How to Find the Right Real Estate Agent
Category: Real Estate Listings
October 11, 2023 — The key to getting your dream home for retirement is to find the right real estate agent. Maybe you know where you would like to retire (region, state, or even town) and the lifestyle you want to pursue. But how do you find the right real estate agent to help you reach that dream? A place to retire that comes at the right price, and one you can afford. In a neighborhood that suits you, and that will be a good investment down the road. And most importantly, a home that makes you happy, not having to worry that you might have made a mistake.
One of the best ways to find your retirement dream is to make sure you know how to find the right real estate agent. That is not always that easy, particularly when you move to an area far away, and unfamiliar to you. In that situation, any contacts you already have are probably of no use.
To help you find your best real estate agent or Realtor® (real estate professionals who are members of the National Association of Realtors®) we consulted with 3 of the best agents we know from our experience over the years. Here are their tips for finding the right agent.
Cory Held of Preferred Properties has been in the business a long time, representing buyers and sellers in the busy Key West real estate market. Every year she sells dozens of million dollar and more properties. She has clients who have bought multiple houses with her as their agent. She succeeds because she is interested in her clients and their welfare, and they know it.
Cory’s Tips for finding the right real estate professional
Call or email when you see a listing that looks interesting. How the agent responds to that inquiry tells you so much, she says. Do they give you some time, or can they hardly wait to get you off the phone. That first impression is useful – do they do all the talking? She advises interviewing at least 3 agents before you sign on with anyone.
Look at the agents bio and check their experience. How many properties have sold recently? How long have they been doing this? Do they have experience in the type of community and home you are looking for? The best ones close many deals a year because they know not only know the market and what is available, but what properties are coming available before everyone else.
How helpful are they? As you go out and see properties with different agents you will find out a lot. Can they help you find a mortgage, attorneys, movers, repair people, decorators etc.? If they don’t stay in touch, or their interest seems to wane as you tour multiple properties, maybe you should move along to someone else.
Don’t be too quick on signing the Buyers Broker Agreement. Some agents might want you to sign one right away, which protects them if say, you go to an open house, meet another agent, and your agent gets cut out of the commission. Cory says she usually holds off with the Agreement until she is sure she can work with the client, and she recommends the same for buyers.
Carefully consider the agent’s advice. These folks know the market better than you possibly can. If yours says this apartment or development has a problem, listen. Cory advised us not to sell our original apartment when we purchased a second one. How many times, after seeing how often and what prices it is rented for, did I wish I had heeded that advice! On the other hand, beware real estate agents that pressure you too much. But realize that if you have an agent you trust and they say to go high on an offer, that might well be what it takes to get that sought after property.
Tips from Larry Gavrich of Golfcommunityreviews.com
Interview a real estate agent the way you would interview someone for a job. That is because that is what you are doing. Ask tough questions before you commit to using a particular agent.
Don’t choose a real estate agent before you and your significant other are sure what you are looking for in terms of a community. Larry, who specializes in golf communities, helps clients find the right community by asking a lot of qualifying questions. Budget, location, lifestyle, home style preferences, etc. – all of those things help focus the search efficiently. Asking good questions, and listening to the answers, insures that your needs come first, and results in buying the right home in the right community.
Don’t do friends a favor by hiring their friend or relative as your agent. You are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars and should treat the choice of an agent as a business decision, nothing less.
Find the right local agent. One of Larry’s strengths is that he can help clients find a great agent in a local market far away from where the client lives now. He has a network of real estate professionals in sought after markets, and can connect them and the client for a good match.
3 Tips from Tim Boyd of Sotheby’s International
Tim has been a top agent since 2010, after a successful career managing a family business. He specializes in the Shoreline area of Connecticut east of New Haven.
Referrals are the #1 way find a good agent. If your friends have had great success with an agent, start by interviewing that person.
Testimonials available on line are #2. Look for statements with a lot of detail and more than just “she’s a nice gal”. They might give you some ideas on who to talk to, particularly if they have had success with the type of community you are interested in.
Ask a local attorney. They work with real estate agents all the time, and can advise which ones are buttoned up and have the best interests of their clients at heart.
Final suggestions from your editor
A good real estate agent is someone who is your honest advisor. The right professional won’t pressure you into an offer because they are more interested in making a sale than they are helping you make the right choice. The real estate agent you want has the courage and the experience to advise you to walk away from a potential mistake in the wrong development, or encourage you to seriously consider a property that has some extra potential.
Are they licensed, and will they represent my interests? The agent has to be licensed in the state you are buying in. If the agent is representing the seller, it might be better to find one who only represents you as the buyer, to avoid a potential conflict. Look for one who has experience in the retirement market, e,g.; If the agent works mostly with young families, maybe you should look elsewhere.
Research if you are looking from far away. Let’s say you live in Ohio and want to buy something in western North Carolina. You can go online and use a search engine to find the type of home and community you are looking for (e.g.; 2 bedroom home in Cashiers, NC golf and tennis community). The results page you get back will be filled with realtors who claim to have what you want. Sometimes you have to fill out a form that goes to an unidentified agent – other times there will be an agent assigned to the property. Call or email them and see what you get back. If you get a good feeling, you might want to visit Cashiers and visit properties with a couple of different agents. Those visits will tell you who you might want to sign a Buyers agreement with.
Bottom line
Thanks to Cory, Larry, and Tim for these great suggestions. Finding the right real estate agent takes time and energy. But that little bit of extra diligence can have a huge payoff in helping you find the perfect home for your retirement.
Comments? What has been your experience working with real estate pros? Do you have some tips, horror stories, or great experiences you can share? Everybody loves a good real estate story!
Comments on "How to Find the Right Real Estate Agent"
Steve T. says:
A realtor who has your interest in mind is critical but always remember they are trying to earn a living and need sales. Most of them won't bend over backwards to look out for you. Be clear and specific about what you are looking for up front, not vague. Note how they listen to you; do they pay close attention or down play what you say, cut you off and try to control your perceptions. If you don't understand the realtor's view point or disagree with their recommendations get a clear explanation and keep questioning until you are satisfied. Most of all listen to your gut. If you are uncomfortable with your realtor move on to another one. Don't delay! There are thousands out there don't make your search more difficult.
Jennifer says:
This post looks more like an advert than a post, thus very few comments.
Bruceb says:
I believe that this article is an ad for the women pictured. I do not recall the use of such a large and consistent display for any prior articles/comments. The newsletter seems to be stuck on this image.
Admin says:
Hello everyone, and thanks for your comments. The image is not an ad for the woman pictured, she is one of the realtors who was kind enough to give us input on this article on how to find a good realtor in your retirement search (by the way she is a great agent and person as well). We usually add an image to each issue of the Daily Alert to spice it up a bit, and hers looked like a good one to use. Tomorrow we we will have a different article and image. We will reduce the size of the image from the current 300 x 250, which isn't actually very large in practice).
JCarol says:
While using a realtor is often our best bet when buying or selling a home, let's not forget that they work on commission, and with the enormous bump in home prices those commissions have skyrocketed in terms of real dollars.
Houses in my neighborhood are going for $1.1+ million these days. Most realtors want 6%. Are their services truly worth $66,000? Not by my reckoning. For longer than the past decade, home buyers do most of their own Internet research to find properties in the neighborhoods they prefer at prices they can afford.
When selling my mom's house for $1.5 million, I negotiated the realtor commission down to 4.5% when signing the listing. It sold in a week. They did a fine job, but trust me, the RE offices and realtors who split up that $67.5K got far bigger paydays than they earned.
Yes, it's important to hire professionals, but consider their prices as carefully in home buying/selling as you do for other services. When selling, as long as you require the property be put on MLS immediately, you'll get plenty of action if your home is priced right in a hot market. If it isn't, even the best realtor isn't going to be able to sell it.
UncleAL says:
...here in NY most Realtors will do the job for 2-3%....I save even more when I list with a firm offering to put the Property on mls for a flat fee, usually around $250-300 just to list it...the Seller determines the Selling Broker commission...I pay about 1.5 %....sold four homes this way in the past 10 years.....must've saved over 100k that way....I find that most agents only "show" homes as opposed to actually selling" them...why pay a part time housewife or retired teacher all that cash ?
Admin says:
Don't miss our new article on the NAR's Commission Settlement on Real Estate Commissions. It is going to change how people buy and sell homes, and you need to understand it.