When buying a home, it’s absolutely essential to hire a real estate agent. Not only do agents help find homes to buy and arrange appointments to go to showings, but they also negotiate deals, arrange paperwork, and ensure that the entire process runs as smoothly as it can. While there’s many different agents out there, finding an agent is very different from finding the right agent. Here are some of the different things to look out for when researching agents and what kind of traits they signify.

Check How Many Years They’ve Been Working

Like with any job, the longer someone has been working as an agent, the more experience they have, and the more experience they have, the more confidence their clients have while working with them. Buying a home is a big decision that can change someone’s life, and it would be unfortunate to have the process complicated or dragged to a halt by a rookie mistake on behalf of an agent. However, this isn’t to say that only agents who have a decade or more of experience are the only ones worth working with. Just ensure that the agent has been working for at least a couple years and isn’t completely new to the business.

Know If They Have Preferences or Specializations

Not every real estate agent works with every type of home or property. Some only work with single family homes while other prefer to deal only with condominiums, and some agents don’t mind what type of home it is so long as it’s within a certain area. When researching agents to hire, be sure to look to see if they have a preference for the types of homes they will work with. This will help save time by quickly weeding out the agents who don’t work with the home type in question so that time can be better spent more deeply researching other agents who do fit the criteria. 

Ask Questions To Demonstrate Their Knowledge

One of the most important things to look for in an agent is how much they know about the market. One of the best ways to learn how knowledgeable an agent is is simply by asking them questions during an interview. Here are some example questions that may be good to ask:

• How quickly are homes selling right now?
• Do you know of any homes that fit my needs? 
• Do you know any neighborhoods with homes for sale near my work?

It’s important to ask questions like these over the phone or in-person. This way it will be obvious if the agent is hesitating a lot or relies on responses like “I can find out for you.” Reactions like these can mean the agent doesn’t know enough about the area or particular market.

Read Reviews From Past Clients

There are many websites, including the agency’s website, where Thickwood home buyers and sellers can read reviews of agents left by past clients. Reading through the recent reviews can give buyers a better idea of what the agent is like to work with and what their strengths and weaknesses are. It’s especially important to pay attention to the things that come up in multiple reviews, because these are the types of things that are more than likely to come up when actually working with them.

Not every agent is a good match for every home buyer, so it’s the buyer’s job to find the one who is right for their needs. Keeping these tips in mind can help buyers avoid the agents who aren’t for them so they can find the ones who are.