Nolo's Essential Guide to Buying Your First Home (21 page)

 

TIP

 

Consider adding an attorney-review contingency to your contract.
If bringing your own real estate agent appears unnecessary or impossible, at least insist that an attorney review your agreement. You can make this a condition of the sale (a “contingency”), as discussed in Chapter 10.

 

CHECK IT OUT

 

Check their license.
To make sure a prospective agent is currently licensed in your state, visit
www.arello.com
, by the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials. The site can also link you to relevant laws and regulations.

 

CD ROM

 

For a comprehensive set of questions for both the agent and his or her references:
Use the “Real Estate Agent Interview Questionnaire” and the “Real Estate Agent Reference Questionnaire” in the Homebuyer’s Toolkit on the CD-ROM. Samples of these forms are shown below.

Real Estate Agent Interview Questionnaire

 

Ask potential agents the following questions, as well as anything special to your transaction, like their experience helping buyers looking for fixer-uppers or newly constructed houses.

Name of real estate agent and contact information (phone, email, etc.):

Date of conversation:

1. Do you work full time as a real estate agent?

2. How long have you been in the real estate business?

3. Do you have additional certifications beyond your general real estate license? If so what are they?

4. Will you ever represent me as a dual agent?

5. How many residential real estate transactions have you been a part of in the past year?

6. In how many of those transactions have you represented the buyer?

7. What was the price range of homes you helped clients buy within the last year? What was the average price?

8. Do you specialize in a certain type of property?

9. Do you specialize in a certain geographic area?

10. Do you partner with other agents or use assistants?

11. How will I reach you? Are there days or times you’re unavailable, or do you have any vacations planned?

12. Can you provide at least three names of recent clients who purchased first homes with you, who will serve as references?

 

NOTES:

 

 

Best Answers:

1. Yes.

2. The longer the better, but at least three years.

3. More certifications show a commitment by the agent. A Realtor ABR or ABRM designation indicates that the agent has significant experience working with buyers.

4. Only acceptable answer is “No.”

5. Should be a minimum of ten.

6. Best answer is “all of them,” but should be at least half.

7. Should be about your price range.

8. Should be the type of property you’re interested in, like a single-family house, condo, or co-op.

9. Should be the geographic area where you’re looking to buy.

10. If so, find out who you’ll be working with, what their real estate experience is, and what they’ll be doing.

11. Make sure you can reach the agent when you need to. If you plan to buy soon, make sure the agent will be readily available (not on vacation).

12. Only acceptable answer is “Yes.”

 

Real Estate Agent Reference Questionnaire

 

Here’s what to ask the agent’s referrals. You can add any other questions that interest you, such as special issues if you’re buying a new house in a development.

Name of real estate agent:

Name of reference:

Date:

1. How did you choose the agent? Did you know the agent before you worked together?

2. What kind of house did you buy?

3. Was the agent responsive? Did the agent return calls promptly, follow through on promises, and meet deadlines?

4. Did the agent take the time to find you the right property?

5. How long did you look?

6. How many houses did you look at before you bought?

7. Did the agent show you houses in your price range?

8. Are you happy with the house you bought, and the neighborhood it’s in?

9. Did the agent help you coordinate other details of your purchase, like finding financing and working with the title company, inspectors, or insurance agents?

10. Did the agent keep you up to date, and explain everything in terms you understood?

11. Would you work with the agent again?

 

OTHER COMMENTS:

 

TIP

 

Don’t spill your beans.
Wait to tell the agent your own objectives (where you want to live, how much you want to spend, and what type of property you’re looking for) until your questions have been answered. You don’t want the agent to feed you the answers you want to hear.

 

If It Doesn’t Work Out: Firing an Agent

 

One common misconception is that once you’ve chosen an agent, you can’t fire that person. Whether you can extricate yourself from the relationship (and what it will cost you to do so) will probably be determined by the terms of your agreement. So try to insert a clause at the outset allowing you to release the agent with sufficient notice (usually, about 48 hours) if things aren’t working out.

Even if you haven’t done this, if an agent isn’t showing you appropriate properties, or isn’t responding to your calls or inquiries, or you just don’t like working with that person, you may want to move on. Of course, if the problem can be resolved by a simple conversation, it’s wiser to try that first. But if that’s fruitless and the agent isn’t willing to walk away, you may need to discuss the issue with the managing broker (the agent’s boss).

If you decide to end a working relationship, do it
before
you find a house you want to buy. It would be totally unethical—and risk a lawsuit—to try to get out of the relationship just to avoid letting the agent claim the commission.