4 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Real Estate Agent

Buying a home is one of the most life-changing and expensive experiences you'll ever have. Make sure you have the right real estate professional to help you.

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4 Questions to Ask When Choosing a Real Estate Agent

Posted by Gary Ashton on Wednesday, August 29th, 2018 at 10:40am.

How to Find a Good Real Estate Agent When it comes to finding the right real estate agent, home buyers should treat it like they do when they need to find a qualified professional that will be handling any other important aspect of their life.

Many people rely on their gut instincts or simply hire the first real estate professional they meet. However, asking the right questions can help you narrow down your options and lead to a better experience.

1. How much experience do you have?

For most people, purchasing a home is the largest financial commitment they will make for their entire lives. Surprisingly few, however, delve into the length and type of experience a real estate agent brings to the table with them.

While there is no single length of time that is optimal, the agent you choose should have enough sales completed to provide them with some knowledge of the area. Don't forget to ask candidates about any listings they've worked with recently.

2. What types of properties do you specialize in?

You'll want to find an agent who knows the area where you want to live well. Regulations and codes can vary widely between cities, towns and rural areas. Knowledge of these is vital when it comes to matching you with the right property. Regulations on Brentwood homes for sale could be completely different from regulations on Gallatin listings.

Pay attention, too, to the way that a real estate professional brands him or herself on social media. You can glean a great deal of information via this method and weed out those that focus only on houses when you want to purchase a condo, for example. 

3. Which methods of communication do you use?

In some cases, timing makes all the difference between being able to have your offer accepted, contingent on a few conditions and having someone else who is more readily available scoop it up. Today, a real estate agent needs to communicate with you quickly via the method that works best for you.

While a phone call or text might work well if you are at home a lot, others may prefer an email if they work in an office environment. Some have found that video calling is a good option if their connection is generally strong.

4. Do you have references that I can contact?

While interviewing real estate agents that you might want to use is one step in the process, contacting their references provides you with another angle from which to gather information. Ask each real estate professional you meet if he or she maintains a list of references that you can contact.

Be sure to spend some time talking to these past clients in order to gain insight on the relationship that the real estate agent fosters. Another thing to ask is what percentage of the real estate agent's business is due to repeat business or referrals.

Finding an Agent at the Ashton Real Estate Group

Realty is a popular business to be involved in, and we've seen a lot of companies come and go over the years. At the Ashton Real Estate Group we know that we provide our customers with exceptional service, but a lot goes into making all that realty "magic" happen.

The first key to our success is that you won't find us sitting around at our desks looking for customers—we're always out there working with our clients. A lot of the work we do with our clients involves running an open house, because we know it can have the biggest impact on selling any property. It gives us an opportunity to meet you in person and showcase what we do.

Our local knowledge of Nashville is second to none so you can rely on us for expert advice on neighborhoods for your family to settle down in. Each member of our team lives in Nashville, and many of us were born here. So not only do we care about our city, but we take a lot of pride in making sure that new residents are made to feel welcome and get the best possible home for their budget.

As you can see, we understand having an active and professional web presence is extremely important, and we put a lot of time and effort into maintaining our website and keeping it updated as frequently as possible.

Lastly, and most importantly in our eyes, is the fact that real estate is our full time job—we don't just do this at weekends. That's why we're one of the leading realty companies in Nashville—we take what we do very seriously.

When interviewing real estate professionals, don't rely on your memory. Take some time to jot down the answers to your questions and make notes during your chats with their references. These interviews don't have to take a long time but the benefits you reap can be huge in terms of being able to find the right home in a timely manner.

 

Gary Ashton

The Ashton Real Estate Group of RE/MAX Advantage

The #1 RE/MAX team in the World!

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