Buying and selling homes is one of the most stressful and complicated things that a person can go through in their lifetime. Which means that choosing the right real estate agent is an absolutely essential part of the process. The right real estate agent can move your house quickly or at the very least show you signs of progress. While it may be easy to see when you have a good real estate agent, it may not be so immediately clear when you are working with an underqualified agent.
Here are some red flags and signs that you may need to ditch the current agent you have and find one cut from a better cloth.
- Lack of Confidence
When entering any real estate agency with an intent to hire, you should have a predetermined list of interview questions in hand to ask the agents. You will want to know for certain that the individual you hire is a top performer with a proven track record that can guarantee you will get what you want from the buying or selling process. If they start looking nervous or uncertain of how to answer any of the questions you have, you should be suspicious of their credibility.
If the realtor is new and visibly uncomfortable, you may feel inclined to hire them anyways out of pity. This is something that should be avoided at all costs! Buying and selling a home is not something you want to hand off to the inexperienced.
- Cracks during Negotiation
A good way to test an agent’s ability to negotiate is right at the beginning of the hiring process. If you are able to demand a lower rate from them right off the bat, you may have been playing into their hand to get your business, or you might be dealing with someone who is easily won over. If they gave in without too much of a fight, there is a pretty solid chance that they will do the same when negotiating prices with potential buyers. Especially when it comes to negotiating home inspection repairs and solutions, you want someone fiercely speaking out for you, not cowering and getting shut down.
- Poor Communication Skills
Don’t forget that, at the end of the day, your real estate agent is working for you. It means that they have an obligation to keep you in the loop throughout the buying or selling process. Does that mean that they have to tell you about each tedious and monotonous step? No, however, it doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be kept in frequent contact as to any progress made. A clear lack of communication between you and your realtor is indicative of inexperience or incompetence. Should you be alerted to the feedback provided from attendees of your most recent open house? Absolutely! Any agent worth their salt will know what need-to-know information is and what can be held back.
- Failure to Utilize Available Resources
There are many resources and technologies available to real estate agents when buying or selling homes, and an experienced agent will utilize them all. Consider the lack of a website or social media presence a glaring red flag. A smart real estate agent will not only have an IDX website (to stay current with all traffic in and out) and strong social media activity (across many channels), they will also use a real estate CRM to manage all properties, clients and prospects.
With all the tools available in the 21st century, why not maximize them to your benefit? If your real estate agent is showing any signs of the above, you may want to take a second look at the agency itself and see if your money would be best placed elsewhere.
I echo the thoughts expressed by Denny Schrock & many of the comments by Kevin G. Like Denny I am with Keller Williams Realty & the training & mentoring are incredibly helpful to new agents as well as to seasoned veterans who focus on staying up to date. There’s no question that being on a Team, or at the very least having a mentor, is far more important than “years in the business”. When I began I was fortunate to have a fabulous mentor. I sold 6 properties (11 sides) my first week (April 1967) & with the invaluable guidance of my mentor learned more that first year than many do in 5 years. I salute all the newcomers—some of you will be tomorrow’s shining examples & your clients will benefit even now by your enthusiasm as long as you back it with help & guidance from a seasoned veteran in your office.
I’m reading all the responses and Kevin has summed it up great. Not one size fits. Real estate is dynamic and forefastened that reason pick someone you can work with, period. New agents advertising a team. That team is the agency they are a part of and seasoned agents are the ones using that young talent. How often do you think your are actually working directly with that seasoned agent. Hence all these “ABC” teams.
In addition, I came from aerospace damn near 2 decades ago and I negotiated multi-million proposals with the airforce. I ran the business for the chief engineerst, colonels, And V.P. of the company and I can tell you, no issues in negotiations.
It surprises me though on agents that have never sold anything and that’s where the team concept is important. So interview the agent and know the power of the team behind the agent.
I buy and sell for myselfnow and I am very selective so I interview clients as well.
And agents sometimes it’s OK to say no.
i was cheated money by a female real estate in Hong kong becasue of her misleading comments to sell my flat below market price and she resold my flat within one month to another one at hight price of >30%!!! I was also cheated by a female friend who is in insurance and cheated me in filling up the form by herself resulted in me buying investment fund reasulted in lost of money >100K!!!! DONT BELIEVE BROKER OR AGENT WHATEVER IN PARTICULAR THE WOMEN GREEDY FOX THEY NOT ONLY CHEATED MONEY FROM MEN BUT ALSO FROM GAY MEN EVEN GAY IS A GUY!
I am a Keller Williams agent! We aren’t just new agents thrown into the world of Real Estate and told go sell some houses! We are better than educated in the art of the realty world, we are trained! We spend our first year learning in classes that teach us customer service from the listing of the home to the negotiation tactics to get the home sale closed. We are trained to know specifically what our fiduciary duties to our clients are. We are taught to under promise and over deliver on every transaction no matter how big or how small the transaction may be. The best client experience is the most important thing that all realtors have to understand. We as an office or company work with experienced agents and new agents alike! The thing is, we are all one large family, holding each other up and always here for one another! There is room for all agents that are willing to work hard. The one thing that has to be understood by all agents, is that the only foolish question is the one not asked. Every transaction is unique and if you don’t know, you can find out!
And we wonder why Open Door is sweeping the country with “We make it Easy” to sell your home. The 12% to 18% they charge you is expensive. My team takes the trouble out of selling your home.
Kevin J — I was about to write exactly what you said. Great point. What a horrible day when all the tenured Agents finally die off and we’re left with Agents who have never closed a transaction. And Bill, what’s that line about communicating the results of an open house to the seller? It was my understanding that open houses are a waste of time….I’m totally picking at you now.
Open house is not always a waste of time. I have sold many homes as a result of open house.
I have added new clients with every open house. I always wonder how the saying that open houses are a waste of time. It really depends on the sales ability of the agent. It is very important how you respond to people coming to look. But gaining their trust and giving them the feeling they are not being hustled is a good start.
That about sums it up!
Bill, you have at times hit the nail right on center, then other times you get emotional with your statements, articles.
OK, lets take point one, if every seller and buyer takes your advice and selected only tenure Real Estate agents, we would have a selective aging pool of them with no opportunities for the new and just getting there feet wet Realtors/agents. As we have all been put thru on interviews in our life, “What experience do you have”. So yes there’re new and first level Realtors. Most of them come from corporate occupations with many years and exceptional job skills. Knowledge of computers, skilled in negotiations and above all a respect for others and a trained ear to listen to there client. Where did this all come from? Glad you asked. From dealing with years of reviews, adjusting lifestyles to meet deadlines and multitasking with work, family and a life.
So, Bill. As in any field and any career, there are those who will succeed, and those who will look for short cuts. Multi-social-media, face-book, an all the other numerous social high-low tech way to advertise, solicit or just to put your name out there. Is just another tool.
I’v found that honesty and respect works above all the other new, updated glossy, help information that experts prescribed to us.
Just my 2 cents.
Keep up the good work!
Thank you Kevin, this sums up my thoughts exactly. I am a new agent, with just a few closings but I have an extensive background in customer service and negotiations. Just because you’re new at something doesn’t mean you’re ineffective. Sure, there are some out there that will take any client just to get a client but not all of us. Thank you again Kevin for standing up for us Newbies!!!
Ditto as per Catherine Ross.
I have seen many dissatisfied clients over the past 2 years, with the main reason being poor service from so-called experienced agents, most of who have 12+ years in the industry. I have benefited from these situations as I simply overshadowed them in every sense and was able to secure a sole mandate in 90% cases. For most of these experienced agents it was a case of sticking up their boards and praying / hoping for the best – very little or no feedback to the clients, poor knowledge of the market trends, overpricing, poor advertising and almost no marketing plan! So guess what – I had to fight my backside off to restore the trust in agents and agencies. Again, to my benefit as the experience was most valuable.
Thankfully I am also from a corporate background with 20+ years extensive experience in client service, systems, mentoring and training to name a few. This variety of skills make me a tough competitor, and I am not going anywhere. Thank you for the article, Kevin.
Agreed
I see so much concern recently from “seasoned” realtors who are overly worried “new” realtors. While many of your points are good, and while the concern has a lot of merit, some of these things are misleading. For instance, your suggested questions are leading in that they are designed to make you, or others with years in the industry, look like you are a better choice simply because you have more time in the industry. Sadly, what many who’ve spent most of their career in real estate don’t realize is that it isn’t all that different from any other sales/negotiations job. I have decades of experience, but not all in real estate. Just 6 months into my real estate career, I realized I knew the contract better than most “seasoned” realtors, and I worked harder. Because of that, I was a much better negotiator and “won” a lot of deals. The real estate market has changed drastically in the last few years and those Realtors who are still trying to operate the “old way” may find themselves blindsided.
The “statistics” questions are also somewhat meaningless, although I’ve seen many Realtors convincing people they need to ask them. Number of homes sold is a meaningless number unless you talk about the tipping point where a Realtor needs to start handing off business to continue to handle the new volume. It is possible that some people want to deal directly with the Realtor they thought they were hiring and in that case, the best choice for them isn’t a quantity based Realtor. Additionally, days to contract and ratio between listing price and selling price can completely be manipulated (and definitely is being manipulated here in my area) to make a Realtor look really good but in reality, they are simply playing the numbers to improve their own stats, sometimes at the expense of their client.
Lastly, you talk about technology. Technology can be great but the smartest Realtors know what actually makes a difference and what doesn’t. To suggest that the best Realtors are the ones who use “everything” is misleading and untrue. In fact, that kind of “big net” Realtor is not likely as smart nor as hard working as the “fishing pole” type who knows exactly where to go to find the best buyers (or houses). Putting everything on autopilot is impersonal and can be a sign of someone who doesn’t want to do much work or someone who doesn’t understand what works. It certainly doesn’t distinguish a good realtor from a bad one.