How Do You Choose a Good Real Estate Agent?

This is an important question many people would like the answer to.

In my opinion, the actual person you are dealing is of paramount importance and can directly affect your result.

It’s quite possible to work with a well-known real estate brand that gives you confidence. But does the person you are dealing with have the experience, skill, innovative mindset, knowledge and, most importantly, do they care?

Care is a very important component in real estate. If the agent has everything else but does not care about you or your property, it’s a good idea to move on.

Ask yourself this question: Is the person I’m dealing with a specialist in the type of real estate I am selling? Is your type of property their core focus? That’s vitally important. For my own properties, I want an experienced specialist professional, and I’m happy to pay higher agency fees to that type of agency or person because they are simply worth it.

Many look for lower agency fees. That’s the wrong focus. Look for someone who has the skills to get you top dollar. The price you get for your property is far more important than the difference in agency fees. It’s very important that your property is given proper and reasonable marketing exposure. Very low-cost marketing budgets simply restrict exposure to all the right buyers. I sometimes get asked, ‘Do you know a cheap lawyer?’ I normally respond by saying that I do but he has cost his clients dearly. Honestly, would anyone ask their GP to do a heart operation rather than use a specialist?

Experienced agents often have an innovative approach which is a very important benefit. This can relate to the types of marketing used to sell the property; for example, whether to use the internet or not. Taking an innovative approach can also influence the sales method, i.e. private sale or auction.

An agent with an innovative mindset will better understand the best type of buyer and know how to appeal to them. An example of this is a development site. Developers prefer long settlements, terms or vendor terms. Understanding the best buyer and targeting the right marketing message will ensure interest from that buyer group.

Other aspects of an innovative approach relate to having the right edge or special benefit that a property has, and making sure that is emphasised in advertising and marketing messages. For example, for a property that is an old building on a large site, the marketing caption ‘Occupy or Develop’ appeals to both owner-occupiers and developers. On a property that is basically land value appeals to owner-occupier as a bargain. A caption could for this could be ‘Buy the land and get the building free!’ Compare the innovation and interest these captions create compared with ‘For Sale’.

Innovation can relate to highlighting crystal clearly to buyers what the major benefits are that they may not realise unless an experienced agent points them out clearly and publicly markets them that way. Innovative ideas mean better outcomes in every way.

Experienced specialist agents have the understanding to help a buyer through their problems in a solution-oriented way and secure a sale. Inexperience will lose potential sales.

The value of properties an agent sells often indicates their skill level and trust the market has in them. A vendor often feels more comfortable engaging an agent who has sold a $5 to $10 million property before, if that’s what the vendor’s properties likely sales range is.

Trust and honesty are great attributes of the right agent. A good test of this is if a vendor asks to meet a buyer in the agent’s presence and the agent has no objection, that’s an honest agent. Because if the message to buyer and seller has been the same, there should be no problem letting them meet.

A true picture of the actual market position that the property will be marketed in will help a vendor decide to sell at the right time. An experienced agent will know when the market is going up and can secure extra dollars. Likewise, an effective agent can recognise when the market is falling and save the vendor any further losses.

A true professional will know when the engagement or advice of other skilled professionals will enhance value. Examples of this could be private town planners, development consultants, valuers, lawyers, etc.

In summary, choosing an agent based on the lowest fees often leads to disappointment. Things to look for in a real estate agent include:

• Caring and honesty
• Being a specialist agent who does not charge low commission fees or offer very low-cost marketing budgets
• Applying innovation through the entire marketing and sales process
• Recognising when other experts or specialists can add value.