A recent survey found that nearly 90% of sellers and buyers in America work with a real estate agent. Working with an agent can help you secure a fair price and a quick turnover time, ensuring your long-term happiness.
The question is, how do you find the right real estate company to work with? Heading to the internet and searching, “real estate company near me,” tends to yield dozens of results. How can you narrow down your options?
We’re here to talk about what to look for in a real estate company. We’ll cover everything you should take into consideration, from credentials to chemistry.
Read on to find out more about how to find the best real estate company near you.
1. Start With Your Own Needs
Before you start shopping around for a real estate firm, you need to have a sense of your own needs. Go through our quick checklist and write down your answers to prepare for your real estate company interviews down the line.
What Is Your Timeframe?
When do you want to list your home or start the hunt for a home to purchase? What’s the absolute latest that you can close a sale? Knowing your timeframe can help you rule out any real estate agents that are overbooked during that time.
If You’re Buying, What Is Your Budget?
Are you buying a house in California? If so, you may want to talk to a mortgage lender before you find your real estate agent. By reviewing your finances with a mortgage lender, you can get a concrete sense of how much you can afford to spend on a house.
If You’re Buying, What Are You Looking For?
As a buyer, it’s important to know what you need, what you’d like to have, and what you’d like to avoid in a house. This can include things like the number of bathrooms, the type of roofing, the size of the yard, and so on. These needs and priorities may change over time, but it’s beneficial to have at least a vague idea from the start.
2. Ask Around
Now, it’s time to start looking for the perfect real estate company. Where better to start than talking to friends, family members, and neighbors?
Ideally, you want to ask people who not only live in your region but also bought or sold a home in the past year. A lot can change at a real estate company over the years, including the people who work there. A fresh referral is best.
3. Look at Reviews
Whether or not you receive any referrals from friends, family, or neighbors, you should also look at online reviews. It’s always helpful to see multiple perspectives on the same real estate company or agent, rather than just one.
If a real estate company has one or two bad reviews amidst mostly positive feedback, it’s not a big deal. However, we do recommend that you rule out any companies that receive multiple negative reviews, especially if many of them are recent.
4. Look at Credentials
It’s important to know that you can trust a real estate company, and looking into their credentials is a good place to start.
All active real estate agents should have an active real estate license. Before getting the license, they have to undergo real estate license training, which will ensure that they’re well educated on all real estate regulations and rules. To verify a real estate agent’s license, head to the Arello website. Type in the full professional name of the real estate agent you’re considering working with to find out whether or not their real estate license is still active.
Keep in mind that while all realtors are real estate agents, not all real estate agents are realtors. Realtors have the added distinction of maintaining an active membership in the National Association of Realtors.
5. Pick Three Real Estate Companies to Interview
After going through the first several steps, you should be ready to narrow down your local real estate companies to the three that look best to you. Once you do, it’s time to set up phone appointments or consultations. It’s always best to talk to a real estate agent before hiring them so that you can hear their pitch, ask questions, and get a sense of their personality.
Ask About Experience and Approach
How long have they been in the real estate business? What types of properties do they usually work with? How much do they factor in data and statistics when helping their clients to make the best choices?
It’s important to work with a real estate company that is open and honest with you about the state of the housing market. Find out here what’s going on with the real estate market today.
Pay Attention to Chemistry
Do you feel comfortable talking to your real estate agent? Do you feel like they’re listening to you when you explain your needs and priorities? Do you feel inspired when they discuss their process?
Credentials and experience are crucial, but so is chemistry. Your real estate agent is someone that you’re going to be working closely with for at least several weeks. It’s important that you feel comfort and trust when talking to them.
Request References
A great real estate company should not hesitate to provide you with multiple references. If you ask for references and they either can’t provide them or won’t, this is a red flag. If they do good work, they should be more than happy to put you in touch with previous clients.
Find the Perfect Real Estate Company for You
It makes good sense to work with a real estate agent when you’re buying or selling a house. We hope that our guide will make it easier for you to find the best real estate company in your area.
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