Buying A Home
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
How to choose a realtor
Hello! My DH and I are getting ready to start the search for our first home relatively soon. We've been looking online at houses for about 8 months now and pretty much know what we want. We will be getting the pre-approval from the bank within the next month.
My question is how do we choose a realtor? How did you choose one? What are some things to look for when choosing one?
Since this is all new to us, I'll probably be over on this board more often now.
TIA!
Re: How to choose a realtor
Word of mouth is best in these situations. Ask any friends/family who have recently purchased.
We used FH's aunt but we also had my best friends boss (he is new in the industry so we chose not to use him), my sister had an agent recently when they purchased, and my other best friend's agent when she recently purchased.
Make sure and ask them to be honest about what they did/didn't like about them. That way you know what you're up against. Also, it really does help if you just "click" with the person.
Hope that helps!
I had a bad experience with finding a realtor through a friends recommendation. She turned out to be Terrible and we didn't dump her because we didn't want to cause any hard feeling. It was a huge mistake on our part.
With the internet, realtors are less about finding you a house and more about negotiations and drafting documents. When screening recommended agents, look for any signs they are good or bad at these issues.
If they have typos in their listings, don't use them. Sloppy work is a hassle to correct and a waste of your time. It can also be very expensive if not caught in time.
If you tell them what you want and they try to steer you elsewhere or don't listen to you, don't use them. If they can't even represent your interests when you are in the room, what are the chances they'll do a good job when negotiating for you when you aren't there? They get a commission off the sale. If they are upselling you now, what are the chances they'll help you get a low price later?
Good things: You say you want A. They tell you who has A and how you can get them to agree to your terms.
Good luck!
The key to choosing your Realtor is to interview several candidates before making a decision. Definitely ask your friends and family for referrals, but beyond that, you'll want to find Realtors who are experts in the exact neighborhood where you want to buy.
Set up appointments with each prospective Realtor, and ask them lots of questions about their background, their knowledge of the area, and about how they will negotiate on your behalf. You'll want to share the pre-approval information with them, and discuss exactly how much house you are looking for, and details about floorplans, streets, etc. that you have narrowed down.
Based on your conversations, go with your gut. You'll know who you had the best connection with and who really understood what you are looking for. Good luck!