Purchasing a house isn’t a small feat. In fact, it may be one of the largest financial decisions you may make in your life. To avoid doing it wrongly, you need to work with a real estate agent. Estate agents are powerful assets because they’ll help you find suitable homes, recommend great finds, and offer you counseling and valuable insights during the buying process.
But with their number estimated to increase in the coming years, finding the right one may be difficult because of the competition. Therefore, to get the right person for the job, you have to know how to vet recommendations.
Here are some tips for finding experienced real estate agents:
- Talk To Your Lender First
Some home shoppers tend to start searching for homes before talking to a lender. However, it’s advisable to speak to your bank or other lending institutions to determine how much mortgage you can borrow. If you get preapproved, you’ll have a clear picture of the type of house you need to buy. Also, it’ll help you avoid problems in the earlier phases. Most importantly, you’ll stick to homes that you can afford to buy.
If you provide this information to potential realtors, they’ll know you’re a serious buyer. You can also use it to separate experienced real estate agents from less experienced ones.
- Ask For Recommendations
Asking your family members or friends for recommendations of experienced realtors is also a good idea. It would be best to work with someone who’s worked for clients you know. The best realtor may be the one who’s worked on similar projects like yours.
Though recommendations are great, you also need to check if they have other credentials. Professional realtors are members of the National Association of Realtors and have signed an agreement to follow the group’s ethics and codes. They should also have certifications to prove that they’ve completed the required real estate training. Some certificates they should have, include ABR, CRS, and SRES.
- Interview More Than One Agent
It would be foolish to hire the first real estate agent that you find through research or referrals. To get the best, it’s best to interview about three or five agents. That way, you’ll get to know their experience as well as style. Your ideal agent should know your particular area and understand your financial needs.
How they craft their proposal will tell you a lot about them. It’s best to select agents with professional and polished proposals. The effort they put during the interview is the same they’ll put in your work. Above all, you want somebody who’s tech-savvy.
Before the interview, you need to research questions to ask the agents. You don’t want to fumble in the interview because it’ll make you look stupid. Ask them about their preferred communication method, availability, frequency of visiting homes, and whether they keep a market listing. The best candidate should give you answers to almost all the questions.
Summing Up
If you want to experience less stress while buying a house, find an experienced realtor. These tips will take you through the process of finding an ideal agent that will ensure you get your dream home within a shorter period.
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