deal, a one-time transaction, and a trusted advisor for life. Simply said, selecting the most outstanding agent gives you the best chance to experience tremendous success while making your first home purchase. Choose carefully!
Realtor, GRI, and author Michael Wolf reside and work in the San Diego region. His business, Ascent Real Estate, is based in Bankers Hill, as is Jessica Richter, his fiancée. Michael and Jessica are real estate experts in San Diego County, focusing on distressed foreclosure and short-sale properties. Michael and Jessica have assisted various investors with multi-unit and commercial residential income investment properties in addition to residential purchases and sales. Their workforce embodies an unrivaled commitment to customer service and follow-up. His email address is wolf@ascentrealestate.net.
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