What Skills Should a Good Buyer Agent Have?

Despite my success in listing and selling homes, because I have been in real estate sales full-time for less than 5 years I find myself working a lot with buyers....especially first-time buyers.

I can't stress enough  how critical it is to find a good buyer agent.  One with whom you can build a life-long relationship founded on trust and good advice.

Here are a couple things to consider when deciding on your sales representative to help you in that momentous and exciting purchase.

1. An effective communicator:
One of the top complaints from buyers is a non-responsive agent, and deservedly so. Real estate is a people business. When it comes to winning deals, a buyer’s agent needs excellent communication skills and responsiveness with all parties involved. To save yourself headaches and frustration, find an agent who really speaks to you from the get-go. This is not just about speaking the same language. It means an agent who adapts to your communication style. Whatever you preferred method of communication, be it a phone call, text message, email, video chat and what not, your Realtor should be able to respond with a timely message, ideally within hours if not minutes.

2. On top of the market trend and local data:
The real estate market is in flux and is highly localized. The agent who is plugged-in can help you access the latest data and make the best decision. At the introductory meeting, ask the prospective agent a few questions about trends in the local market. Have the agent explain the rationale behind each trend, like school ratings, employment levels, mortgage rates, or home prices. If he or she appears to know less than you, move on.

3. Tuned into your needs and timelines:
Many buyers avoid getting an agent because they don’t want to be pushed to buy anything. Certainly, nobody should be pushed into anything. A good agent should advise and guide you.  He should take the time to understand your needs and match you with a suitable property within your budget.
This relationship is a two-way street. The buyer should do their part to be honest and communicate your needs and timelines. Don’t try to draw attention from agents by boasting that you are ready to buy now or want something much higher than your budget. You will end up with what you’ve asked for — a pushy salesperson.

If you merely want to monitor the market and are not yet ready to buy, tell your agent so your agent won’t rush you. In a hot market, good property can come and go within days, so you need to tell your agent when you’re ready to act decisively.

4. Organized and attentive to details:
Thanks to all the regulation in the real estate industry, the real estate business has a lot (and I mean a lot) of highly regulated paperwork — from the initial offer, to inspection reports, to endless disclosures, to closing statements from the title company and the lender. Besides the sheer volume, time is of the essence. All the paperwork have to be reviewed, completed, and reviewed according to a very tight schedule. It can easily overwhelm any buyer and even novice agents. A good agent can help you make sense of the myriad of documents and make sure each time-sensitive task is completed according to the contract terms.

On the road to real estate success, a buyer’s agent is like a car. You should always start your journey with a good one.

Fee free to check out my past clients' ratings of my service at http://realestateagents.servicerating.ca/agent/Kim_Louie and to see what amenities are in an area where you are considering moving to click this link http://www.neighbourhoodexpert.ca/geoweb/mappublic.aspx?id=kim_louie

Thinking about buying or selling?  Call me today!