What Makes a Great Buyer's Real Estate Agent?
Ben Schmidt of www.benschmidt.tv a Fredericton, NB and Oromocto, NB Real Estate Agent, video blogs about what exactly it takes to be a great Realtor for the buyer.
There are ultimately 4 things that you must require your buyer's agent to have. The first two are obvious. They should be there before the second two are even needed.
1- Market Knowledge. Your Realtor should immediately know market values. By knowing the price, location, style of home, and age, a good Realtor will know if a home is over valued, at market value, or under valued. As I mentioned before I was once burned by an agent who got me to over pay, without me knowing. Worst feeling ever!
2- Contruction Knowledge. Your realtor should be in 4-6 houses a day. Obviously we are not inspectors, and we aren't getting in the roof rafters or under the crawl spaces, but we should be able to pick out red flags if any. You should be aware of the potential short term costs you could encounter.
3- Availability. Does your real estate agent answer your calls, when you call. Or follow up immediately afterwards. Do they answer emails/texts/tweets in a timely fashion. Do they get the information you require? When you want to look at houses, can they go? If the answer is yes to all of these, then you have a good Realtor.
4- New Listings for YOU! If done properly, your agent should be very well informed of exactly what it is you are looking for. Location, style, price, amenities, bedrooms/bathrooms, etc. You should be notified via email/phone the day a potential home comes on the market. Yes a couple homes may get by the agent, we work with a lot of people, but the vast majority should be caught, and sent to you before you find them.
If you have any questions or if you're thinking of buying a home this year, give me an email at ben.schmidt@me.com or leave your comments here