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When picking a few real estate agents to see which one fits your needs and which one you like....to start with do you choose an office first and then email the whole office or pick an office and then pick an agent to email?
Yep. That's the only way you'll get a true feel. You can call an office if you like, but I know there are both good and bad agents in my office. There are in EVERY office. Get a referral. If you don't know anyone to get a referral from, look for a top producer in your area, because if they're one of the top producers, they're probably doing something right. It's very hard for a bad agent to be ranked among the top.
Look at your local business journal rankings if nothing else.
If you have already been prequalified by a loan officer, as for their recommendation (if they are in your community). I refer buyers to realtors on a regular basis.
Yep. That's the only way you'll get a true feel. You can call an office if you like, but I know there are both good and bad agents in my office. There are in EVERY office. Get a referral. If you don't know anyone to get a referral from, look for a top producer in yourarea, because if they're one of the top producers, they're probably doingsomething right. It's very hard for a bad agent to be ranked among the top.
Look at your local business journal rankings if nothing else.
Top producers do something better than the rest.....they persuade sellers to list with them.
Some so called top producers in my area have not closed a sale in almost 2 years.
The best buyer's agent may not be the best listing agent and vice -versa.
A terrific agent in 2005 used by your neighbor may or may not be so terrific in this market.
Many agents tout their stats.....averaging 99% of list price, blah, blah, blah. It's meaningless information unless you know the original asking price. What you need to know is the original asking price and compare that to the closed sale price.
Local newspapers and web sites are used by agents to promote themselves as #1. Believe them all. The best agent for you is the one who makes you#1.
Top producers do something better than the rest.....they persuade sellers to list with them.
Some so called top producers in my area have not closed a sale in almost 2 years.
The best buyer's agent may not be the best listing agent and vice -versa.
A terrific agent in 2005 used by your neighbor may or may not be so terrific in this market.
Many agents tout their stats.....averaging 99% of list price, blah, blah, blah. It's meaningless information unless you know the original asking price. What you need to know is the original asking price and compare that to the closed sale price.
Local newspapers and web sites are used by agents to promote themselves as #1. Believe them all. The best agent for you is the one who makes you#1.
To be a top agent, do you not have to have the numbers to back it up? By top producer, I meant agent that's closed a great deal of sales. Not one that just has a lot of listings.
The local business journals actually list the top 50 Realtors each year, according to sales closed. There's usually not a bad Realtor in the bunch. I wasn't referring to looking at ads.
We drove by a house we liked a year ago and the agent happened to be there, just sending off a couple who were looking at the house. We liked him and stayed in touch with him for A YEAR. When we got our $ in order and had the down payment and what have you, we called him. He referred us to his wife, who we loved even more than we loved him!
I got lucky too, we went with the guy who called us back. That's right, apparently things were SO hopping in late november (roll eyes) that many realtors did not need our business and never gave us the time of day. I've actually been told that's common here, though I don't get why. Anyway, the realtor who did call us back turned out to be great-- hardworking, obviously-- since he was willing to call us back
I agree with what you all are saying about top producers vs top listers. There is an agent here who's name seems to be all over the place, but I have to wonder how his actual #s are, he never takes any photos of anything except the front of the house (thanks, I can already see that part), usually a crooked photo too, and he has no website, etc etc, yet he has so many listings, his name is everywhere. I must be missing something here....
I think our local association allows one to use Top Producer for a year after qualification, but it seems that a lot of agents use it once he/she achieves it. Especially in the last few years, many former top producers were taken aback by the changes in the marketplace and it took them some time to reorient.
Quote:
Originally Posted by kevcrawford
To be a top agent, do you not have to have the numbers to back it up? By top producer, I meant agent that's closed a great deal of sales. Not one that just has a lot of listings.
The local business journals actually list the top 50 Realtors each year, according to sales closed. There's usually not a bad Realtor in the bunch. I wasn't referring to looking at ads.
We did the same thing for a year and a half. Our agent kept in touch, waited us out, we saw six houses and made an offer. Now that I work with him on a regular basis as an agent, I remind him how nice we were to work with . Truly, sometimes I think it's all about the trust and the relationship with a competent individual. And, for the most part, I love my clients too!
Quote:
Originally Posted by LindaGrace
We drove by a house we liked a year ago and the agent happened to be there, just sending off a couple who were looking at the house. We liked him and stayed in touch with him for A YEAR. When we got our $ in order and had the down payment and what have you, we called him. He referred us to his wife, who we loved even more than we loved him!
Pretty sure we got really lucky.
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