When I was in fourth grade, I had a teacher who had a reputation for being brutal. She had been teaching a long time and certainly knew how to teach, but she wasn’t exactly what you’d call a nice teacher.
I remember looking at my friends in the other fourth grade classes, laughing and seemingly having a great time, while my teacher was very strict and demanding and continued to pile on the homework.
Ultimately, we were all learning the same concepts and skills, but the experience was vastly different from one classroom to the next.
This is the same with real estate agents. When you set out to buy or sell your home, the real estate agent you work with can have a huge impact on your overall experience, as well as the outcome of the transaction.
Buying or selling a home is one of the biggest financial and personal decisions of your life, so you should take the time to find the right real estate agent to guide you through the process. A good agent will be a teacher, project manager, sidekick, therapist, rolodex, and crystal ball all rolled into one. Okay, maybe not the crystal ball part.
That being said, there are well over 10,000 real estate agents in the San Francisco Bay Area, so how do you filter through them all to find the right agent for you, without spending endless hours interviewing everyone? That’s exactly what we’ll cover in this article.
How To Find The Right Real Estate Agent For You
When searching for a real estate agent, most people think that they should just Google “real estate agents near me” and choose the top result. However, there’s a LOT more nuance to it than that.
Choosing a real estate agent in many ways is similar to hiring a new employee for your team. Before you bring them on, you want to make sure that they have the right experience to help you achieve your goals. Otherwise, you’ll be frustrated, and so will they.
Different agents have different areas of expertise, specialize in different submarkets within the Greater Bay Area, and have different communication styles. Some agents may work full time; others dabble in real estate on the side. Some agents have a full team; others fly solo.
That’s why it’s important to take time to figure out your personal goals and to determine your ideal buying or selling experience first, then find the agent who can make it happen.
#1 – Make A List Of Your Goals And What’s Most Important To You
Before you start scouring lists of local agents, start by reflecting on what YOU want and need from this home buying / selling process. If choosing a real estate agent is like hiring an employee for your team, consider this phase the needs analysis and job description stage. Before you start interviewing, you need to know what you’re looking for.
What’s most important to you in this experience – an agent with strong negotiation skills or one with superior market knowledge? One with a vast network or one who’s always available to take your call?
Do you want to work with a realtor who’s newer and has less experience but is hungry and will give you undivided attention? Do you want to work with a real estate agent who’s part of a larger team so you can leverage the resources and processes of that team?
If you’re a buyer, is neighborhood or price more important? Are you a first-time buyer looking for step-by-step guidance? Do you know what neighborhood you want to be in, or are you looking to an agent to help you figure that out? What about timeframe to get into a house? Are you interested in house hacking or otherwise investing in real estate?
If you’re a seller, how quickly do you need to sell? Do you have a firm sales price you need to hit? Are you looking to buy another home in the same city or in another market simultaneously?
In the ideal world, you would get a realtor who is top-notch and can help you navigate all of these things, but in order to find that best agent for you, you first need to determine what YOU need as a buyer or seller, so that you know what you should ask candidates before committing to working with them.
#2 – Create A List Of Questions To Ask Potential Agents
Once you’ve figured out what’s most important to you, reflect on what you might ask potential real estate agents to determine if they’re the right fit for you.
This is similar to the job application and interview phase when you’re hiring a new employee for your team. In order to ensure the best fit, you have to know what you need to ask to find exactly what you’re looking for.
Here are some questions you might consider asking a potential real estate agent:
1. How long have you been a real estate agent?
2. Are you a part-time or full-time agent?
3. Do you work alone or with a team?
4. Do you represent both buyers and sellers?
5. How many buyers / sellers are you or your team currently representing?
6. How many real estate transactions have you closed this year?
7. Can you tell me about a recent client success story, as well as a transaction that did NOT go according to plan?
8. How long do you usually work with buyers, from the first home you see together to the closing table?
9. I’m interested in buying a home in X [neighborhood]. Have you sold homes in this neighborhood?
10. My budget for buying a home is X. Have you sold homes in this price range?
11. How do you help buyers compete in this market?
12. What’s the ratio between buyers and sellers you represent?
13. Will I be working with you directly or with others on your team?
14. I want to sell my home for X [target sales price] or within X timeframe. How do you plan to market the home?
15. What’s your average list-price-to-sales-price ratio?
16. Can you recommend a good X [lender, contractor, home inspector, title company, etc.]?
17. What are your typical fees?
18. Do you have references I can speak to?
19. What are the top 3 things that separate you from your competition?
20. What haven’t I asked you that you think I should know?
#3 – Create A List Of Potential Agents In Your Area
Once you’ve determined what you’re looking for in a realtor and what you’d like to ask them, the next step is to create a list of candidates.
Just like when you are making a new hire for your team, start by asking for referrals from your existing network. Check in with friends and family (even those who don’t live in your neighborhood) to see if they can refer an awesome real estate agent that they’ve worked with to buy or sell their home. See what they enjoyed about the experience and what the outcome of the transaction was.
Even if your friends and family refer an agent in an area far from where you live or where you’re looking to buy/sell, you can leverage that agent’s network to help you find an agent in your area. Often, great agents know other great agents, or at least they can help you do a lot of the interviewing and filtering to find the ideal agent for you.
Beyond referrals, attend open houses if you can, or check out online review sites like Yelp and Zillow. Cross-compare to see which agents are showing up again and again on multiple sites and have glowing reviews across the board. Be sure to look not just at the NUMBER of reviews but also the QUALITY of reviews.
See if the reviews speak to your goals and the things you defined as most crucial for you. For example, if it’s important to you to find a real estate agent who will spend a lot of time with you and who’s available whenever you need to talk, see if the reviews speak to that. If the reviews say that the realtor is curt but efficient, they might not be the best fit for your goals.
#4 – Interview Multiple Agents
It’s unlikely that you would hire the very first person that applied for a job opening on your team, so treat the search for your ideal agent the same way.
Once you’ve created a list of at least three agents, choose the top few, and reach out to schedule an intro call. During the call, get a sense of their expertise, track record, communication style, and whether you click with them or not.
After all, if you work with them, you will be spending a lot of time with them in the coming weeks, whether you’re a buyer or seller, so choose someone you are comfortable with and whom you trust.
Ask each real estate agent the same questions from the list you’ve prepared, so you can easily compare across agents and choose the one that’s the best fit for you and your goals.
#5 – Request References
Once you’ve narrowed it down to just a short list of agents, be sure to request a list of references. Online reviews are great, but often, they only tell a portion of the story.
By asking for and calling references, you can speak directly with buyers and sellers who have worked with the agent before. They can help answer any questions you have about the agent or about the process in general.
At this point, you’re digging to find any reason NOT to work with the agent. Client references are your opportunity to get a full view of what it would be like to work with this agent, so don’t just use these conversations to confirm what you already know. Try to dig deeper to uncover what’s you can’t see through online reviews.
#6 – Ask The Agent About Your Local Market
If you haven’t already, be sure to ask realtors about the state of your local market. Ask an open-ended question such as, “Do you think now is a good time to buy?” or “What are you seeing lately in this market?”
And then, just sit back and see how the agent approaches the question. See what they bring up. Do they refer to data, anecdotes, or a combination of both? Do they get defensive and try to sell you on the market and timing, or are they more transparent and open? Do they seem interested in your unique situation and goals?
#7 – Follow Your Gut / Hire Someone You Like
You may be laughing at this one, but this is one of the most critical ones! Once you’ve done your due diligence, asked all your questions, and checked references, it’s time to listen to your gut.
Buying or selling your home involves a lot of moving parts and often a lengthy and complex process. Choosing the right realtor isn’t like finding someone to mow your lawn; you really want to find a true partner who will be in your corner and go to bat for you when needed.
You want someone who won’t rush you, who makes you feel comfortable throughout the process, and someone you actually like and would be friends with. If you can envision inviting that agent over to your house for dinner, you’re on the right track!
Want Help Finding Your Ideal Agent?
We get it. The process of narrowing down the pool of thousands of agents and finding the right realtor for you can be a daunting process, whether you’re a buyer or a seller, yet we also know and have seen firsthand how critical it is to have the right agent by your side throughout your journey.
Here at the Joe Dickerson Group, we’re all about helping you build wealth through real estate, whether you work with us or one of the many other qualified and experienced agents in the Bay Area or beyond.
To that end, if you’re looking to find the best real estate agent for you, whether in Oakland, Berkeley, the Greater Bay Area, or even outside of California, we’d be happy to help you find a great agent in your area to meet your needs and goals.
We know that our team may not be the right fit for everyone, but we also know that there IS a right agent out there for you, and we’d be happy to help you narrow down the list. No strings attached, and at no cost to you.
We want to make sure that you have a seamless and positive home buying or selling experience, whether you choose us for your team or not. So if you’re looking for an agent to help you with your real estate needs, be it buying, selling, or investing, schedule a call with us. We’d love to help!
