Why are consumers bad?
Well, melontherightcoast nailed it that sellers would hire more productive listing agents if they had to pay them by the hour. The real estate commission system pays agents for results. That gives consumers no motivation to get results, since the agent’s time is “free” until there is success. That, mel thinks, leads to hopeless listings that are there to “test the market.” Problem one: unmotivated sellers.
The next question was how can consumers avoid self-serving agents – the ones who get results at the expense of the consumer? The commission system rewards agents who treat ‘em and street ‘em -- in other words, push consumers into selling low or buying high. Problem two: self-serving agents.
I can help you with problem two. Consumers do themselves no favor by hiring the first agent who is “nice” at an open house. As Sam put it “…most people put more effort into finding a hairdresser or mechanic than they invest in finding their real estate agent.” That, dear readers, is why consumers are bad.
Now to make consumers better:
First, choose your agent based on recommendations. Ask friends and coworkers. If you are relocating or shy, try LinkedIn and Facebook
and Active Rain or Truila. (Active Rain and Trulia are real estate environments. I really like Trulia questions and answers.)
Second, ask for blind references. These are references where people will write directly to you. This is much more effective than getting a set of pre-written letters. Anyone -- and I mean anyone -- who has been in the business for two or three years can find two or three people who will say they were a great agent.
When you get to the blind reference, these are the questions I think you should ask. I list buyer questions, because that’s what I do. Seller questions would be similar.
1. Did the agent know about the town, the area, the market?
2. Was the agent attentive when you were together? Was the agent reasonably available?
3. Do you believe that the agent was working in your interests and not being influenced by other agents?
4. Do you believe that the agent helped you develop a plan and stick to it?
5. Did the agent provide useful information while house hunting?
6. Did the agent provide useful information during the Offer process? Did you get market data to inform your decisions? Did you feel well informed during negotiation?
7. Did you feel pushed into buying something too quickly? Did you think that the agent failed to work for your best deal in order to get the deal done?
8. What adjective would you use to describe this agent when house hunting? When negotiating? (P.S. I have been told that someone called me “fierce” as a negotiator. Blush!)
(You can also ask something like these during the interview in the form of “How do you” or “Will you” questions.)
I know there are more good questions out there. What are they?
