What set an average real estate agent apart from a great one? (square footage, appraisal)

[SMB2003]

Hi,

I am currently looking for a new home and have had a hard time finding a real estate agent that meets my needs. I'm wondering if I have unrealistic expectations or just finding less than adequate realtors. I have already tried 2 referrals which haven't worked out. I don't know if its me or the realtor.......?

Realtors - What makes a good/bad customer?
Buyers - What makes a good/bad realtor?

[theS5]

1. A leased Mercedes Benz or Lexus SUV
2. A husband who is a builder or prominent member of the local community.
3. Blue hair.

[TexasHorseLady]

How did the ones you were referred to not match with your needs?

[NJGOAT]

As a buyer I was fortunate to have a good agent. We were casual friends in high school and had stayed in touch over the years. He was always very knowledgeable when it came to business and finances. He is currently a broker/agent with several agents working for him. His wife and he did a fantastic job and made the whole process very smooth.

Here are the things that I think made him a good agent:

1. He took the time to understand our situation fully and to listen our likes/dislikes. He was able to use his knowledge to inform us upfront about what we could expect in our price range and where we might need to compromise on our wish list.

2. He set us up with a custom search that sent us listings matching what we wanted. This is pretty common, however, he also perused those listings and sent along additional info on properties he thought we might like.

3. He was open to us sending him listings we saw through regular searches and providing more information on them for us.

4. He communicated openly and promptly and was available to us 24/7. He always returned our phone calls immediately and responded to our e-mails within a short amount of time.

5. He had no issues scheduling multiple showings and planned them out well so that we weren't driving back and forth all over the area multiple times. For each house we saw he prepared an information packet that gave us details on each.

6. He knew when to step back and let my wife and I have some time to talk and explore the property on our own.

7. He was nice to my kids and never treated them like a burden when we were going to look at multiple houses. One day we had 12 houses to look at and he came prepared with some coloring books and crayons and even offered to have his wife run out and get some snacks for the kids when they were looking a little war weary from all the house hunting.

8. He was knowledgable about his profession and explained the process, steps involved and what they meant in clear terms that we could understand.

9. He was knew a lot about home construction and what to look for. Things like were those Home Depot caninets or custom Yorktowne ones? Are these good replacement windows? What material is the counter top made out of? He never pretended he was a complete content expert and wasn't afraid to say he didn't know, but he always found out quickly and informed us.

10. He always represented our interest 100% and wasn't afraid of recommending that we walk away from a deal that was turning out to not be good for us.

[DMenscha]

A good agent listens, a mediocre one lectures and a really poor one lazes.

Sensitivity to a clients real needs is the key to being a really good agent.

NJGoats experience should be in the manual of how to be a good agent.

[chet everett]

Since I don't have much to add to NJGoat's list of above average agent characteristics I will comment on "ideal buyer".

First and most important a buyer has to be able to honestly disclose the PREFERRED amount they have to spend on home, the MAXIMUM they can spend based on honest pre-approval from a reputable lender along with realistic estimates of closing costs and down payment, and not withhold anything about sources of income / downpayment of status of employment.

A buyer ought to have a realistic list of wants / must haves / nice to haves. Without something like this it will be too likely that no existing or newly constructed home will be found in any reasonable length of time.

A buyer must understand the way that comparables are used by qualified listing agents to set asking price, how a similar set of data will help them make an acceptable offer, how lenders will need to have an acceptable appraisal to support any offer, and how each house is likely to sell for an amount close to the average percentages of list-to-ask for an area.

A buyer should be able to find some tangible reasons to dismiss a property -- when the buyer cannot articulate what they "don't like" about a particular home it makes it all but important for the agent to know if additional homes similar / different will have the same objections.

The buyer should communicate to the agent in a consistent and uniform method -- sticking with email or cell phone, not having one spouse / partner using one method while another is communicating via the other keeps everyone on the same page.

Do not involve family members that are not going to be on the title in the process. This means selection, pricing, inspection, and negotiation. If any financial assistance is coming from family members they will have to sign off on that help being a gift, and in the same spirit they ought NOT to attach any "strings" to other parts of process.

If you have kids that need to be supervised leave them with a sitter. Some kids need to be supervised until they are college age...

If you have friends whose opinion you value bring them along before any commitment is made to other parties -- whether your friends think the house is a screaming deal or a rip off matters less than WHEN they express this.

If you want to do research on your own that is fine, but realize why publicly available information might not match what is in MLS or other official sources, and the implications for this, especially that some kinds of free information is not worth what you paid for it

If / when you have doubts about what your agent is telling you LET THEM KNOW so they can either clarify what you think they've said OR give a complete context for the shorthand that they may be using.

Listen to what your agent tells you and repeat it back to them in a way that allows them to know you heard it.

[Rakin]

There are a lot of many good qualities that make a good agent. They are the same qualities that most successful professionals possess. The last thing you want to judge an agent on is high sales volume. There are several local agent around me who turn high volume at the expense of their clients.

It would help if you would explain your problem like THL mentioned and maybe we could help you a little better.

To me besides wisdom,honesty, knowledge & patience a good agent is a teacher and communicator. A good agent knows if they take care of their client, the money and income will take care of them. They don't (usually) put their needs over a client.

A buyers agent does not sell, they help you purchase the best home you can for your money.

And we all don't have to have big Blue hair.

[manderly6]

Originally Posted by chet everett

Do not involve family members that are not going to be on the title in the process. This means selection, pricing, inspection, and negotiation.


If you have friends whose opinion you value bring them along before any commitment is made to other parties -- whether your friends think the house is a screaming deal or a rip off matters less than WHEN they express this.

I must be one of the lucky ones that actually have family members whose opinion I value.

[theS5]

Originally Posted by manderly6

I must be one of the lucky ones that actually have family members whose opinion I value.

Nope, you listen to Chet, he'll tell you what's best for you.

[pool_ready]

We have two agents right now. One is selling our house and the other is helping us find a house in our new area.

Our seller's agent is awful. We are the least important clients. She proves this weekly by making appointments with us, and then breaking them for "other clients" or a sick child. She has been late for every meeting. She never offers advice even when we ask for it. We want her professional opinion, but she never gives it. When she advertised our house during the first few weeks, she didn't mention any of the features of the house. She also forgot to include the number of bedrooms AND square footage on all of the advertisements. She is always reminding us how many clients she has.

In contrast, our buyer's agent has been wonderful so far. This past week, we placed a bid on a short sale. Our agent found out as much as she could about the owners and the property. (even the nitty-gritty stuff that could help our offer). The owners of the house have a hearing about their house this week, and our agent is going to attend it to find out first hand what is happening with the house. She offers her opinion in a very respectful manner. She is on time. She works around the clock for us. She makes us feel just as important as her million dollar clients.