Turtle Creek area Real Estate News - Carmen Chapa Real Estate, LLC.

Turtle Creek, Oak Lawn, and Uptown Real Estate News

Selecting the Right Real Estate Agent

July 27th, 2011 1:21 PM

Once you’ve got your financing lined up to buy a home, or you’ve decided it’s time to sell the one you’re in now the next step is to find an agent you feel comfortable with. That used to be a daunting task. Thanks to the Internet that job is now much easier.

Family and friends are a good place to start getting names and references of potential agents to work with. One caveat is if that agent is a family member or friend. You may be comfortable with them in a social setting but you may not share the same feelings if it’s business related, which is what finding a home is. Make sure if you do go with a friend or relative that you won’t feel obligated to continue on if things don’t go well. It’s much easier to “fire”, or quit working with someone when there is not that connection or it’s just not working out well.

Another method is to do some searching on the Internet through the myriad of real estate search sites. (We’ll cover that in another blog). Look at these listings and see what realtors show up as the listing agent. Most have their own website. Go to those websites and just by looking around it you can get an initial feel for what that agent is like. Good agents will treat their website like a resume, giving their background, education and experience. See, by looking at those sites, if they are connected to the area you are considering. An agent who lives in that area usually knows more about the day-to-day life of the neighborhood, especially if they belong to some local community and neighborhood organizations or groups. The can tell you about shopping, schools, churches, restaurants, roads, entertainment, etc. better than an agent who is not living in the area being considered.

After you’ve picked a few this way then make a phone call to those who’ve made the initial cut or send an e-mail. Get a little personal interaction to see if there is a comfort level. Ask about the area you’re considering in general and how they view the home buying process. If they make it clear to you and it seems sensible, then that agent may be just the one.

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Posted by Carmen Chapa on July 27th, 2011 1:21 PMPost a Comment

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