Need a Realtor? Ask Your Friends

Few things in business are be more fraught with emotion than the home buying process. After all, a big part of finding a home is finding a connection to a place. It’s also the biggest purchase most people will make, and anxiety about choosing well is common. For many consumers, finding the right person to help you buy or sell a home is a crucial part of the buying and selling process. As a buyer, you will be spending a lot of time with a MetroTex Realtor throughout the process and that agent will be helping you through arguably one of the biggest decisions of your life. How could anyone possibly find the right one?

The first place to start is to ask your friends and family. According to the National Association of Realtors latest Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, potential buyers should talk to friends and family to get their agent suggestions. In fact, 40 percent of buyers found their agent through a referral of a friend, family member, or neighbor (while another 12 percent used an agent they had worked with before). On the seller side, 38 percent found their agent through referrals and 22 percent went with an agent they had previously used.

When you first talk to the MetroTex Realtor that’s been recommended to you, ask them how many referrals they typically get. Typically, an agent that does a significant part of his or her business from referrals produces a higher level of client satisfaction than agents that don’t get a lot of referrals. You’ll want an agent that takes the time to listen to your needs and who asks you a lot of questions to get to know you better. It’s also ok to ask the MetroTex Realtor if they’ve had any special training for working with buyers or sellers in your particular situation. There are certifications Realtors can earn to help them better understand the needs of a variety of consumers, such as Veterans, senior buyers, or first time buyers for instance.

Finally, it’s a good idea to ask an agent for referrals for related businesses. MetroTex Realtors have a good sense of lenders, inspectors and title companies that really go above and beyond for their clients.