Buying your first home can be an incredibly exciting time. Even if it’s your second or third home, homebuying is still a huge milestone in anyone or any couple’s life.

But for first-time homebuyers, this time can also be a little scary – or a lot scary. You are making such a huge commitment with tons of risk involved.

Questions and doubts that can show up in your mind include:

• Will I (or we) find the right home?
• What if there are major problems with it that we don’t spot right away?
• Do we have enough money saved for the down payment?
• Will we be able to get a good mortgage?
• Is our credit good enough?
• What if we lose our jobs?
• Etc.

These are all normal questions to have when you’re going through the process of searching for and then buying your first home.

And because home-buying is such a huge commitment – personally, financially, and even legally – it’s best not to go it alone.

By alone we mean without a real estate agent helping you through the entire process. From early on when you start searching for your new home, to the day you finally get handed the keys – an agent will make sure all the steps go as smoothly as possible.

The problem is – how do you find the right agent? One who is not only good at what they do, but who you feel like you can trust and who you’ll be totally comfortable with the entire time.

The good thing is there’s no shortage of real estate agents no matter where you live. The tiny state of Rhode Island has over 5,000 agents. And even the wilderness state of Alaska has almost 2,000.

Are they all excellent at what they do? We don’t think so. Will everyone of them be a good fit for you? Definitely not. But there is surely plenty to choose from.

You’ll want to find one who’s not only good at what they do, but whose personality, strengths, availability, and even values are in line with what you need in an agent.

Before we get into all this, we’re going to briefly explain what a real estate agent does. Then we’ll talk about what skills and qualities you should look for in a real estate agent. And lastly, we’ll explain how you can go out and find the right one for you.

What Real Estate Agents Do

Generally speaking, real estate agents help people buy and sell homes. More specifically for you in finding and buying your first home – a real estate agent will act as your personal guide throughout the entire process.

To begin with, he or she will help you search for homes. Agents have access to the mls system which is the multiple listing service in each state. This system is the official database of all the homes for sale.

When you search online for a home you like and you click on a website like Zillow, the pictures and information you see come from the mls system.

Keep in mind that even though websites like this are connected to the mls system, Zillow is a big, impersonal website that can only extract basic information about properties.

This can be helpful for an initial look at houses. But, just know that the information you see is very limited.

A real estate agent, on the other hand, can dig into the mls listing on a particular property and find out a lot of important details Zillow doesn’t have access to.

Agents can also call up the listing agent directly and ask specific questions you have about that home.

When you find a home online that you’d like to go and see, there might be an open house available for you to walk through with other potential buyers. Open houses are usually scheduled for Saturdays – or both Saturdays and Sundays.

If there’s not one scheduled or you’d rather view the house another time, your real estate agent can set up a private showing at the property.

As you walk through the home, your agent will point out important features and issues about the house you might not spot as a layperson. Then if you decide to place an offer on the home, your agent will help you through this and every other stage in the process.

This includes researching everything they can about the property, communicating with the listing agent who represents the seller, and negotiating on your behalf.

As far as how many houses you’ll walk through before finding the one you want to place an offer on – this varies widely. You could find the perfect house after three showings or it could take ten, twenty or even more.

We’ll talk more about this in a coming blog post, but just know that it’s also common for homebuyers to have their offers get rejected a few times before winning out on one.

Real estate agents also recommend to their clients other professionals they’ll need in the homebuying process. This can include mortgage lenders, real estate lawyers, and home inspectors, as well as others.

They will let you know which ones are their favorites – the professionals they have worked with in the past and who they highly recommend.

The good thing is that the real estate industry is extremely regulated as far as these recommendations go. What we mean by this is it is blatantly illegal for any professional in this field to ever give or receive a kickback for sending customers their way.

Real estate agents also act like project managers of the homebuying process. He or she makes sure all the steps are moving along. They work closely with all the professionals involved and make sure to handle any problems that come up.

That was a general summary of what a real estate agent does in helping people purchase homes. As you can imagine, there are a ton of tasks the agent will do throughout the entire process.

But, their main duty is to look out for your best interest the whole way through.

So what are the qualities you should be looking out for in an agent?

First is professionalism. Does this agent look, speak and carry themselves in a competent, respectful manner?

Professionalism is one of those terms that means different things to different people. For you, part of professionalism might mean an agent who wears an expensive suit everyday.

To someone else, a buttoned up style in a real estate agent might not be a priority. Jeans and a polo shirt might convey professionalism just fine.

In either case, you want to look for someone who conveys an attention to detail. Because you want to have total confidence in that person – that he or she will be able to handle the tons of important details that will come up during the process.

How an agent dresses is just one aspect of professionalism. As you begin researching and speaking with prospective agents, you’ll be able to assess more of this professionalism (or lack of) in them.

Another important quality is integrity. Does this person appear trustworthy, for instance?

They’ll be handling your personal information. They’ll know about your finances. You’ll be confiding in them on the biggest purchase of your life. They’ll also be negotiating with others on your behalf. These are all things that require someone you can trust.

Two other qualities are knowledge of the housing market and expertise in the industry. Have they been in this industry for years? If not, do they still seem knowledgeable? What are their credentials?

You also want someone who knows the area you are searching in.

Communication skills are always important.

Another quality is compassion. Buying your first home is one of the biggest milestones you’ll achieve. You want an agent who understands this.

One who will help you through the ups and downs of the process – and not treat you as just one more client to make a sale from.

The last quality we’ll mention here is a positive mindset. Isn’t it great in any endeavor to work with someone who loves what they do; who is dedicated, and has an optimistic attitude?

As you can see, many of these qualities are not tangible. Compassion isn’t something you get a degree in, for example. But, we think you’ll be able to look for clues in the agents you talk to for the qualities that you believe are important.

Now to explain the six ways to find the right real estate agent for you.

5 WAYS TO FIND A REAL ESTATE AGENT TO HELP YOU FIND A HOME

1. The First Way is Through Old Fashioned Word of Mouth

Reach out to your personal network and ask them if anyone highly recommends an agent. This includes people like family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors.

You can also ask people you do business with. Even local business owners, politicians and people who you know are connected.

The important thing here is that the agent comes highly recommended. You definitely don’t want to use a real estate agent just because they are a friend of a friend, for instance. Or a cousin twice removed.

If people in your network rave about them, then sure. They could be a great fit for you.

Once someone gives you an agent’s name and contact information, you can look them up online and see what comes up. Check out their agency’s website and their social media accounts.

Then, you’ll want to talk to that person initially on the phone, through zoom, and even in person. Interview them by asking plenty of questions and by telling them what your basic plan is in finding and purchasing a house.

Some agents have an hour-long initial meeting with prospective clients. During it they go over things like information about themselves and their agency, your wants and needs, and what the steps will be in the homebuying process.

Other agents take a more casual approach and feel like a meeting over coffee at Starbucks will be a good way to see if you’re both a good fit.

Either way, these are perfect times to interview them at the same time they are pitching themselves to you.

You’ll most likely be asked to sign a contract at either type of meeting. But, just know that if you don’t feel right about an agent, you don’t have to sign that contract and you don’t have to work with him or her.

Make sure to go through the contact extensively, even at home later that day, before you sign it. If you don’t like the terms, then you can either go back and try and negotiate with the agent or decide not to use him or her.

As far as how agents get paid, usually a buyer never pays the real estate agent. It’s generally the seller who pays both their agent and the buyer’s agent.

2. Look for Local Real Estate Agents Who Are Known in the Community

If you’re looking to purchase a new home in the same general area where you currently live, you might have seen some familiar agents’ faces around town for years.

You might have driven by ‘for sale’ signs on front lawns with their faces on them tons of times. They might be someone whose office is right downtown and who you’ve seen in the paper through the years volunteering at events.

Someone like this might be a good fit for you. Even though you might already feel like you know them, it’s still best to interview them along with at least two other potential agents. It’s best to interview at least three people – unless you really hit it off with someone right away.

3. Research Local Real Estate Offices – Online and In Person

Do a Google search of real estate offices in the area you’ll be purchasing a home in.

Check out their websites and look at their ‘about us’ pages. Read their bios to see what their experience and competencies are. Read through reviews on their website, as well as their list of current and past homes they’ve helped to sell.

Aside from the modern online research we’re all used to doing these days, you can also walk right into a real estate brokerage and ask in person about available agents. Let them know you’re currently interviewing several.

The brokers will most likely be able to recommend to you who they think will be a good fit for your needs.

4. Find Real Estate Agents on Social Media

Facebook, Instagram, and Linkedin are good social media sites to look for real estate agents.

See who comes up when you search ‘local real estate agents’ on these platforms. Then check out their pages:

• Do their pictures and posts look impressive and show qualities you are looking for in an agent?
• Does it look like they have plenty of happy past clients?
• Do they help out in the community?
• Are there profiles active or do they look more like they’re collecting virtual dust?
• Do they specialize in an area of real estate that could be helpful to you?

You can even go a step further and do a little stalking. Check out their personal pages if they are public to find out more about the agent that could help you decide if they are a good fit for you.

5. Ask People in Similar Industries for Recommendations

If you are already working with a lender on getting approved for a mortgage, he or she might have some good recommendations for real estate agents.

If you’re planning on buying a home that has just been built, stop by a construction site in the area and ask the home builder what agent he works with.

The contractor who installed windows in your parent’s home last year; a landscaper; even a junk removal company might all be good resources to get names of agents you can interview.

Now that you have an idea of how to find an agent, here are 3 important points to keep in mind:

1. Make sure you interview any agents that gets sent your way.

When you find a home you like on Zillow, you might be curious enough to click on the huge button that says, ‘tour this home’. At that point, Zillow is going to connect you with an agent who will be hoping to get your business.

But keep in mind that Zillow and other websites like this get a fee from real estate agents for referring clients to them this way. The thing is – Zillow isn’t vetting these agents thoroughly.

Sure, you might really like the first agent who calls you to help you see a particular home. But, you still don’t want to commit to this agent right off the bat.

Get to know that agent even if it’s just over the phone. Keep asking them questions to figure out if they’ll be a good fit for you. Then dig deeper and look up their websites and online presence.

2. Ask agents you are interviewing for the names and contact information of a few past clients.

Then call them up and ask if they can tell you how their home buying experience went with that agent.

Even though an agent might have reviews online, there might be only a few. And there’s nothing like talking to a real person and getting their feedback.

The other thing is that some real estate offices and agents are great at getting reviews from past clients and some aren’t.

In fact, in our office asking past clients to write reviews is admittedly not our strong point. So, we don’t have a ton of reviews online. Yet, we have a ton of very happy past clients.

3. Check the agent’s availability.

Buying a home can take a lot of time. You want to make sure the agent will be available around your schedule.

For instance, if weekends are the only times you can see properties – ask the agent if they are available Saturdays and Sundays. Most agents are. But, it’s still a good idea to ask what their work times are.

If you can only see homes at night, but an agent is only available until 6:00 weeknights, that might not work out.

Real estate agents in general are really dedicated to their clients and make themselves available at all times. But, agents are people too and some have family and other commitments that are priorities.

Also ask if the agent works with a team. This might mean there will always be someone available to accommodate you, even when the agent can’t be there.

4. When all is said and done – go with your gut.

An agent you interviewed might have looked great on paper. They might have an impressive list of past clients; they’re well polished; and your conversation with them went fine.

But in the end, if you just don’t feel like they’ll be a good fit for you – even if you can’t pinpoint why – then don’t use them. They’re just not the agent for you.

One last note. You might be wondering why some agents have the word ‘Realtor’ after their name and others don’t.

All real estate agents are ‘agents’, but not all real estate agents are Realtors. An agent is a Realtor if they are part of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

This is an organization around the country made up of thousands of brokers, agents, and people in the real estate industry. It’s a powerful organization that has been around since 1908.

When an agent becomes a member of NAR, they pledge to abide by the association’s standards and code of ethics.

One note on this, though. We have worked with a few Realtors in the past who we would never recommend to someone who is looking for an agent. They were unreliable at times and even difficult to work with.

So keep this in mind that an agent with the designation of Realtor doesn’t guarantee that they are someone who will meet your own standards.

We hope you feel confident now in finding the right real estate agent for you. Although this is a long list of suggestions, the process doesn’t have to take a long time.

Agents are usually happy to talk to you, even if you are just at the stage of interviewing the right one.

You don’t need to drag this process out for weeks. You want to find the perfect agent and then start getting to the fun part – finding your dream home!

Enjoy!

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Stay tuned for more articles that will educate you on all the ins and outs of homebuying.

If you’d like to ask me any questions, email me anytime at:  paula@michaelandsullivan.com.

Or call:  774-287-5852.