The home buying or selling process is one filled with many emotions. There’s excitement and anticipation for the future, stress caused by the many steps you need to take, and sadness and nostalgia about leaving your current home.
With all these emotions at play, it’s important to have a steady guiding hand keeping you on course. This is where real estate agents come in. They’re the practical and pragmatic voice that reminds you of your initial intentions and goals when you forget about them during the ups and downs of the house hunt. They also take care of the marketing when selling a home, help you find a new home and do many other tasks, big and small.
But while the steady hand of a real estate agent is needed, not just any steady hand will do. Rather than just finding a real estate agent, it’s important to find the right one. Where it gets complicated is that every person will have different criteria for what makes a good real estate agent for them. But putting in the work to find your perfect real estate agent will have huge benefits throughout the buying or selling process and beyond. Let’s look at why it’s so important to find the right agent.
Understanding of the Local Market
There are different levels of real estate markets. You can take a broad view and look at what’s happening in the global market or pay attention to what’s happening in your country, state, region or city. When buying and selling a house, you want to focus most on the local market, and that’s were finding a real estate agent with deep knowledge of your city or town’s market is beneficial.
Local markets are nuanced and are affected by home prices, school ratings, neighbourhoods, resale potential and more. When looking at houses for sale in Whitby Ontario, you want to work with an agent who knows Whitby and the different neighbourhoods so they can help you find the right home or better understand how to market your home.
Complementary Personalities
You’re going to be spending a lot of time with your real estate agent and they will be helping you with one of the biggest purchases a person makes in life. Doing all that while clashing with their personality isn’t going to be helpful. Every agent will have a different personality. Some may have more of a take charge personality, while others wait for you to lead.
They all have different values and styles, and these will impact how they find homes, strike deals and treat their clients. Finding an agent, you can work comfortably with and trust to act on your behalf during negotiations is essential.
Communication is Key
While all agents have different styles, every agent should have strong communication skills. The last thing you want when buying or selling a home is a misunderstanding, so someone who takes the time to explain things without being condescending is key.
Follow these tips to find not just any real estate agent, but one you will feel comfortable and confident in during this important moment in your life.