Time for another REALTOR WORLD guest post: by Jill Kunda from West Coast Realty of Venice in Venice, Florida:
HOW TO FIND THE RIGHT AGENT FOR YOU
So the time has come for you to purchase a new home or to sell your existing home. There are so many things to consider, but the first and foremost is finding the right Realtor to guide you through this process.
If you don’t already know a Realtor, where do you go? If you know someone who just bought or sold a home, you can always ask them some of these important questions:
- Were you happy with the service they provided you?
- Were they reachable by phone or email when you had questions?
- Did they listen to what your needs were?
- Would you use them again or refer them to friends and family?
A great way to interview a prospective agent is to go to an OPEN HOUSE that the agent is hosting. Go to lots of Open Houses & play detective! They don’t need to know that you’re interviewing them. The more time you spend researching, the better your chances of finding the right agent for you.
When you go to an Open House, you should be able to see that the agent went out of their way to make this an inviting experience for you. Do they have information about the area or the community readily available? Perhaps they have music playing and fresh baked cookies and drinks. If it’s a family focused community, they may have coloring books to occupy the children so that mom and dad have time to ask questions. Did they appreciate you coming by and did they take the time to find out what your needs were? You can tell if someone is interested in you or just in the possible sale. If you ask a question that the agent needs to get back to you on, how long did it take them to follow up?
I personally do not like the SIGN IN sheet that you see everyone’s name, phone number or email address on, it is so impersonal. How nice would it be when the agent introduced themselves to you when you arrived and remembered your name when you left.. “Enjoy the rest of your afternoon Brian and Carol. Thank you again for stopping by” WOW, that is mind blowing! They remembered my name! That would be someone I would be impressed with and call them to help me to buy or sell my home. If you need the agent to follow up with you, then you can give your contact information directly to them.
If the agent is willing to go the extra mile for their sellers, chances are they will be just as committed to do the extra for you!
Remember, the agent should always be focused on YOU and what your needs are. If you feel that they have their own agenda, keep looking. Buying or selling your home should be an exciting time and you deserve someone who is just as excited for you. It can be stressful but if you are working with the right people, from the agent to the lender and on to the closing company, that stress should be very minimal.
So, hire the right people, and then sit back and enjoy the ride.
