How To Choose A Realtor

I’ll tell you something maybe others won’t.  Post-transaction surveys show that the vast majority of people were satisfied with their realtors, and would use them again.  Knowing that, I hope you can stress a little less about your realtor selection process.  For starters, all realtors have background checks done every year to make sure our lives are not involved in anything nefarious.  In fact, the whole Texas Real Estate Commission that regulates us and watches over us is explicitly created and designed to protect you the consumer, not realtors.  Not only are we realtors watched over, but being a realtor itself requires hundreds of class hours about law, contracts, market trends, etc, as well as yearly continuing education classes just to keep our license.  On top of that, many brokerages require much more of their own in house training to make sure realtors are on top of their game.  So with all that in mind, does it really matter which realtor I choose?

Most people end up choosing realtors based upon two things: professionalism and likability.  Professionalism entails many of the things mentioned above, but in the end the most important thing it comes down to is “knowing the market.”  If a realtor knows his or her particular market, then the customer will usually be satisfied.  As for myself, I strive to be learning what I can every day to be able to better serve you, but I also am big on preparation.  I like to study ahead a lot, so that when I have a meeting scheduled with you, I come in like someone who has already done their homework.  As realtors, even with lots of general Austin knowledge under our belts, it’s impossible to know EVERYTHING about EVERY neighborhood.  It’s just too big of a city.  Preparation and research are a couple of my own personal keys to professionalism.

And then there’s likability… What can you say–some people you like, and some you don’t right?  Learn as much as you can from a realtor’s website, references, reviews, etc, but in the end just go with your gut and relax.  Take a realtor for a test drive!  Call them up and ask them to show you a house or help with a real estate task, and see what you think.  If you’re not impressed, move on to the next realtor.  We have to EARN your loyalty, and we know how competitive real estate is.  If you don’t call us back, we’ll get over it. : )  That being said, I’d still REALLY like to be your realtor. : )

One complaint I’ve recently heard multiple times when someone wasn’t satisfied with their realtors was “they didn’t listen to me.”  I want to strive to listen to you first and foremost, to understand your needs.  It’s not about me, or the house I think is great.  There’s a lot already written out there about professionalism and likability (you can read something about this on almost any realtor’s bio), but in the end there are two main things I want to stress about my service to you:  1) I want to LISTEN, and 2) I want to be prepared and knowledgable… and if I don’t know something, I’ll be honest about it, and then go find you the answer!