choosing the right Realtor

[badger]

I'm thinking of selling/buying, so I asked the members of my book club if they can refer anyone and now I have 4 realtors to choose from. How do I pick one from the 4? Do I literally interview them??

My first realtor I acquired by walking into a realty office, so I've never really had the need for one since (I don't want to use him again).

[ehirsch83]

Do they specialize in your area?

If so- do they normally deal with houses similar to yours(price range, same target buyer?)

Do they have good advertising included for you?

How many properties do they have listed and what is their past track record- You want someone who has a proven track record of sales within a fraction of your asking price and make sure that they are on the same page as you(do you both think your house is valued the same? and is this a fair value for it to sell on the market and not sit there)

If so- then how do you feel about them?

My mom is a realtor and I know these are things she thinks of on her end- if someone comes to her to buy or sell and it is in an area that she doesn't specialize in, or isn't very familiar- she will refer them to someone else- to make sure that they receive the best representation for them.

[Irulan]

Here's what's important to me.
1. How well do they listen when it comes to helping you find a house? After narrowing it down a bit and getting to know you, they should be able to focus in on what YOU are looking for.
2. Availability - do they return phone calls promptly?
3. Service - Can they answer all your questions, provide you with qualified referrals, etc.
4. Willingness to work for you - they aren't doing you a favor by helping you buy/sell; they are working for you. Do you feel that way? You should.

[grey]

Here's what's important to me.
1. How well do they listen when it comes to helping you find a house? After narrowing it down a bit and getting to know you, they should be able to focus in on what YOU are looking for.
2. Availability - do they return phone calls promptly?
3. Service - Can they answer all your questions, provide you with qualified referrals, etc.
4. Willingness to work for you - they aren't doing you a favor by helping you buy/sell; they are working for you. Do you feel that way? You should.

This.
I've worked with a lot of Realtors over the years. The best ones show up with a stack of information on the house in hand. Tax records, the full MLS printout, last surveyor's report (or at least, what the county says the lot size is & where the lines are). They are knowledgeable about the area, and above all, calm and cool. They maintain a professional tone of voice, an ability to think on their feet when an awkward question is posed, and answer it in a way that neither the buyer nor seller lose ground, is a real talent. I've only met three Realtors like that, so they are rare.

[badger]

well, I've gotten one realtor coming to my place on Thursday, and another on Friday. One's on vacation, and I haven't contacted the other yet.

they all seem equally qualified in that they specialize in my area as well as places around my price range.

I'm just going to meet with all of them, have them give me their opinion on how best to proceed, and I think I'll just go with whoever I feel has the best plan. They all come highly recommended from a professional point of view (ones they all used before), so I'm pretty confident they will be putting in the right kind of effort.

It's all rather exciting and scary at the same time. I love my place, but I think it's time for an upgrade. Or maybe not. Maybe during this process I'll realize it's just better for me to spend some money fixing my place and staying put, but I won't know til I look!

[Irulan]

well, I've gotten one realtor coming to my place on Thursday, and another on Friday. One's on vacation, and I haven't contacted the other yet.

they all seem equally qualified in that they specialize in my area as well as places around my price range.

I'm just going to meet with all of them, have them give me their opinion on how best to proceed, and I think I'll just go with whoever I feel has the best plan. They all come highly recommended from a professional point of view (ones they all used before), so I'm pretty confident they will be putting in the right kind of effort.

It's all rather exciting and scary at the same time. I love my place, but I think it's time for an upgrade. Or maybe not. Maybe during this process I'll realize it's just better for me to spend some money fixing my place and staying put, but I won't know til I look!

We've been house shopping also. We were locked in at 3.5% on a house we ended up not getting. It's a great time to buy, buyers market, if you can qualify.

[Irulan]

This.
I've worked with a lot of Realtors over the years. The best ones show up with a stack of information on the house in hand. Tax records, the full MLS printout, last surveyor's report (or at least, what the county says the lot size is & where the lines are). They are knowledgeable about the area, and above all, calm and cool. They maintain a professional tone of voice, an ability to think on their feet when an awkward question is posed, and answer it in a way that neither the buyer nor seller lose ground, is a real talent. I've only met three Realtors like that, so they are rare.

This market will shake out the mediocre ones pretty quick. :)

I am amazed by how much we do electronically with our realtor. She's set parameters on what we are looking for, and any new/changed listing that comes up for us, we get an email with the MLS info automatically. www.realtor.com is a really useful tool and you don't have to be a realtor to use it. It's much more reliable than Zillow, which tends to have really outdated info on it.

[badger]

We've been house shopping also. We were locked in at 3.5% on a house we ended up not getting. It's a great time to buy, buyers market, if you can qualify.


I wish... it's a seller's market right now, which I suppose is all right for me as I have to sell as well, but it's a really hot market right now.

[Irulan]

I wish... it's a seller's market right now, which I suppose is all right for me as I have to sell as well, but it's a really hot market right now.


Seller's market in Canada? Interesting. Down here, prices are dropping all the time and it's definitely a buyer's market. There's lots to choose from.

[jessmarimba]

Depends on the price bracket. The lower to lowest price range is being snapped up by investors/flippers still...hard to buy when you don't have cash upfront. I was outbid on several houses in the 130k and under range.

[shootingstar]

Depends on the price bracket. The lower to lowest price range is being snapped up by investors/flippers still...hard to buy when you don't have cash upfront. I was outbid on several houses in the 130k and under range.

There is no way one can buy a home (condo, semi or single family home, townhouse) at that low price in any of the Canadian major cities of Vancouver (highest in Canada. Shockingly high.), Toronto, Calgary or Victoria. I've looked at pricing for all these markets..besides I've lived in Toronto before and have family still there.

Ehrisch gave good advice.

The housing market didn't fall through the floor here in Canada like the U.S. during the big recession with the mortgage scam/whatever situation in the U.S.

Badger, best of luck. Hope you are in the right position to buy another home if you sell at right price, right time. Vancouver scares the poop out of anyone in terms of pricing to buy into the market now. Unless you want to do a hugely long commute from White Rock or Langley, etc. in the 'burbs and drive everywhere for services, to do stuff.

[Irulan]

Depends on the price bracket. The lower to lowest price range is being snapped up by investors/flippers still...hard to buy when you don't have cash upfront. I was outbid on several houses in the 130k and under range.


And probably credit rating too. We've got 20% down and a really good credit score, were approved for a loan in about 20 seconds.

[tulip]

Badger - yes, you interview them. You are interviewing them to work for you and you need to know what you want from them in order to ask the pertinent questions for your situation. You direct the conversation, not them. Have a list of questions based on the excellent advice given in this thread.

I interviewed four realtors and it was very revealing. I ended up choosing one that I thought would not be interested in working in my price range, but was terrific.

Good luck in your search.

[Crankin]

You can still buy a house for $130,000?

We had the best realtor ever. Professional from the word go. And that says it all. We met her a year after we moved here, hated where we lived and were looking at open houses in a development in the town where we eventually moved. DS #2, who was 6, left his teddy bear in the model home, and she tracked us down to to return it! We kept in touch over the years and 6 years later, she sold our house in the crappy town and helped us find one in Boxborough. She constantly was calling us with offers of people who wanted to move into our neighborhood. Three months before we impulsively bought the house we are in (for sale by owner), she had asked us if we would sell, said no, and the people bought another house in our neighborhood. We were both sorry... She did sell the house, in 4 weeks, at the height of the market frenzy, though. She even became the buyer's realtor, as he was so difficult, his realtor dumped him. She advised us on the for sale by owner, too, saying it would never be a bad deal, in this neighborhood.
Then, 2 years ago she got leukemia and died 2 days before she was supposed to get a stem cell transplant. It was one of the saddest funerals I have been to.
The market here is pretty good. Depends on the town, but generally good compared to other parts of the US. DS #1 and DIL were approved for a first time buyer's FHA loan, special program from the state. They are looking, but according to my son, he now appreciates the cleanliness and neatness he was brought up with!

[tulip]

I bought mine for $119,000 three years ago and I paid $20k too much. All depends on where you live.

[Irulan]

I bought mine for $119,000 three years ago and I paid $20k too much. All depends on where you live.

What she said. All depends on where you live and the local economy. Our City hasn't busted like Phx or Las Vegas, but it never boomed either.

"Nice" homes in our area are less than started homes in other places I know of.

[Crankin]

We never had the bust that Phx had, either. My old house in Tempe is now valued at 300K, and at one point it was at 675K. I can tell you that it is not worth 675. It's nice and in a nice area, but... people got greedy. The last 2 times I was back there (I almost said "home"), every other home had a for sale or foreclosure sign. That's what happens when you build a zillion homes, ruin the desert, and never think of the consequences. So having a limited amount of land to build here in MA helps. We had a boom, but prices have not fallen as much. Basically, they fell the most in towns where they never should have been that high to begin with. I've seen a lot of "sold" signs here, lately.
As far as prices, sure there's a regional difference. Some of you have homes that cost less than the above mentioned house I had in AZ, which I bought in 1981! So I won't mention the prices in MA. It all becomes normal when you are used to it.

[badger]

ok, so I saw both of them. Based on my first impression, I liked the first realtor better, simply because she was more professional. I liked the second one, too, I think she will work hard.

Having met both of them, is it wrong for me to go out with both of them to look at places, or is that somehow "using" one that I will eventually not work with?

Also, are the fees/commissions negotiable? The second one was a fraction "cheaper". If I like them equally, it may be that I might just go with the cheaper one.

[shootingstar]

I did negotiate for a tiny bit less commission for my agent when I sold in Toronto. Have you asked them to summarize a few of their clients and how they meant their needs.
Try not to spend too much time "trialing" them. Otherwise it might piss them off, it's their time.

I found out in the course of conversation where my agent me told all sorts of stories:

*people with strong biases against "foreign" looking people as their neighbours. Clients would check the condo directory of non-Anglo-European sounding names. No kiddin'. My agent was Caucasian. And this is in --Toronto. So cosmopolitan cities have their pockets of problems.

*she had a blind client who wanted to buy! So she did go for a walk with the client to help client sense her neighbourhood...very interesting...

*as a female agent, she made sure she was never alone in an empty home with a male. Some agents have been assaulted/ threatened. Think, some aggressive agents feature their photo as part of their biz, right?


The agent that sold latest place to me, was actually selling new units for his client, a company because the developer foreclosed on our building which meant it went into receivership/bankruptcy.

So I got a deal, but not exactly very cheap. Mortgage time..again. But I enjoy my abode. :)

[jessmarimba]

(off-topic, but there are a few cities - like in Oklahoma - where it's difficult to find an average house OVER 130K. But I would presume that if I lived somewhere more expensive, I would have to be paid more to compensate. I was also willing to put some work into a house).

You can pretty much negotiate everything with realtors. But as soon as mine really started doing work with me, I had to sign a contract that I would buy from her, provided I was able to find something within 6 months (or something like that). She was weird. Quirky. And I missed out on one house up the street because she was on vacation. But she was great for what I needed her for - we had similar tastes, and I had spoken with so many realtors who kept telling me where I couldn't live (and were bordering on racism against many of the lower priced areas) and that my price range was impossible...which it wasn't.

I like my neighborhood. Especially now that the crazy people next door have moved out.