How do you know whether the professional guiding your transaction is the right one for you?
One reliable way to gauge your agent is to understand the full range of responsibilities a skilled professional handles on a client's behalf, then measure your own agent against that standard. To make this easier, we've outlined what you should expect from an exceptional agent below.
Ask you about your homeownership needs (and hopes)
Assumptions are risky under any circumstances, but when it comes to finding the right home, they can be especially costly. An agent who presumes to know what you want without asking should give you pause.
A good agent should ask you questions -- lots of them -- about where you've lived, what you liked and disliked about both the home and the neighborhood, where you work, how long you plan to stay there, your future family plans, and more.
All of this serves a single purpose: helping you find the right place, and often uncovering a neighborhood or property type you hadn't yet considered.
Recommend a mortgage broker
If you don't already have a mortgage broker to assist with your loan, your real estate agent should be able to refer you to a trusted professional. A dedicated agent will also confirm early on whether you've been pre-approved.
Real estate agents work on transactions every day and maintain a network of trusted contacts for mortgage, title, appraisal, and inspection services. A great agent puts that network to work for you.
Give you feedback on the neighborhoods
Even lifelong residents rarely know everything about the area where they're buying, and there is always more to learn about a neighborhood before you commit to it.
A good real estate agent should be able to answer your questions and explain how each neighborhood compares against the others.
You'll likely have questions about everything from where to shop for groceries to where to walk your dog to how residents spend their weekends, and your agent should be well equipped to answer them.
Help you find a home
Finding a home may seem as simple as browsing online, and occasionally it is. More often, though, buyers view many properties before discovering the one that truly fits their long-term needs, and online photographs can be misleading.
Your agent should set you up with an MLS feed that alerts you the moment a home matching your criteria comes on the market, and should be ready to develop alternative strategies if inventory is limited within your price range.
Price the home correctly
For sellers, this is one of the most important responsibilities your agent will handle, and getting it wrong can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Pricing a home accurately from the outset is essential to selling quickly and at fair market value.
- Some agents will inflate the possible sales price and tell sellers that they can always reduce the price if they don't get an offer. Although this is certainly true, those agents are misrepresenting a bigger truth: your listing is going to get the most attention from qualified buyers within the first 48 hours of hitting the market.
- It's not typically wise to go with the agent who offers the highest sales price; instead, ask prospective agents how they calculated that sales price, whether it lines up with the typical price-per-square-foot in your area, and how long homes priced in that range tend to stay on the market.
Market the home well
One reason why sellers hire a real estate agent in the first place is that the agent has a marketing platform to use to advertise the home for sale. Some homes require more marketing than others, but agents should have a plan to market every home they list.
Effective marketing goes well beyond simply listing a home on the MLS, Zillow, and realtor.com and hoping the right buyer comes along.
If you're unclear on how your listing agent intends to market your home, or you sense there isn't a clear plan in place, it may be worth reconsidering whether they're the right fit for you.
Help you pick an inspector
When a buyer finances a home, the lender wants assurance that the investment is sound and free of major issues. This is where a qualified inspector becomes essential, and their assessment must be completed before closing.
Your agent should help you identify a reputable inspector and offer honest guidance on whether their fees are reasonable.
Attend the appraisal
Many agents don't consider attending the appraisal a priority, and in many cases that's perfectly reasonable.
However, if the appraisal comes in below the sales price and no agent was present to provide context or support the appraiser's valuation, the situation can become difficult to resolve.
The best buyer's agents make a point of attending the appraisal, ensuring the appraiser has full access to the property and any information needed to complete a thorough valuation. It's worth confirming that yours does the same.
Keep communication clear and consistent
A lot can change between putting an offer on a home and actually moving in.
Your agent should have a complete understanding of every moving part of the transaction and be willing to serve as the central point of communication among all parties.
If an appraisal is delayed or a question arises with the loan, your agent should be the one keeping everyone informed on both sides of the transaction. Ultimately, a great agent's role is to make the process easier for you, and that means managing communication on your behalf from start to finish.