Any profession has its overachievers and… its underperformers — real estate isn't any different. So, how do you know if you have an incredible real estate agent or a dud? See how your real estate agent handles these ten tasks.
We've been selling homes in Central New Jersey for over 25 years, and many clients have come to us after having not-so-great experiences with other local real estate agents. We want to help you avoid that situation! If you're in Central New Jersey, reach out to us to have experienced, dedicated agents on your side.
Otherwise, check out this list of things a GOOD real estate agent should do for their clients.
- Fully Understands Your Needs
You know what they say about making assumptions, right?... A real estate agent should never make assumptions about what you want in a house. This can lead to wasted time, money, and difficult conversations.
What a good real estate agent does: A great real estate agent should take the time to ask you exactly what you're looking for in a home, and what you expect of them as your real estate agent.
They should fully understand what type of home you're looking for, what your absolute deal breakers are, choosing the right neighborhoods you want to live in, and what's important to you in a home.
Knowing all of these things helps them find your dream home!
While real estate agents are busy managing multiple clients, you should reasonably expect to hear back from them within the same day.
What a good real estate agent does: Answers you back as quickly as possible. Whether it's setting up showings for newly listed homes, letting you in on homes that are going on the market soon, or writing up an offer letter.
We've heard of many clients who had issues with real estate agents that never got back to them, took days to write up an offer letter, or waited too long to set up a showing for a home. With today's market, this is unacceptable and could cost you the house you love.
Some people find a mortgage broker by doing their own research or taking recommendations from family or friends. However, if you need help with this step of the process, your real estate agent should absolutely be capable of providing a few recommendations for trustworthy mortgage brokers.
What a good real estate agent does: A great agent should recommend a few different mortgage brokers you can shop around at. There might even be certain incentives (like closing cost discounts) when you work with a broker your real estate agent recommended!
If you're going with a broker you found on your own, your real estate agent should 100% make sure you're pre-approved. If they don't ask you whether or not you're pre-approved before you start looking at houses, RUN! This is one of the biggest mistakes first-time homebuyers make.
Real estate agents work with so many different local contacts on a daily basis. They have connections to refer you to reliable brokers, appraisers, inspectors, or anyone else you might need in your home buying journey.
Even when you've lived somewhere your whole life, you don't really know every little thing about each neighborhood. In many places, a neighborhood can change dramatically street by street, so it's important to always have as much data as you can from your agent.
What a good real estate agent does: A good real estate agent should be able to give you information about any neighborhood including recent home values (known as comps), the closest grocery stores, the best things to do nearby, which schools it's zoned for, or crime rates.
Overall, a good real estate agent should help you remain realistic about your goals. For example, if you tell them you love a certain neighborhood but there aren't even any homes in your budget there, they should let you know and professionally manage your expectations.
A real estate agent that isn't too great might either not let you know how expensive that area really is, or push you to go over your budget.
While it's easy to browse online real estate listing sites and figure out which homes you want to look at, this takes a lot of work. Especially in today's market where new homes are going up all the time. The good thing is this is exactly why you have a real estate agent! So you don't have to do this.
What a good real estate agent does: A good real estate agent will set you up with an MLS feed (which is the source of truth for all home listings) that emails you any time a home matching your criteria is listed.
So, instead of you searching through 200 homes just because they fit your minimum requirements, an MLS feed is customized to your exact specifications. You can eliminate houses in a flood zone, houses in certain school districts, neighborhoods, and more!
In addition to sending you the right homes, they should also handle setting up showings for any houses you want to see in a timely fashion. In this market, houses are selling faster than ever. If your real estate agent is dragging their feet, it's easy to miss out on a house.
If you're selling your home, you need an agent who will price your home correctly. This is the most crucial part of selling a house — if it isn't priced correctly, you could lose a lot of money.
What a good real estate agent does: Prices your home correctly when it's listed. They don't over inflate the price to try and get the most money possible, or list it under market value just to get attention. Your agent should price your home based on recent sales in the area, any work you've put into the home, and what they genuinely believe will be the best deal.
Did you know that your listing will get the most attention within 48 hours of going live? That's why it's crucial to get the price right the first time around. While it's true that you can always decrease the listing price if you aren't getting any offers, you could have already lost out on qualified buyers if you take this route.
You might be tempted to go with the real estate agent who is offering to list your home for the highest price possible, but we recommend making sure that price is based on real data.
Ask your agent:
How did you calculate this sales price?
Does this price align with the price-per-square-foot of other homes in the area?
How long do houses in this range typically stay on the market?
A real estate agent should be able to run a full-scale marketing plan for your house, especially if you're listing in a higher price range. Marketing luxury homes isn't the same as marketing for a $200k two-bedroom condo.
What a good real estate agent does: They will go far beyond just listing it on the MLS and Zillow and hoping offers come rolling in. A good real estate agent will have a full marketing plan including social media marketing, staging, open houses, photography, and videography.
If your real estate agent doesn't seem to have a marketing plan for your home, or won't tell you what it is, you should probably find a new agent.
A thorough inspection is required for most home loans. This ensures the lender that you're purchasing a house that doesn't have any major issues, such as an old roof, inefficient HVAC, or foundation issues.
What a good real estate agent does: They should be able to refer you to a reliable local home inspector, or help you evaluate the price/offerings for inspectors you might already have in mind. They should also answer any questions you have about the home inspection process.
Some real estate agents might not think twice about attending the appraisal, as they don't think it's necessary. However, this could cause issues with the home's appraisal if no one is there to answer the appraiser's questions.
What a good real estate agent does: Attends the appraisal to answer any questions the appraiser might have. They'll also make sure the appraiser has access to everything they need, and get them more information if necessary.
There are a lot of moving parts to any real estate transaction, whether you're buying or selling. You should always feel like you have the most recent information, and are being kept in the loop with anything going on.
What a good real estate agent does: Quickly and openly communicates with anyone involved in the transaction, including your loan officer when you're working on making offers and getting the loan, the seller's agents when making offers (or following up on offers), and any appraisers or inspectors.
If there are any issues throughout the process, such as the broker needing more information or the appraisal delaying your closing date, your real estate agent should be the one communicating with whoever needs to know. Even better, they should be following up frequently and helping to move things along however possible.
How Do I Know if My Real Estate Agent is Doing a Good Job?
While you should evaluate your real estate agent on all of the criteria above, you might not have had the chance to observe them in those situations yet. And that's completely fine!
Even if you're just in the beginning stages of your relationship, you should make sure they:
Communicate well and respond quickly
Seem knowledgeable about the market
Are open about what you can expect from them
Seems eager to help you buy (or sell) your house!
Looking for a Trustworthy Real Estate Agent in Central NJ?
Are you looking to buy or sell your home in Central NJ? You can trust us here at The Aneja Team!
With over 25 years of experience helping clients find their dream homes, we always focus on doing what's best for our clients! Contact us today for a free consultation or market evaluation of your home.
