In any market, real estate agents are always looking for new clients. Most Realtors would love to work for you, but would you want to work with them? That’s the question. I’ve identified the Top 4 factors to consider when picking the best Louisville Realtor for you. Or, since we’re in basketball country, let’s call these the Final Four of Realtor Selection.
How do you know if you have hired the best Louisville Realtor?
1. How Trustworthy Is Your Louisville Realtor?
While this can be difficult to discern, having a trustworthy Realtor is the most important factor for your next transaction to be successful. You want an agent who’s going to work towards your best interests.
The best way to learn about trustworthy Louisville Realtors is to ask people you trust if they would highly recommend their Realtor. Notice I said “highly”? If they say something like, “Yeah, she was fine” that’s not necessarily a ringing endorsement.
You want someone who’s going to go the extra mile for you. If a situation arises where your agent has a choice between your best interest and their own, you want them to side with you. Top agents put you first!
There are also free Web sites like Yelp, Homelight, and others that give some additional insight into what past customers felt about their agent. Please understand these websites make their money by selling their service to agents who only get promoted if they buy. Crazy, right?
Angie’s List is a subscription-based site that also tracks ratings about all kinds of service providers, including real estate agents in Louisville, Kentucky. But most people today will perform a Google search for the best Louisville Realtor. Then, you need to separate the Ads from the true results.
2. Does Your Louisville Agent Have the Right Expertise?
Louisville real estate has many facets.
Of course, there’s a difference between commercial and residential real estate. But even within residential, some agents focus a greater part of their attention on being a selling agent and only work as a buyer’s agent on occasion. The reverse can also be true.
Then there’s relocation, property management, appraisals, interior design, and, with the rise of distressed properties, short-sales, and REO specialists.
You need to find the best Louisville Realtor for the real estate job at hand.
Are you looking to sell your Louisville home? Focus on agents that do a great job making sure your home is well-staged, hire a top-notch professional photographer to take gorgeous photos (and plenty of them!), and then promote your listing, not just on our Greater Louisville MLS but across all the major real estate Web sites.
Moving to Louisville from Chicago? An agent who has expertise as a relocation specialist understands the additional things that factor into your decision like good schools, reducing commute times, notifying the utility company, comparing property taxes, and more.
The best Realtors are better equipped to make sure your cross-state move is a smooth one.
3. Match Your Personality with Your Louisville Realtor
Due to the nature of the business, you’ll likely be spending a great deal of time with your Realtor during the sale or purchase of your new home. Having a positive personality match is huge!
- Do you want to get the know the person behind the job? Or, would you rather it remain strictly business?
- Would you like the agent to notify you regarding every new piece of information, no matter how large or small? Or, would it be better if they only contacted you with the important stuff?
- Old school and like phone calls? Or, do you prefer emails or even texts?
Being on the same page with your Realtor will make the potentially stressful process a lot easier to handle.
Have a sit down with any potential candidates and let them know you’re interviewing agents to find the best match. Good agents will appreciate your honesty and the one selected will put their best effort forward knowing you’ll be loyal to them throughout the process.
Ask if they use an agency agreement. If so, tell them you’d like to know exactly what it contains. That way expectations are understood from the start. Personally, I believe that agency agreements improve the real estate transaction and build trust between both the agent and his or her client.
4. Best Louisville Realtor Will Have Experience
There are many measures of experience: years as a professional, years in real estate, the number of homes sold, the total value of properties bought or sold. All of these increase the Realtor’s knowledge base.
Most real estate transactions move along a predictable course. But if something unusual arises, does the agent have the proper experience to best handle that particular situation?
I believe many consumers incorrectly put a value on an agent’s company. Whether an agent works for RE/MAX or Century21 has little to do with that agent’s ability to perform well for their clients. There are plenty of great agents that work for boutique real estate companies.
Experience alone does not a great Realtor make… but it certainly helps.
Conclusion
So who is the best Louisville Realtor? The answer, of course, is “It depends.” It depends on you, your needs, and your personality.
I hope the information I’ve provided will help you identify which agent will make your next move a highly successful one.