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Location: Danbury CT covering all of Fairfield County
2,639 posts, read 7,440,885 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Todd M.
If you're working with a national firm to sell your house, you could ask your agent to call an office from his/her company down in TX and "interview" some agents for you. We do it all the time for people moving out of the area.
I completly agree. I am an agent for a truely global real estate firm and I do about the same thing wen I have to send my clients outside of the area. Typically, there are a few people responsible in the corporate offices that finds offices the area, talks to the manager, the manager gives them an agent and than the new agent talks to the current one selling your home and then the new guy calls you.
Definitely ask the locals here on city-data for referrals. IMO the realtors that are taking the time to email you probably aren't that good. Good realtors get all the referrals they need by word of mouth.
GEEZ Christina Thanks alot that isn't fair of you or very nice either there are realtors out there who havent been in the business long enough to have referal business !!! Do you realize that it takes approximately 5-7 yrs before an agent would be able to do that??? So does that mean because I am a new agent I must stink at it???
Local Realtors usually have a referral network to help you find another Realtor in a different location.
I usually look in my address book first. There are a number of wonderful Realtors, I have done referral business with all over the country and Canada. I look next to the Women's Council of Realtor directory. I prefer WCR members because their membership shows their dedication to education and professionalism (and leadership skills never hurt) After that I look at the Council of Residential Specialists (CRS's) and after that...well I have never gotten that far.
I place on average 3-5 referrals out of my area a month, and 1 or 2 in my metro area, but not within my area of specialty. I look for hard working, dedicated, intelligent Realtors who will treat my referrals like gold. Because a lot of my relocation folks are here for two to five years and poof...gone on to another great adventure.
Last edited by 2bindenver; 05-02-2007 at 09:27 AM..
Note however that a referral from a local agent generally involves the receipt of a referral fee by that local agent. Probably 25% of the buyers agent fee goes to the originating agent. In the case of referral services such as those provided by the Real Estate Companies the fee is routinely above 35%.
Why do you care? Many strong agents with good practices won't take the corporate referrals. They go to the hungry. Hungry is neither bad nor good...but it does not guarantee competence either.
If you do get referred by an agent you know enquire about how the new agent was selected.
GEEZ Christina Thanks alot that isn't fair of you or very nice either there are realtors out there who havent been in the business long enough to have referal business !!! Do you realize that it takes approximately 5-7 yrs before an agent would be able to do that??? So does that mean because I am a new agent I must stink at it???
lol I wouldn't use a doctor fresh out of med school, and I wouldn't get my hair cut by a newly licensed beautician. Nothing personal, just my preference. To me, it's too important of a decision, with complicated regs involved, to make with someone new to the field.
Having said that, the first house I bought was with a brand new realtor. We were the first house she ever closed on. I picked up the phone, called a local real estate company that had a logo I thought was cool, and said, "I'm a first time homebuyer! I need a realtor!" and I was randomly assigned to her. She was excellent. It was a complicated closing that got delayed due to issues with the property. She had a lot of support from whoever was in charge at her office, and she was very motivated to do a good job. I was younger then, and her enthusiasm was contagious and fun. Now I'm older, and I want references from people I trust.
How do you know if you have a Dr straight out of med school or not. Not all oldies are goodies. Some may even be behind times as they have not kept up with changing technology and drugs.
How do you know if you have a Dr straight out of med school or not. Not all oldies are goodies. Some may even be behind times as they have not kept up with changing technology and drugs.
So true! It was interesting that Christina had a great experience with the "brand new agent" that handled a complicated transaction, but now says she wouldn't go that route again.
What I have found is that people really need to interview their prospective agent and ask some tough questions to gauge the agent's level of expertise. As Christina mentioned, the professionalism of the entire office can also have an impact on the quality of service.
Sometimes you find that agents that have been in the business a long time are sometimes careless in their approach and have a tendency to "wing it", whereas a newer agent may be a little more cautious, work harder, and have her broker make sure she's got all the "i"'s dotted and "t"'s crossed. Sometimes long-timers have more of the "salesman" mentality vs a newer "consultant" type attitude.
Bottom line: There are excellent agents that have been in the business a long time, and they've learned the ropes through their experience and the "school of hard knocks". But there's also newer agents out there who are learning the business through education and mentoring and finding out the right answers. Sad to say, there's also bad agents out there. For them, it's just about making a sale and doing as little work as possible. They can be long-timers, part-timers, or new agents. It's all in the attitude.
Just to add to that a little I will talk about what I know Ga license law and such
In Ga every 4 years an agent is required 24 hr of continuing education
unless you were grandfathered in which I believe was 1983 or 85 then you don't
ok so here is the thing these old timers dont take CE classes
and the experienced agent are only required 6 hr a yr
Did you know that out of the last 4 yrs the GAR (Ga Assoc. of Realtors) forms have changed 4 times that means the contracts that these agents use EVERYDAY are not even near close to the ones they used 4 yrs ago.
I bet half of them can't even tell you what the changes are!!!
But I am a NEW agent I have just completed 75 hrs of prelicensing and 25 hrs of post licensing that is more classes than an average "experienced"agent is required to take in 24 years.
I Know what the new contracts say I am up to date on the licensing laws
and I have a background in business I was an area manager for Hasbro
I am an expert in customer service and attention to detail and have more knowledge on what is current than most experienced agents
Would I choose a new doctor who has state of the art training on the newest procedures over an old one who is blind in one eye can't see out of the other your dang skippy I would
Trust me you will know when you are working with an agent who has your best interest in mind whether they are new or experienced
And I hope that anyone can see that if I can vindicate myself with this much vigor , I would put this much into working for them too
Definitely ask the locals here on city-data for referrals. IMO the realtors that are taking the time to email you probably aren't that good. Good realtors get all the referrals they need by word of mouth.
I have to add my 2 cents on this also. I'm a lender and market my services through a variety of outlets, including blogs and online communities. I answer all of my phoine calls AND emails. It's called customer service!!
I also have found that much of the "expert advice" on city-data is bad advice. Much of it would cost a CPA, Realtor or mortgage broker his/her license if it had been given.
Everyone has an opinion, but few have sound advice...
If you're moving state, look for a website that posts independent realtor feedback. The fact that clients can post feedback should be an additional incentive for the realtors to provide good service, and they ought only take you on if they are suitable for you. Finding independent realtor testimonials online is the equivalent of asking for references locally.
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It's all in the attitude
