Buying a home can be a daunting task. Having an experienced real estate agent, who has a clear idea about the home markets, by your side helps a lot. Before hiring a real estate agent to help you buy your new home you should know what to look for in an agent. Follow these tips to hire the real estate agent you deserve.
- Get an experienced real estate agent. For most real estate purchase you should look for an agent who has at least 5 years of experience. Staying in business for five years shows commitment to the profession.
- Get an exclusive buyer agent. Some agents can act as both buyer’s and seller’s agent. An agent like that might not look out for your best interest.
- Ask about affiliation with national organizations. Find out if the agent you intend to hire is a member of any professional organizations, like The National Association of Realtors. Since this can help your agent to make the connections that will allow you find your dream home quickly.
- Find out how familiar you real estate agent is with the local home markets. You should look for someone who knows the local market inside and out.
- Find out how the agent plans to help you in acquiring a new property. Ask how he would devise house inspections on prospective estates, whether he would follow through with your mortgage approval process, and be present at your closing.
- Find out whether your realtor can help you search the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Having access to this large database of homes can be invaluable to pick a home suitable for you from the home markets.
- Ask about fees. Most agents works on a commission- usually 3% of the price of the home is paid to the seller’s agent and 3% to the buyer’s agent. These fees are usually paid by the seller and included in the sales price. However, some agents will also work on a flat fee basis, so find out before you agree to work with the agent.
- Understand the contract. See what your obligations are in the contract with your agent.
Hiring a real estate agent is easy if you know what to look for.