Choosing a Real Estate Agent

If you are going to use a real estate agent, how do you find the right one?  For Candice and I the choice was easy but lets walk through the decision process...

Trust

The most important thing is that you must be able to trust your real estate agent!  You are about to embark on one of the most important decisions in your life!  Short of getting married or where you will spend eternity, buying a house is one of the most permanent life-altering decisions you can make.  Not to mention expensive!  If you cannot trust that your agent is going to be honest with you...then you are asking for trouble.

Humility

Not a lot of people might add this to their list but I think it is very important.  Humility is a complicated quality...but the sense in which I mean is that your agent is looking out for your best interest and not just a quick paycheck!  The agent that we worked with was very patient and accommodating and always had our requirements and desires in mind.  You want somebody who is going to walk in your shoes and experience your lifestyle to be able to help you make the best decision for you!  Its not uncommon for our agent to be selling/buying 7 figure homes but he put just as much effort and interest into our property and we were looking at the $100,000 price range!

Personality, Attitude

If you can't get along with your agent, then you are starting into a very stressful time on the wrong foot.  You'll want somebody that you can call on the weekends and feel perfectly comfortable having a very honest  conversation with!  Buying a home is a very exciting and fun experience; but it will also be a very tension-filled and stressful experience at times.  You should never dread calling your real estate agent...

Experience

Lastly, make sure he knows what he is doing!  Our real estate agent has been working real estate in central Colorado for 16 years now.  As he would say you need somebody with "boots on the ground, in the trenches day in and day out."  I couldn't agree more.  We are very green when it comes to real estate and you need somebody who knows what they are doing and is okay helping you learn.

Seek out people you know.  Talk to your friends and relatives in the area you are looking to buy.  Get references.  Have some interviews with some prospective agents.  You will be making likely a 3 month time commitment with another person who will help you buy your home!  Its a big deal.  Candice and I were very fortunate that we knew a real estate agent in our church (in our bible study in fact!) and he has done a fantastic job for us every step of the way!  Use your network and make a thoughtful decision...and move forward!


personality
attitude
temperment
humility
sticking to your requirements or trying to upsell you