Buying or selling a home can be an incredibly stressful experience, which is why you want an experienced, knowledgeable, and reliable real estate agent to guide you through the process. Unfortunately, not all real estate agents have your best interests at heart, but by having a method for finding a good agent, you can try to avoid these people and only work with the best agents. Here’s how you can find a good real estate agent before buying or selling a property.
Find a reputable brokerage
Although real estate agents are often very independent in their work, they’ll work under the supervision of a real estate brokerage. So, if you want to find experienced and reliable real estate agents, the best way to do this is by finding an agent through a reputable brokerage firm. High-quality real estate brokerages like Compass have high standards for their agents and therefore only work with the best in the industry, so if you find your agent this way, you’ll have a better chance of finding the right agent for you.
Ask friends and family
Your next option is to ask for reviews and referrals from friends and family. If you know someone who’s recently bought or sold a property, then this is the perfect opportunity to ask them about their experience and discover if they would recommend their real estate agent. Your friends and family understand your needs and have your best interests at heart, which means they’re more likely to know if an agent would be right for you. Therefore, asking for recommendations from friends and family should be one of your top priorities.
Look at online reviews
Once you’ve asked your friends and family for their opinions, you can also have a look at an agent’s online reviews on sites such as Facebook and Yelp. Since you don’t know the people leaving these reviews, they may not be quite as reliable as reviews from people you trust, but they’re still a great tool because they give you an overview of a wide range of experiences that people have had with a particular real estate agent. However, be aware that some reviews may be rather extreme, and they could misrepresent certain situations. Pay attention to how the agent responds to their reviews – they should remain calm and professional.
Interview
Finally, once you’ve found a couple of promising real estate agents, you can conduct some interviews to determine which agent is right for you. In these interviews, you should ask the agent about their experience, their methods, and their fees to figure out if they’re a good fit. Overall, asking each agent a few questions will also help you determine if you’ll get along with them, which is important if you’re going to be working together during a stressful time.
Once you’ve completed all of the steps in this process, you should be able to find the best real estate agent for you. Having a great agent will reduce your stress levels when buying or selling a property, so don’t underestimate the importance of choosing the right person!
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