Are you suspecting that your real estate agent is lying to you? It’s a given that we all want to work with a real estate agent who’s honest about their costs, experiences, performance, and the condition of homes they’ve listed. Unfortunately, even with agent regulatory institutions, there are still some dishonest people who can successfully go under the radar.
You wouldn’t want to work with a real estate agent who lies to you about your buyers, your chances of selling your house, and whatnot because that’s not going to help. To make an informed decision, you need to be completely informed every step of the way.
Unfortunately, that’s not always the case. So to ease your worries, here are some easy ways to know if an agent you’re working with is being honest with you or not.
Google Them
This is the easiest and fastest way to learn about a realtor. Look them up online and see what you can find. If your real estate agent is legit or has worked on a couple of deals, the name should pop up on a page that’s related to real estate. Apart from Google, other great databases can also verify your agent’s real estate license. These include:
You can also research customer reviews about your real estate agent. Look through their social media pages, websites, or real estate forums.
Check Their Listings
Take a look and see how many listings they currently have by looking at their agency or broker’s website. To give you an idea on the side, real estate agents, brokers, and realtors have different professional licenses. Realtors are official members of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), brokers are agents who have completed additional training, while real estate agents include first-time agents.
If your real estate agent works under a broker, then you can call in and ask for your agent’s profile. More listings usually mean more experience, but realtors usually close 12 transaction sides on average per year according to NAR. Additionally, don’t be immediately swayed by lesser listings because novice real estate agents are usually the most aggressive and hardworking. At the end of the day, you’d want a diligent agent, but at the same time, someone who truly understands your situation, your personality, and what you are really looking for.
Check Their Specialty
Even the residential real estate sector can be broken down into different niches. You have family homes, retirement homes, bachelor/bachelorette pads, student housing, etc. It would be great to find a real estate agent whose experiences are focused on the type of buyer you are. This is one way of making sure that your agent will know exactly how to connect with you.
- If your home is in the upper-fixer group, then find an agent who has experience in upper-fixers
- If your home is brand new, modern, smart, luxurious, and sort, then find an agent who has experience in selling upscale communities
- If your home is located in or around the Atlanta Central Business District, go with an agent who understands the bustling city life, or;
- If your home is on the quieter parts of the state like White County, Hogansville, and Blue Ridge, it would be best to go with an agent who knows how to market the benefits of living in a rather remote part of town
By viewing the agent’s website or bio, it should be possible to figure out what their specialty is and if they have been telling the truth about the deals they’ve handled.
Ask About Commissions
One of the quickest ways to tell whether an agent is playing with you is to ask if their commissions are negotiable. If they tell you no, they should give you a heavy personal reason why they are not open to adjusting the price. Otherwise, commissions are always negotiable, even in big-time brokerage companies. Do note that the commission rate may be affected by your agent’s specialty, so you’d understand when an agent says when a price is too low.
If your agent tells you that it’s company policy to have a fixed commission rate, try validating it with the agency yourself. Because if it is, then it would be best to just look for another more flexible agent.
You can sell your house without going through an agent, though. You don’t have to worry about being lied to or about allotting time to check whether your agent is legit or not. Spire Home Buyers can purchase your house without going through a lengthy process. All you need to do is describe or show us your home, and we can put down an offer on the same day.
Moreover, we can buy your house for cash and take care of all the closing costs, so you don’t have to worry about anything other than preparing the documents and signing.
We’ve helped many homeowners who felt they couldn’t trust the agent they were working with. So if you are one of these people, give us a call at (678) 318-1801, and let’s see how we can resolve your housing issues.