Did you know that there are more real estate agents than homes for sale on the market? There are more than 1.5 million realtors in the United States.
If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, you want to have the best real estate agent by your side. This housing market is unpredictable.
What should you look for in the top real estate agent in your area? Read on to find out.
1. Specialization
Do you know what you need? Are you a first-time homebuyer? Look at condos? Need to do a quick sale?
There are real estate agents that specialize in certain areas of real estate beyond geographic location. They’ll know things about loans, homeowners associations, and other details to ensure a smooth transaction.
2. They Have a Plan
An agent should ask a lot of questions and listen. A good agent will make sure they understand what you need from the real estate transaction. They’ll develop a plan of attack.
A seller’s plan needs to include a plan for preparing the home for sale. A good realtor outlines steps for marketing the home.
Buyer’s agents will target specific areas to look for homes that fit your requirements. There’s a plan to contact agents and find the perfect home for you.
Ask them what you’ll need to do. This helps set the expectations when you work with them.
3. They Work With a Team
There are 230 possible steps in a single real estate transaction. A real estate agent doesn’t do all of them, but they oversee each step.
They depend on other professionals to do their work, from the escrow officer to the home inspector. Real estate agents should have a team of professionals that they work with regularly. A great example of this is the team at Finlay Brewer – Hammersmith.
4. Commission Fees
Yes, real estate agents get paid for what they do. Think of all of the hours they put in preparing the home, meeting other realtors for showings, negotiating contracts, seeing a deal to close.
That doesn’t include travel time, either. The best agents are worth every penny. How much do they get paid? Typically, 6% of the sales price is for realtor commissions.
That gets split between the listing and buying agents. The listing and buying agent then split their commission with their respective brokers.
If you want to avoid realtor fees, you should look at other ways to sell your home.
5. Read Reviews
Hiring a real estate agent is a leap of faith. It doesn’t have to be in this day and age. Find out what others had to say about the agent.
You’ll learn what kind of service you can expect when you hire them.
How to Find the Best Real Estate Agent
The housing market is one of the toughest to navigate. Hire the best real estate agent that meets all of your needs.
Find one that specializes in the area of real estate that you need. Understand what they’ll do for you and how they get paid.
You’ll end up with the best real estate agent for selling or buying a home. For more posh and classy content, head over to the home page of this site.