Find A Colorado Real Estate Agent

Earlier we made a post on Finding a Real Estate Agent to assist you whether you are buying or selling your property. This post is focused on picking the right Real Estate Agent and some of the question to ask the Agent as well as the Do’s and Don’ts.

It's easy to find a real estate agent. Just put a for sale sign in the yard and wait for the phone to ring. The question is, how do you find a GOOD real estate agent? You can start with newspaper.

Pick up the Saturday or Sunday paper - whichever day they have all the homes for sale in your area. You can as well get a few real estate guides to look through. Surf the listings to find properties like yours. If you are selling a cabin, you may want to search for cabins for sale. If you are selling a lakefront mansion, search for those.

When you get a similar listing, take note of the names and numbers of the agents that are selling them. The reason for this is to find a real estate agent that has an understanding of your kind of property. An agent that has all the million dollar homes may not be the best agent to sell your mobile home, for instance, you want agents that have sold or are selling a number of properties similar to yours.

What To Ask A Real Estate Agent

1. When you call the agents - and it's best to call several - you want to verify that they do have experience selling properties like yours. Ask for examples.

2. Ask what they do to market a property. Any agent can place an ad and put your home in the multiple listings. Do they have current leads - people searching for properties like yours? Do they allow other agents know about your property?

3. Do they often show their listings? Several agents just list real estate for sale and allow others sell it for them. It's more viable for them, but not for you. If they are a good salesperson, you want them to be going through the house with potential buyers.

4. Do they do their own closings? Again, it may be better for them to delegate this part of the process, but it isn't better for you. You want the same person to be there through the whole process. You want one person to call. Things go wrong all the time in real estate, so don't complicate it further by having more people involved.

Most real estate agents will probably argue these points. That's okay, but be aware that there are other things they won't tell you too. For example, did you know that open houses are primarily a prospecting tool for real estate agents? Actually, new agents (not the listing agent) are regularly given the job of hosting your open house, so they can find buyers to work with. It isn't likely that they will sell your house in the process.

Also understand that when you see ads for homes for sale, and they don't have prices, it is a prospecting technique. When that buyer looking for a $100,000 home calls on your $300,000 home, the agent isn't going to make him able to afford your home. The whole point was to get him to call so he could sell him ANY home. Meanwhile, other potential buyers for your home skipped over the ad - there are enough homes WITH prices to look at (insist that ads for your property have the price listed).

Trust your intuition when choosing an agent. On the chance you don't feel relaxed with an agent; its likely potential buyers won't either. And ask the correct questions. You just don't just want to find a real estate agent you like. You want to find the right agent for your property.