Realtor
Few are ready to buy, sell, rent and rent real estate on their own. It is too troublesome, responsible and risky. Therefore, most transactions with residential and non-residential properties are carried out through professional intermediaries.

How to quickly and easily find a realtor you will not regret meeting with is discussed in today's article.
What services do realtors provide?
  • Selection of suitable real estate objects for a buyer / tenant or advertising an object for a seller/lesser.
  • Checking the object (condition, documents, neighbors, etc.).
  • Object displays (for the seller/lesser).
  • Negotiation.
  • Control over the legal purity of the transaction.
  • Paperwork.
  • Organization of mutual settlements.
Thus, the realtor not only helps to find a property or a buyer for it, but also provides full support for the transaction receiving an intermediary percentage or a fixed payment for their work.

How much does a realtor's service cost?

When renting residential premises, the realtor's commission will be 50-100% of the monthly rental cost, in buy / sell transactions, it ranges from 2% to 7% . Deals of increased complexity (illiquid objects, with encumbrances) can bring the realtor 10% commission.


How to find a realtor: 5 proven ways

1. Look "among your own"

The best real estate agent is the one whose services your friends used and were satisfied with. Therefore, in order to find a good agent, try to remember: who from your environment has recently bought / sold / rented out real estate? And call this person - let him share a contact.

If you can't find a realtor in the traditional way - use social networks. Write on your page that you are looking for a real estate agent, and accompany the text with a picture so that the entry is conspicuous even with a cursory glance at the tape.

"Word of mouth" works regularly not only in real communication, but also on the Internet - so do not forget to ask for a repost. And pin the post to your page.

This method really works, and the more subscribers you have, the faster.

2. Contact a trusted agency

In every big city there are dozens of large and small firms providing real estate services. To understand which of them it makes sense to contact, first, type in the search engine "top best real estate agencies”, not forgetting to indicate the city of your presence.

Carefully study the information on each company on the official website and in corporate social networks, reviews of the firm's clients posted on independent resources, and professional ratings. This will give you at least an introduction to the firm.

There is an opinion that a good agency does not necessarily provide a client with a good specialist - they say that clients "from the street" are given only interns. To some extent this is true, but not always.

If the task is simple (to rent an apartment without special "aggravating circumstances"), then, most likely, a novice realtor will really be engaged in it. But in a good agency, a more experienced specialist will always "insure" him. And they won't put an intern on a difficult deal.


3. See what private realtors offer

Some intermediaries prefer to work alone rather than through an agency. The reasons for this choice vary. Perhaps the professional level of a realtor does not meet the requirements of a large firm. Or maybe he just doesn't want to give part of his royalties to the agency.

“Remember that some questions are more difficult for a private realtor than for a real estate agency. For example, a sale with a buy-in, travel or resettlement is best entrusted to a firm.”

Among private agents there are intelligent and competent specialists with extensive experience, a huge private database of objects and extensive professional connections. But you can just as well face an outright fraud. Therefore, when choosing a single realtor, check it especially carefully.

Study reviews of the agent's work on the Internet and pay attention to his own social activity on the network. Many realtors today maintain blog &, pages.

Don't trust the internet too much though - reviews, good or bad, can be custom-made. And not all good realtors can afford to "shine" in social networks - many of them simply do not have time for this”.

4. Call

They say it's better to see once than hear a hundred times. But one telephone conversation with a person can make something quite obvious that you can't read on the Internet.

Therefore, make a list of realtors who are interested in you for one reason or another, and call them . Tell us what you need, ask questions and listen carefully to the answers.

The timbre of the voice, the intonation of a person, his speech turns can tell you much more about him than any reviews and recommendations

Having talked to 10 realtors, you will probably “reject” most of them for one reason or another. 2-3 people will remain - you will choose from them.

5. Meet

A personal meeting is the most reliable tool when choosing a realtor. And yet not 100%. Unfortunately, many scammers are successful because they know how to make a favorable impression on potential customers.

Therefore, do not hesitate to ask the realtor about what services he is ready to provide, for what price, why he takes more / less than the market average, etc.

But the most important "test" question for an agent, especially a "private trader", is whether he is ready to conclude an agreement.

Important!

Never, under any circumstances, work with a realtor without a contract even if it is reliable. Real estate is too serious to take risks for no particular reason. Be sure to record all possible nuances of your relationship with the agent in writing”.

Related post: The Beginner’s Guide to House Flipping

And do not try to save money - the good is rarely cheap. So the cost of a realtor's services is not the first thing to pay attention to.

But if he gets confused in the answers, speaks indistinctly or aggressively, does not answer calls and letters for a long time, does not agree to a personal meeting - this is already serious. It's definitely not worth contacting such a realtor.