What should I look for in a Realtor®?
A. Well for one, look for the designation of Realtor on the agent’s card. It’s a little thing, but important, since this means that the agent is a member of the Michigan Association of Realtors (MAR) and has agreed to operate under the MAR Code of Ethics. Here are some other things to look for or evaluate:
· Ask if the agent works at real estate full-time. The real estate business is one in which a high percentage of the agents that you might meet are actually part-time agents. They may have other full-time jobs, they may be retired and just dong a few deals a year to pull in some extra money, they may be a spouse who works at real estate almost as a hobby or when it doesn’t interfere with family matters. The point is that many of these folks don’t have the time and energy to put into a full-time effort to sell your house. They don’t have the time on the weekends to hold open houses or they may not wish to, due to family matters. Almost nowhere else that you do business with what are supposed to be “professionals” are you faced with this issue. Imagine a part time doctor or lawyer or airline pilot. That might scare you in those cases and it should scare you in a real estate transaction as well. Get a full time professional!
· You can and should ask about the experience that the agent has had and perhaps even ask for references. Not all agents will have lengthy real estate resumes. I certainly don’t, but I do have 30+ years of sales and marketing experience that I brought with me into this business and I feel that it helps me to do a professional job. There are a number of three letter designations that an agent may have on their cards, such as CRS, GRI, and others. In general these mean that the agent has gone through some specialized training and may have also met some criteria based upon experience. They certainly aren’t bad, but they don’t necessarily mean that the agent is going to be able to sell your house any faster or for any more money than an agent without those letters on their card. In my mind, the items below mean a whole lot more.
· Ask the agents that you talk with to explain to you what they would do to market your house. What tools and techniques do they use and which things do they not like to do. Listen to the presentation(s) and see if it makes sense to you and sounds like a good proactive effort will be put forth. Also ask how often you can expect to meet with the agent after the house is listed. In too many cases very successful agents become so overloaded that all they do are the front-end presentations to get the listing and then you never see them again (unless the house doesn’t sell and then they may come back asking for an extension).
Trust your instincts about the person. Did he/she call you back promptly if you called them? Was he/she accommodating to your schedule in trying to set up a meeting, or did they “fit you in” to their busy schedule? Does he/she dress and look professional? Does he/she act professional, without being too slick? Does he/she seem to be organized? Do you feel comfortable with this person around and would you be comfortable trusting them in your home alone during an open house? If you have problems with any of these areas get someone else. Life is too short to have to put up with people who are ditzy, sleazy-balls or con men
