Talk to the realtor. Within 5 minutes you’ll know if they’re in for a quick buck, or care about your long-term goals. In the first 5 minutes, I either figure out the realtor’s spiel is “prices never go down” or “only buy if you can afford to stay for the long term”.

My one realtor friend said that several times he submitted offers, good for 24 hours, and the buyer’s agent said, “I can’t get together w/ my clients for 3 days”, and thus didn’t even tell the buyer there was an offer! Just because the agent couldn’t fit it into her schedule. How do you avoid that? How would a referral help with that?

About referrals: I don’t give them too much weight. Most people will trump up the doctor or realtor they previously used, to convince themselves they made a good choice, and justify their own decision. Second, even people with mediocre experience will use the same professional again out of convenience.