# What do you look for in a Real Estate Agent or Broker?



## Montrealer (Sep 13, 2010)

I am curious to know, for those of you who have purchase or sold properties in the past, what do you look for in a Real Estate Agent or Broker? What qualities, services and traits are most important to you when picking one to work with? Besides that, what is the biggest turn off when it comes to an Agent or Broker that you have dealt with in the past?


----------



## kcowan (Jul 1, 2010)

In 2009, selling in a province where I was not resident, I looked for ones that had a lot of listings in the area, then short-list based on actual sales. Of the top 3 that I interviewed, I picked the one that I liked best. Listed and sold in one week.

(Biggest turn-off was an agent that tried to talk me out of a stink bid. The final sale was 1.5% over the original offer when we were buying.)


----------



## mrcheap (Apr 4, 2009)

Wow, big question!  For those who aren't sure what a "stink bid" is (I wasn't, had to look it up), it's putting in an abnormally low offer and hoping that for some reason the seller is forced to take it. Like kcowan, I've had problems with putting in "stink bids" myself (even though I didn't know the term I tried to make them). I lucked out with it on my first purchase, but had trouble executing it since. Beyond trying to talk me out of them, I've had agents REFUSE to put in the offer. One delightful lady found out how much I wanted to offer, got me to sign an exclusive buyers agreement, THEN refused to put in the offer.

Back to the original question, I'd look for:
-knowledgeable about the region / specific area I want to buy in
-able to provide data about comparables in the format I want (I'm a data glutton, so usually I want EVERYTHING over the last 5 years)
-knowledgeable about possible issues with the property, point out potentially problems (you obviously shouldn't RELY on an agent for this, but if they provide it it's a nice bonus)
-not rushed (some agents brag that they'll only show clients up to 4 properties then drop them)
-responsive (you hear back from them quickly about properties and they arrange showings in a timely manner)
-doesn't try to play games with you (real estate agents are salespeople ultimately, and there's all sorts of sales tricks they may try - I don't like working with agents that pull this sort of thing on me).

Mike wrote a bunch of excellent posts on agents on Money Smarts (http://www.moneysmartsblog.com/why-you-cant-trust-real-estate-agents-when-buying-a-house/ is the first I believe).


----------



## marina628 (Dec 14, 2010)

I like to deal with agents who know the area and understands what a comparable property is .Don't compare a 60 year old tear down to a brand new house on same street..it happened to me


----------



## Plugging Along (Jan 3, 2011)

Our biggest things for a realtor were:
- Knowledge and experience (we had one realtor who was the president of the MLS the previous year)
- Ability to try and gain a true understanding of what were were looking for, instead of putting their views on what we really should want
- The one thing that sealed the deal for us, and we knew she was trustworthy, was after we had given her all our requirements and constraints (aka budget), when we asked to see something that was over our budget, she said no. She said unless we sat down and discussed what a more expensive mortgage would mean for us in terms of affordability. She saw no point in us spending more than what we were comfortable with, and said it was just jade everything we saw within our range.


----------



## augustabound (Apr 20, 2009)

I'll just give our experience in a nutshell.

My Mom's an agent, but not near where we originally bought or are now, so we just went through her to get her a referral fee.
Our first home she called their office in Newmarket and asked for someone who is not new to the office and not a "top producer". To a top producer you're just number 89 of 200 people that he or she may be representing or you may be pushed to one of the newer agents working under the top agent. Read between the lines when a top agent says his or her "team". 

We actually were lucky in that the agent she spoke to had just done the same as my Mom was doing for us. In the previous year he represented all 3 of his kids, one on Vancouver, one in Ottawa and another in Ontario somewhere. So he did as much to help us as he possibly could.

When it came time to sell that place he was no longer in our area so we found an agent that specialized in the old downtown of Newmarket. Between himself and his partner they were the experts on that area and he priced our home about $40k above what we originally thought we could get. It sold in 7 days for $3k under our asking price. Because he knows the area.

We have an agent in our new area who floods our mailboxes with his advertising. He flyers are full of the catch phrases like ;specialty knowledge, proprietary pricing, unique web presence and all that type of stuff to make you believe he has some magic potion to buy and sell homes. 

Above all else meet a few agents and go with your gut. You need someone you're comfortable doing business with. As mentioned above, make sure they're listening to you and your needs.
Speaking to an agent for the first time is a job interview for them.


----------



## Addy (Mar 12, 2010)

I'm always hesitant when the REA wants you to sign an exclusive buyers agreement right off the hop. I signed one and changed the date so it was only exclusive for three days, (we had 10 days to find a house) I figured if I wasn't happy after 3 days of showings I'd never be happy with her. She didn't like that but agreed. I would refuse to deal with any REA who insisted on signing a long term exclusivity agreement.


----------



## canadianbanks (Jun 5, 2009)

For me the most important things I'm looking for in an agent are:

1. Honesty - Tell facts as they are

2. Good knowledge of the local market you are looking to buy/sell in - To test the agent ask them to give you an estimate for a house value (house you would be interested in), and compare it to the sell price after it sells. The closer, the better, and to make sure it wasn't a fluke do it with a couple of houses.

3. Not pushy - I hate being pushed into a deal against my better judgment.

4. Not afraid to work hard for their commission


----------



## augustabound (Apr 20, 2009)

canadianbanks said:


> For me the most important things I'm looking for in an agent are:
> 
> 1. Honesty - Tell facts as they are


That reminded me of our agent when we sold our last place. We assumed we would have to update our upstairs bathroom, well, totally renovate it actually and finish the basement. I'm a contractor so the labour isn't a problem and the basement really only needed insulation and drywall (paint and trim of course too). 

When they walked our house they told us not to waste the money. The bathroom was bright and clean and since our home was almost 100 years old, people are generally nervous of what's behind the walls in an old home. Specifically first time buyers who expect a home that needs a bit of work.


----------

