How to Find a Good Realtor

Finding a good realtor can be a critical step in purchasing your first home or investment property. If you want to purchase a property in a specific area, I HIGHLY recommend finding a great local realtor who can help find exactly what you are looking for and walk you through the buying process, especially if it is your first real estate purchase.

• She is a local expert – Each real estate market has nuances that are unique to that market and a local expert will know about all of these things. The realtor will help you find the right locations and avoid any pitfalls that are unique to an area.
• She will guide you through the buying process – A great realtor does much more than find houses for you to look at. She will connect you with mortgage brokers and lenders to help you gain pre-approval, help you coordinate inspections, and diligently guide you through the whole buying process. 
• She will help you negotiate – A great realtor will be your advocate and help negotiate the price and terms that are best for you. Good realtors will bring creative negotiating solutions to your attention for consideration and help find solutions that work for everyone. 
• She has a vast network – Realtors are great resources for all of that contacts that you may need to purchase your property. They usually have a vast network of lenders, inspectors, appraisers, contractors, property managers, and much more.
• She can help you expand your portfolio –  Once you have purchased your first investment property, your realtor will likely keep an eye out for other properties that meet your criteria. In this way, a great realtor can be a valuable asset to help you expand your portfolio in the future.

• Trusted Referrals – One of the best ways to find a good local real estate agent is through referrals from friends, family, and other real estate professionals in the local area. 
• Traditional Brokerages – If you are looking for a realtor to help you with your first property purchase, I recommend working with an agent from a traditional real estate brokerage like Keller Williams, RE/MAX, or Coldwell Banker. This is because agents from these brokerages are trained to help their clients view listings in-person and often have a more personal approach to buying real estate. Having an agent who will view listings with you and point out location nuances and issues with the properties is very valuable, especially for a first purchase. Viewing listings with an experienced agent will be a great education! 
  • NOTE: Of course this is a broad generalization about traditional brokerages compared to online brokerages. I’ve just noticed that agents from traditional or small local brokerages often offer more personal customer service to their clients. 
• Find Top-Performing Teams – One way to find a great local agent is to research top-performing agent teams within the brokerages in your local area. Great agents produce consistent results and are consistently recognized as top producers within their brokerage. By doing a quick search of a brokerage’s website or Facebook page, you can usually get an idea of who the top performing agents and teams are.

• I do NOT advise using the listing agent on a property to represent you – The listing agent represents the seller, and they will likely LOVE to represent BOTH you and the seller so that they can earn a higher commission. However, I think that it is better for you to have an agent that solely represents your interests in the real estate transaction. A great realtor is going to be a strong advocate for you, and this can be compromised when an agent is representing both sides. 
• Avoid Online Brokerages – Recently, many new technology-centered brokerages have emerged like eXp, Redfin, and Zillow. While these brokerages have their strengths, in-person customer service is not what they are well known for. In general, traditional or small local brokerages offer superior in-person customer service, which is invaluable for a first purchase. 
• Interview at Least 3 Realtors – I created this list of questions that people can use when interviewing potential realtors. In the past, my family and friends have found this document helpful when hiring realtors. Generally, I recommend that people interview at least three realtors before hiring someone.

Hopefully these tips will help you find a good realtor and start your real estate investing journey!

Our flip at 105 Montclair Loop, Daphne AL 36532 is currently on the market! Check it out on our website to see how it turned out. 

We are also launching our YouTube series Makin Mobile next Friday, August 6th! Make sure that you are subscribed to our YouTube Channel so that you never miss an episode.