That is a question I have become quite curious about. As a REALTOR® we learn lots of things about
how to create a good client. In fact, it
seems as soon as we get our state license that is our total focus: gotta’ find
me some buyers and sellers! So I know
what we do as agents to “choose” clients.
What I don’t know is how the clients choose a real estate agent. However they do it, it doesn’t appear to be
an exact science.
Buyers choose
quickly!
I was amazed to find out that about 80% of home buyers use
the first agent they speak with to help them buy a house. Why not, right? Anybody can buy a house; I just need somebody
with a key to let me see inside. And for
sure, if I’m buying a new house I really don’t need another agent to help then. I mean, there will be a real estate agent
right there onsite to help me out right? Since it’s just us here talking, I can tell
you that you really need an agent. In my
state, as in many others, you can now hire an agent to work for you directly when
looking for a house. If you hire a buyer’s
agent, he will have your best interest at heart; and better yet he will pretty
typically be paid by the seller not by you.
And that also works the same with a newly constructed house. So if you’re buying a new house why not go
ahead and have the developer pay your agent who is looking out for your
best interest? Because I assure you the onsite
agent is not looking out for you, he works for that other guy across the closing
table.
With all that goes on when buying a house, it seems to me
that it would be worth more than one conversation to find an agent to help.
Is choosing a listing
agent any more complicated?
If you have sold a house or two over the years, you know who
to call right? I’ll call my agent, old
what’s his name… The official survey
says that 80% of people tell us they will use that same agent again. That makes sense doesn’t it? We sold the house, I got paid, you got paid; what
a great success! Well it turns out that
fewer than 20% will actually use the same agent again. What’s up with that? Were they unhappy with the level of
service? I don’t think the stats bear
that out. Did they feel shortchanged in
some way? Probably not. Maybe it was just business. I hired somebody, they listed my house, and
it sold; I guess I did ok. Maybe there
was just no spark in the relationship.
Sad isn’t it?
That 80-20 stat seems to me to leave some unanswered
questions.
Who you gonna’ call?
So what’s the big deal?
Well nothing really, if you don’t think paying somebody several thousand
dollars to direct you in the largest purchase you will make in your lifetime is
a big deal. And anyway, you got this
house buying & selling thing down right?
After all, nothing has changed in the housing market in the past few
years. Well nothing major anyway, right? Well, obviously a lot has changed in the real
estate and mortgage business in recent years.
And it is still changing. And I
do think it is very important that you hire someone to help you with your
transaction. I’m going to go ahead and
say it right out loud: real estate agents work for money! Yep it’s true; we want to get paid for what
we do. I will also say that one of the
things we get paid to do is to take very good care of our client’s money. So please make sure that you are your real
estate agent’s client, we always have one so make sure it’s you. Call me and I’ll explain. Of course, sometimes we do all same the wonderful
things that we always do and we don’t get paid; but that’s a conversation for
another day.
In almost every residential real estate transaction
commissions are being paid. So doesn’t
it make sense that since these commissions can amount to a sizable sum that you
would spend a little bit of quality time choosing the best person possible to
get paid to do this job? Wouldn’t it be
a good idea to find someone pretty capable of handling your giant nest egg of
money? After all, that’s exactly what we’re
doing out here; handling your money. Maybe
you shouldn’t just choose the first person who answers the phone to help you
buy a house. Although if you’re going to
do that please call me first! Maybe when
you are thinking of listing your house you should really interview three, or
even more, agents before choosing one.
You could ask friends and neighbors who they have used before, and be
sure to find out if they liked them. I’m
betting based on that 80-20 business, if they can remember them at all they must
have done a pretty good job. Maybe good
old LuAnne who has been selling houses out here since ’78 would be a great
choice, but I would want to make sure of that.
Or maybe the new guy whose is all up to speed with all those changes we
talked about is the guy. At least he
knows how to send a text message; I think. Or maybe someone in between is right for you,
I don’t know who your ideal agent is.
But I do know it’s an important choice to make that can have lasting
consequences.
There are lots of ways to find out about real estate agents
today, and there are lots of us agents out there to find out about too! So look for somebody you can talk to. Maybe more importantly, look for someone who
will listen to you. Be sure to find
someone you can trust, because you will need to trust their judgment. Find someone who is not afraid to tell you
the truth, and be sure it is someone you are willing to accept the truth from. And find somebody who knows what they’re
doing. They should know their business
and all the changes that have taken place recently. And maybe most importantly they should know
your part of town, your neighborhood and should be willing to get to know
you. Do not hesitate to tell them what
is important to you. Things like
communication, the ability speak frankly, how they negotiate, your schedule.
There is no reason not to choose a great real estate agent,
if you just take your time and do your homework. Or you can just call me! Because I’m in it for the money and I’ll take
good care of both yours and mine.
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