Do your homework when finding a realtor

By Jeff Hammerberg

Buying a home may be the largest investment decision you’ll ever make – It’s crucial to hire a realtor that will represent YOU as a buyer broker, has a track record of excellence and is an experienced agent with excellent negotiation skills. The problem is, there is no standard, objective rating system for hiring a realtor, so doing so will be a matter of background investigation and judgment.

There are still a few ways to do some background on a person you’ll be putting this much trust into.

1. Google the agents name and see what you find.

2. All Real Estate Commissions have on-line databases. Search your agents and see if they have had any problems or disciplinary issues.

3. Ask a prospective agent for six references – names and numbers – that she or he has sold a home to in the past year. This will prevent the agent from “cherry picking” a few good friends over a career, and secondly, if the prospective agent hasn’t sold 6 homes in the past year, you don’t want to work with that agent!

When you get the references, call to ask how the experience with the realtor was. Did the agent communicate frequently? Was she or he professional? Did the buyers think their best interests were represented, and would they hire that realtor again?

If a realtor is confident in the quality of her or his work, there should be no problem providing a list, as reference checks are common practice.

If you’re a home seller, ask your possible hire for a list of their previous “listings sold.” This list should include helpful data such as list price to sale price ratio and average number of days on market, which will give you an idea of what kind of sales a specific realtor has made in the past. Make sure these are her or his personal sales and not from “our office.”

If a realtor is confident in her or his quality of work, there should be no problem providing a list of people who that realtor has worked with in the past. But why is this all so important? The answer is simple: A home is often the biggest purchase made in one’s life. It can cost tens or hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars – a great realtor will streamline the house-buying or selling process and make the experience exciting and enjoyable. In addition, it is important to find a realtor who will be a trusted source of guidance and advice, will provide references for inspection and similar services and will be easy to communicate with. ]