Tips for choosing a realtor

[vproman]

Hello Fellow Piggs,

Going to be jumping into the home buying pool over the next several months and going to start by choosing a realtor. Will be looking for a 3+ bd SFH within 20 minutes of beach/coast. Would appreciate tips on choosing a realtor. What questions should I ask before starting to work with a realtor? Any red flags to look out for?

My googling has dug up a hand full of useful questions, e.g. how many homes did you help buyers purchase over the last year? https://www.homelight.com/blog/buyer-questions-to-ask-a-real-estate-agent/

[sdrealtor]

Id try to find one with a good amount of experience particularly in markets like this. Many realtors are struggling to survive and would sell their mom down the river to collect a commission check. Try to find someone who is not in that position.

[zocalo2]

Go with the best, Jim Klinge! Working currently with him and have worked with his in the past. Smart, honest, knows what he is doing, knows the market, best negotiator! Jim Klinge (BRE Lic # CA ) | Compass | 858-997-3801 | [email protected]
http://www.bubbleinfo.com/

[sdrealtor]

I always laugh when i hear someone call a realtor the best. BY what metric? Hint: there is no way to objectively call anyone the best. He’s a good experienced guy and not a bad choice but there are lots of agents just as good. Having worked up here for a couple of decades I can think of dozens of exceptional ones

[Coronita]

The best realtor is the one that you work best with 🙂

I think the best thing to do is just to meet with the realtor and see how it goes…

sdrealtor was my best realtor while urbanrealtor was my best property manager….

(I simply haven’t done a transaction with urbanrealtor)

[sdrealtor]

I think that’s really the bottom line. Find a good experienced agent that you can trust and work well with

Any agent that tries to say everyone else does things wrong and I alone can do this reminds me of a certain someone in another field of work

[vproman]

Thank you everyone for the good tips. We have been interviewing realtors and it’s interesting to see the differences: some are scrappy and high energy while others are confident and polished. I’m leaning towards the ones that tell me what I need to hear and not want I want to hear. This will be a big purchase that hopefully we’ll spend decades living in, so we want to do our due diligence.

[sdrealtor]

Scrappy and high energy often translates to inexperienced and starving neither of which you want at a time like this

[BWell_SoCal]

I second Jim Klinge. I used him and refer him to friends. The fact that he runs a well maintained real estate blog speaks volumes. His wife also does the management of the other aspects of the transaction and it just made everything easier than I imagined. First time home buyer approved!

[Coronita]

[quote=vproman]Thank you everyone for the good tips. We have been interviewing realtors and it’s interesting to see the differences: some are scrappy and high energy while others are confident and polished. I’m leaning towards the ones that tell me what I need to hear and not want I want to hear. This will be a big purchase that hopefully we’ll spend decades living in, so we want to do our due diligence.[/quote]

My personal opinion is… If you see a realtor show up in a nice car and nice designer suit or business suit, skip the realtor. Because you are paying for those designer brands he/she buys and the fancy car he/she leases…

If your realtor prospect shows up in a collared polo shirt and shorts and a decent but not ostentatious car and isn’t pushy about trying to get you to find a house asap…..If your realtor does deals from 1/1 condos to multi-million homes, you know you have a pretty good realtor. Because regardless of what you are buying, he/she is giving you the same time and day as any other client.

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