Just as your real estate agent should be expected to be courteous, respectful and professional with you, there are few things you should do on your end in order to ensure you enjoy a positive working relationship with the agent you have selected. After all, the better the two of you get along, the more smoothly the process of selling your home or purchasing a new home will be. To that end, here are a few tips for working with your agent that will be sure to help you enjoy the best results possible.
Tip #1: Understand that Your Agent Works on Commission
It is important to always keep in mind that your agent doesn’t receive an hourly wage or even an annual salary. Rather, most real estate agents receive a commission based on the homes that they sell and list. Therefore, you should never ask your agent to do certain duties for you if you don’t plan on keeping the agent by your side when you close the deal. It simply isn’t fair to expect the agent to work for free if you have no intentions of selling your home or staying with the agent until the deal is done.
Tip #2: Be Respectful of Appointments
Just as you would expect your real estate agent to show up to appointments on time, so should you. Similarly, you should never expect your agent to drop everything he or she is doing in order to show you a house. Instead, set up an appointment and be sure to keep it. If you are running late, give the agent a call to let him or her know when you expect to arrive.
Tip #3: Never Interview Agents from the Same Company
While you certainly want to shop around and explore all of your options before you hire a real estate agent, it is a bad idea to interview two agents from the same company. You are only setting up a potential problem for both people involved, so choose just one agent to interview and move on from there if you are not satisfied with what that agent has to offer.
Tip #4: Don’t Call the Listing Agent
If you have hired a buyer’s agent, don’t contact the listing agent directly if you have found a property that you are interested in. First of all, this puts you at a disadvantage because listing agents work for the seller, not the buyer. Second, if the listing agent shows the property to you, he or she will expect to get the commission if you choose to make a purchase. This will cut your buyer’s agent out of the deal and leave him or her without a commission for the work that has already been done.
In short, it is important to treat your agent with respect and to keep the lines of communication open. Not only will this ensure that things operate smoothly between you and your agent, it will also help you sell your home or find your new home in a more timely fashion – and that is something that will make everyone happy.
Jim Olenbush is the owner of an Austin real estate brokerage. http://www.jimolenbush.com/ He manages a team of experienced Austin Realtors and they specialize in the Steiner Ranch community. http://www.jimolenbush.com/steiner-ranch.htm
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