Finding an Awesome Buyer’s Agent

If you are looking for a good purchasing agent, be prepared to do a lot of interviews. Unless you’re lucky enough to have met someone you ‘clicked’ with early on, finding a good fit for your home search will require deliberate evaluation.

You can find buyer’s agents everywhere: in the phone book, online, at open houses, at home shows, and sometimes at shared hobbies. Finding a buyer’s agent is easy. Finding a good purchasing agent takes time and effort.

This may well be the most expensive purchase you’ll ever make. You should be comfortable with the agent you choose. This requires a face-to-face interview. You are interviewing the agent, but a good agent is also interviewing you. They need to come to a mutual decision to work together. It is not impossible for an agent to refer you to someone they think has more experience than they are, or for you to decide that you are not comfortable with the agent’s attitude.

You want to know what experience the agent has in the local market. How many years have they been in business? How many successful purchases have you helped with in the last year? What about the houses they have sold? What part of your community do you specialize in?

Another issue is communication. A good agent will be clear about how and when they will contact you. You want to know how the agent prefers to communicate and when you will be contacted with answers to his questions. You should also ask when is the best time to contact the agent; many agents have ‘business hours’ when they are available for a phone call.

Your agent should be interested in your unique housing needs. They should encourage him to discuss the ideal home he wants and categorize his wants and needs. Ask what price range they usually sell in; a real estate agent selling $500,000 homes may not be as experienced with the needs of people who can only afford a $200,000 home.

What does the buyer’s agent do for you? Will they find houses for you to look at or will you do your own searching? Or both? Will they handle things like appraisals, inspections, and insurance? Will they be there at closing?

The best testimonials for a good buying agent are from satisfied previous buyers. Ask for three references and call them to discuss the agent. Listen carefully to what the references say and take notes to review later.

Once you have all the information, it’s time to make a decision about which agent to choose. Confirm that the agent will work with you and start looking for your home. You may want to send a polite note to the other agents that you’ve gone with a different agent and thanking them for their time; If the agent you choose doesn’t work, you might call one of them.