Finding a real estate agent (Atlanta: real estate market, broker, houses)

[tkemery]

How does one go about finding a GOOD real estate agent? I have in mind what I need and the price range I want. I am not going to be buying immediately, as we are selling our house out of state first. But I need to start some help to start looking at areas. I know, like with any business, there are good and not as good. I want someone honest and reputable.

THANKS

[atlantagreg30127]

Forgive me for butting in folks, but I know that typically a post like this almost immediately opens a HUGE can of worms regarding realtors who start plastering their phone numbers and/or URLs in the replies to follow.

A reminder to realtors: That's a nono. Please send this person a PRIVATE message if you wish to contact them, otherwise, I and other moderators wll have to spend our coffee and doughnut morning deleting phone numbers from posts.

Carry on (and good luck with your move, tkemery).

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by tkemery

How does one go about finding a GOOD real estate agent?

We ended up asking people we knew who had purchased homes recently who they had used, but we ended up going with an agent who also happened to be one of my wife's cow orkers. She did an absolutely wonderful job.

[scgraham]

Originally Posted by tkemery

How does one go about finding a GOOD real estate agent? I have in mind what I need and the price range I want. I am not going to be buying immediately, as we are selling our house out of state first. But I need to start some help to start looking at areas. I know, like with any business, there are good and not as good. I want someone honest and reputable.

THANKS

You need what is a called a buyer's agent; this person is focused on promoting your interests only. In reciprocal fashion, you have to be realistic about the real estate market.

[RoslynHolcomb]

I'm not a realtor Greg. I strongly recommend Moderator cut: please no advertisement for a certain person. Please use DM (Direct Messages) to other members info instead.. He's smart, savvy and knowledgeable. He's the best thing about our move here.

[Pcola110]

Can't make any recommendations of good agents, off the top of my head, right now. You'll know once you do a couple of interviews with agents, (Don't sign representation contract, until you find the correct agent that will provide, you (buyer), outstanding service well above and beyond, what any ordinary agent would do!), you'll know who's personality fits with your own (cause there's no sense in working with someone you don't like or doesn't listen to what you want), and can tell you the honest truth about a property and other things you need to know (within the law) before you sign on the dotted line, besides just driving you around, shows you houses, and trying to persuade you to sign a contract to buy to buy own.

Do you have any family or other friends already living in the Atlanta area, that can give you recommendations? There's nothing like word of mouth or conducting you own interviews, cause some agents that friends and/or family recommend may not work for you. Good luck.

[IntownHomes247]

Atlanta is such a large metropolitan area, it's extremely important to find an agent who is intimately familiar with the part of town in which you want to buy. Finding a good buyer's agent is more difficult than finding a good seller's agent because it's easy to spot the top selling agents in any given neighborhood based on the predominance of their yard signs. If you have friends in the areas in which you are looking, ask them for personal referrals. You can also contact real estate offices located in the neighborhoods you're interested in and ask the broker who they recommend as a buyer's agent for the areas in which you are looking. But you definitely need to get a feel for any agent before you sign a buyer's brokerage agreement.

Since you're moving from out of town, I would strongly suggest you make sure you hire an agent who has good computer skills -- one who can set up an internet gateway for you (which will show you all new listings as they hit the market as well as price changes, etc.) and who has good e-mail communication skills. There are exceptions to the need for a gateway -- some agents are such experts on their neighborhoods they already know every property available and will be able to keep you personally up-to-date on each change that takes place. However, especially in the early stages of your search, a gateway is an extremely useful tool and it's one that a relatively small percentage of agents bother to use. To me, good communication skills are an absolute must, so you need to determine for yourself whether or not the agent(s) you interview live up to the standard you'll require in maintaining communication.

Strong negotiating skills are also an important element for a good buyer's agent. This is definitely a strong buyer's market at the moment in Atlanta and you can get some amazing deals if you get an experienced and dedicated agent.

Good luck!

[MB2]

Originally Posted by atlantagreg30127

Forgive me for butting in folks, but I know that typically a post like this almost immediately opens a HUGE can of worms regarding realtors who start plastering their phone numbers and/or URLs in the replies to follow.

A reminder to realtors: That's a nono. Please send this person a PRIVATE message if you wish to contact them, otherwise, I and other moderators wll have to spend our coffee and doughnut morning deleting phone numbers from posts.

Carry on (and good luck with your move, tkemery).

I second that.
Since there is a lot of competition in the real estate market and between Realtors, businesses in general.....we have to tightly follow the CD ToS (Terms of Service), Rules and Guidelines, in order to avoid conflict of interest.
Please use DM (Direct Messages) whenever possible, to avoid such conflicts of spilling over into the CD Forum.
Thanks, and enjoy CD !