How To Find A Realtor

Now that Jared and I have gone through the home buying process I wanted to share some tips and tricks I learned and first up is how to find a realtor.

How To Find A Realtor

When we first decided we were going to embark on the home buying journey we started small and began browsing houses online. Eventually, we found a few we wanted to see in person. Jared submitted a request online and we showed up to the house and there was a realtor there. We looked at the house and left and I told Jared, “I think we have a realtor.” We looked at a few more houses with this lady and her assistant, who also happened to be her husband.

They were great, but I felt like I wanted to get a second opinion and see how another realtor worked. This is where things got tricky. We met the other realtor for dinner and discussed our price point, style, area, etc. She was super great and I loved her, but now we had to choose. I felt like I was in a love triangle and felt like I was wasting someone’s time.

We decided to look at a few houses with the second realtor we went to dinner with and went another round with the other team. I had the hardest time making up my mind because I just felt so bad. They both had pros and cons, but there was one small thing that happened that immediately helped me make the decision.

We went into one house that we LOVED, we actually ended up putting an offer in on this house. So I learned it was very common for realtors to leave their business cards at the home. I’m assuming it’s some kind of networking thing. Anyways, in the house we loved, I noticed the first realtors business card in the pile. This was very strange to me, this was in a perfect location, in our price point, definitely our style, it had been on the market for 60 days so why didn’t she show this house to us?

That was the turning point to me, we looked at maybe 10-12 houses with this team none of which we loved and the second realtor showed us maybe 4-5 all of which felt like us. Although, newer in the realtor industry she took the time to understand our style and what we were looking for. She chose to show us fewer houses that had potential rather than showing us a ton of houses and hoping one works.

Key Qualities To Look For In A Realtor

Personal Connection

Make sure you like being around this person because you are going to be spending a lot of time with them. You also want to make sure you feel comfortable voicing your opinion.

Understands Your Price Point

Make sure they understand your budget and do not go over it. Another red flag for realtor 1 was they showed us a ton of houses at the very top of our budget or barely over “assuming they’ll negotiate down”. With it being our first home we didn’t feel comfortable maxing out our budget.

Understands Your Style

Looking at houses is exhausting and can be confusing because at some point they all run together. After a few, your realtor should really be able to grab hold onto wants important to you and what style you like. For us, we wanted something new-ish with craftsmanship and big closets.

Willingness To Help

You are the client, so ultimately the realtor should be doing everything they can to accommodate and work for you. The realtor we went with was so accommodating with our busy schedules and working late hours to get offers in.

This is such a fun time and you want someone who will be on your side and willing to go the extra mile.

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