Posted by
Lewith & Freeman Real Estate Inc.

6 years ago

When it comes to choosing a realtor, the options sometimes seem endless. Your best friend knows someone who is married to a realtor. You neighbor is a realtor. You’re looking at three local real estate websites and they all seem to have many great agents available.

So, where and how do you make a good choice? Start with evaluating them with the following five important criteria.

1- Interpersonal Skills

It’s important for a realtor to have good interpersonal skills—you want to enjoy who you’re working with and feel comfortable that your representative understands you.

You want a real estate agent who can communicate with you effectively and tactfully. For example, your agent should be honest with you about the market. They need to tell you if you need to make updates to your house before you sell and they should be upfront about the true market value of your home.

Lack of communication is the number one complaint within the real estate industry, so pay attention to this early on. When you’re considering an agent, ask them as many questions as you can to get a sense of their interpersonal and communication skills.

2- Meets Your Needs

An agent needs to be able to work in a way that’s best for you. They need to adapt to meet your preferred method of communication, whether that be text, email, or phone calls.

Your agent also needs to know your key goals for a home sale or purchase and help you develop a plan to achieve them. For example, if you need to sell your home in order to purchase a new one, your realtor needs to help you develop the best strategy to sell your home in a timely manner, explore financing options and show you homes for purchase that meet your needs.

The timing is essential so your realtor needs to know the market and the process—this is where experience is key. Ultimately your realtor’s goal is to make sure you reach your goal.

3- Company with Strong Print Marketing

Don’t underestimate the power of print marketing. It’s all about brand recognition and print marketing creates tangible items that will stay in front of someone rather than getting lost as they open tab upon tab in their internet browser.

You want someone who knows the local market well, and knowing how print advertisements work within a local community is important. Print marketing is a great way to help your home get into the hands of those buyers looking within the area.

Also, printing marketing provides another opportunity to expose someone to your home on your realtor's website. Make sure the real estate company you choose doesn’t write off print advertisement. There needs to be a balance between print and digital marketing efforts.

4- Company with Strong Digital Marketing

A lot of home buyers utilize the internet when looking for a home. In fact, more than half turn to the internet when they begin their search for a home.

Knowing how to properly utilize the internet for marketing purposes is important. You want buyers to see your home in the beginning stages of their search. Having an agent who knows how to capture more buyers for your home is very important.

A user-friendly website is key for home buyers. A realtor's website should be easy to navigate, have timely information, and—most importantly—list lots of houses to look at, with these houses posted as soon as they become available.

Also, check to make sure your realtor is a showcase agent on Realtor.com—this national platform is key in the digital marketing world.

5- Strong Record of Success

When you’re working with a realtor, you want to research their company’s history and the experience of the real estate agent. Are they successful? How long have they been in business? What is their record of success? Has the agent won awards?

Talk to people you know, too. Anyone who has worked with the company you’re looking at will give you honest feedback on both the company and the agent they worked with.

Ask for an agent’s record of sales as well. A good realtor will be eager to share this information with you because they are proud of the quality work and services they provide.

The keys to selling a home are a combination of service, professionalism, and an experienced firm with a strong reputation. Larger firms usually have a large base of clients. When combined with top marketing, these can all help to attract the highest number of buyers to your door, or houses to your list of potential homes.