How to Find the Right Real Estate Agent
The Essential House-Hunting Guide for First-Time Homebuyers, Part Four: Identifying the Real Estate Agent Who Will Be the Best Fit for You
There may be nobody who will play a more important role in the homebuying process than your real estate agent. When you select the professional you want to work with, you are entering into a relationship that is likely to last many months, requires close collaboration, and may need to withstand several ups and downs along the way.
Click the image below to download checklist.
A great place to start when you’re looking for a real estate agent is to get referrals from people you know who recently bought a home. Then, once you’ve gathered some recommendations, you can search for additional client reviews of these professionals online. Finally, after you’ve narrowed it down to a few top candidates, it is a smart idea to set up interviews with them.
The Gilbert team thought you might want some assistance figuring out what to ask these real estate agents in an interview, so we gathered advice from several local real estate experts. Based on their input, we created a downloadable list of questions that may aid you in finding and selecting an agent who has the qualifications and characteristics you value most.
Of course, we’ve left lots of room for taking notes as an agent answers your questions. In addition, you may also want to write down what the agent asks you and if they appear to be listening intently to your responses. If an agent is interested in getting to know you and your priorities now, it can be a good indication they will also be likely to help you thoroughly understand and prepare for the homebuying process from start to finish.
Gilbert Insurance Has Gathered More Advice for First-Time Homebuyers
We hope these tips and this interview guide will help facilitate your search for a real estate agent who you feel confident will make a great partner and homebuying representative. Also, when you start to put together a team of experts to assist you in the homebuying process, we hope you’ll contact Gilbert for help with all your home or condo insurance needs. We are very committed to helping you conquer the homebuying process. In fact, we’ve created an entire blog series dedicated to doing so.
To create this series, we spoke with several local professionals, including financial planners, mortgage brokers, and real estate agents, and collected their top tips and insights about the house-hunting process. You’ve just finished reading the final installment. If you’ve missed any of the three other posts in this series, we encourage you to read them:
- Part One: Reviewing Your Financial Situation with 10 Important Questions and Tips from a Financial Professional
- Part Two: Creating a Comprehensive Wants-and-Needs List to Help You Find Your Perfect Home
- Part Three: 10 Q&As about the Mortgage Approval Process
Make sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn so you can get alerts about similar blog posts related to homeownership in the future.
A special thank-you to our colleague Travers Peterson, a Realtor with The Team-Real Estate Advisors at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, for providing his input.
