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6 Questions to Ask a Buyer's Agent

On the hunt for a home? Find a great buyer's agent.

There are a lot of great real estate agents out there. But just because someone is a great agent doesn't mean they're the right agent for you. You need someone skilled, experienced and, above all, dedicated to helping you find your dream home. These are the questions you need to ask to find a great buyer's agent.

Are you fully licensed?
You don't want to work with someone for whom real estate is a part-time job or a hobby. You want an agent who is dedicated to the job and has had years of experience. Ask if the agent is fully licensed. If the answer is, "yes," ask how long they have had their real estate license.
What is your experience in the neighborhoods I'm interested in?
Markets change from day to day, and from one neighborhood to the next. If you know where you want to live, it's important to find a real estate agent who has a solid understanding of the real estate market in the neighborhood you're interested in. That includes the ability to track real estate trends in that neighborhood over a long period of time.
What can you tell me about your negotiation style?
The ability to negotiate is one of the biggest things home buyers look for in a real estate agent. But negotiating skills aren't always something that every agent has. Ask about negotiation courses they have taken, and tough deals they have had to go through. The ability to negotiate is crucial to you getting the best price on your home.
How many homes have you bought or sold in the last year?
This is one of those questions that doesn't really have a right or wrong answer. But the answer could still tell you a lot, and you may get a gut feeling about an agent based on how they answer this question. If they give you a large number, that might mean that they're good at buying and selling houses, but it could also indicate that they have a lot of clients, so you might not get the level of attention you deserve. On the other hand, if they answer with a lower number, it doesn't necessarily mean they aren't good at their job; it could simply mean that they dedicate all their resources to relatively few clients.
Can I talk to some of your former clients?
Hopefully, before you meet with a real estate agent in person, you will already have read some online reviews and gotten a sense of how the agent's former clients feel about the service they received. Even so, talking to those clients in person can be very illuminating. Plus, the way the agent answers this question can tell you a lot. Pay close attention to how willing they are to refer you to old clients.
Do you have experience with clients like me?
There may be no more important question to ask an agent. It's essential that you work with someone who not only has a lot of experience but who has a lot of experience in situations like yours. Have they sold a lot of homes in your price range? If you are a first-time homebuyer, do they have a lot of experience with helping people buy their first home?

Having a great buyer's agent on your side is one of the best ways to make the process of finding your dream home much easier. There are a lot of great agents out there, and finding the right one comes down to asking the right questions.

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6 Questions to Ask a Buyer's Agent

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