Why it's Important to Check your Realtors References Before Hiring

Buying a home may be the largest investment decision you’ll ever make ~ it’s crucial to hire a realtor that will represent YOU as a buyer broker, has a track record of excellence and is an experienced agent with excellent negotiation skills... the problem is, there is no standard, objective rating system, so hiring a realtor that does good work will be a matter of your background investigation and your judgment.

There are a few ways to do some background on a person you’ll be putting this must trust into;

1. GOOGLE® search the agents name and see what you find.

2. All Real Estate Commissions (State Agency) have on-line databases to search your agents name… have they had any problems or disciplinary issues?

3. Ask the agent for 6 references of people (names and numbers) that he has sold a home to in the past year! This will prevent the agent from “cherry picking” a few good friends over a career, and secondly ~ if they haven’t sold 6 homes in the past year, you don’t want to work with them!

Call and ask some of these people how their experience with that realtor was. Did they communicate frequently? Were they professional in their work? Did they feel their “best interests” were being represented? Would they hire them again?

If a realtor is confident in the quality of their work, there should be no problem providing a list of people with whom that realtor has worked in the past ~ it is common practice to ask for and check references.

If you’re a home seller; in addition, ask your possible hire for a list of their previous “listings sold”. This list should include helpful data such as list price to sale price ratio and average number of days on market, which will give you an idea of what kinds of sales a specific realtor has made in the past, make sure these are his/her personal sales and not “our office”.

If a realtor is confident in the quality of their work, there should be no problem providing a list of people with whom that realtor has worked in the past.

But why is it important to check your realtor’s references before hiring them? The answer is simple: A home is often the biggest purchase made in one’s life. It can cost tens or hundreds of thousands, even millions of dollars ~ a great realtor will streamline the house-buying or selling process and make the experience exciting and enjoyable. In addition, it is important to find a realtor who will be a trusted source of guidance and advice, will provide references to inspection and similar services, and will be easy to communicate with.

Author Jeff Hammerberg is the Founding CEO of www.GayRealEstate.com ~ Free Instant Access to the Nation’s Top Gay, Lesbian and Gay Friendly Realtors Coast to Coast.