Start your home buying process by researching and selecting your agent first. Read reviews. Contact references. Meet in person and ask hard questions. Remember, you’re entrusting this person with one of the biggest decisions of your life. It’s not about hiring relatives or friends, or how how many homes they’ve sold. It’s about finding the most qualified agent with the most knowledge and and experience in the general area and price range you’re looking in.
Key points:
- Look for those going above and beyond for their buyers.
- Get an agent with a "fiduciary duty" to act in your best interest.
- Choose an agent who does not charge extra for being your agent.
- Is the agent trained as a specialist? What specialty skills do they offer?
- Is the agent smart?
There are all kinds of “smart:” raw intelligence; a good education; knowledge; experience; insight; creative thinking and vision that can see new possibilities and opportunitiesand find solutions to challenging problems; the ability to understand and assess people’s needs, preferences and qualifications, and anticipate their actions; the ability to see the big picture and the fine points; the acumen to organize and manage a complex process; and so on. When it comes to selecting and negotiating one of the biggest investments in your life, you want your agent to be the smartest person in the room.
Linda Walters graduated Magna cum Laude from Duke, earned her law degree from Penn, spent a decade working in a high-powered law firm ensuring the success of major real estate projects; launched her own real estate brokerage firm; teaches courses to other real estate agents; and is certified in several specialized areas of real estate. As one Sage client put it, “Thanks to Linda’s market knowledge and negotiating expertise, we always felt like the smartest guys in the room.”
