|
Where to Find Agents
Finding a competent agent should be high on your list to begin the
homebuying process. But, where can you find candidates? I've divided
sources into three categories: Least reliable, moderately reliable, and
very reliable. Here are the least reliable sources.
-- Calling on property
advertising (in the newspaper or homes magazines, television
advertising, or real estate signs on properties)
-- Walking into a real estate office
-- Attending public open houses
-- Surfing the
Internet
You won't think of
these sources as sources of agents. You'll think of them as sources for
properties. But, as I've stressed, buyers typically search for
properties and get an agent by default. I'll discuss these property
searches in the context of finding an agent. Why do I consider these
sources less reliable than others? Because most buyers who find agents
via these sources don't take the time to qualify the agent when they run
into them while looking for properties. In this section, I'll tell you
what to watch out for, and give you some quick qualifiers to sort the
wheat from the chaff.
Here are my moderately
reliable sources:
-- Calling the real estate office manager
-- Being referred through an affinity group
Why? Because, at least,
you are not confusing searching for properties with searching for
agents. You will tend to pay more attention to the agent you're given,
especially armed with my candidate qualifying questions.
My best sources are:
-- Getting a personal referral-a friend or relative
-- Having personal experience-your having worked with the agent before
These sources allow you
to investigate how the agent works. Remember, we behave in the future as
we behaved in the past. With these Sources, you don't have to rely on
sales promises, just on observed and remembered behavior.
|
