How to Spot a Bad Agent

Posted by Chris on 30 March 2009 | 8 Comments

Tags: REALTORS, Hiring a REALTOR

You’ve Been Doing This for How Long? - How to Spot a Bad Agent

There are clearly two ways I could go with this entry.  I could either highlight all the positive aspects of good REALTORS, or I could go negative and illustrate the many faults of bad REALTORS.  Frankly, with where we are as a country right now, I’d much rather focus on the positive side of the business.  In this article I’ll be talking about the positive aspects of good REALTORS.  If you want to know how to spot a bad REALTOR, you can probably just apply the opposite to most of these items.

Keep in mind that this isn’t meant to be a checklist of every quality and action your agent must meet in order for you to hire them.  Instead, use these simply as an indicator when evaluating an agent.  The more criteria your agent meets, the better he’ll probably be.

While I think I’ve put together a pretty comprehensive list, I’d love some additional feedback from you.  If you have had a positive or negative experience with a REALTOR, please leave a comment and tell us about it.

A good REALTOR:
1.    Won’t show you property until you’ve been pre-qualified by a loan professional.
2.    Won’t list your house for an unrealistic price.
3.    Won’t show you homes out of your price range.
4.    Won’t discount their commission upfront.
5.    Treats his Real Estate Practice like a business.
6.    Sets boundaries with his clients.
7.    Returns calls quickly.
8.    Is always on time.
9.    Talks from experience, not conjecture.
10.    Has personal relationships with other agents.
11.    Understands financing.
12.    Quickly navigates contracts and completes them correctly.
13.    Can easily and clearly explain elements of contracts to you without using jargon.
14.    Can clearly demonstrate value.
15.    Is tech savvy.
16.    Listens to you.
17.    Learns from past experiences with you and adjusts his actions accordingly.
18.    Reciprocates your preferred communication style (phone calls, e-mails, texts)
19.    Over-communicates with you.
20.    Knows when homes were built in a given neighborhood.
21.    Can spot original features in homes.
22.    Knows common problems in a given neighborhood (slab problems, common construction defects for the area, environmental hazards, noise issues, etc.)
23.    Doesn’t get lost.
24.    Can talk about marketing and sales trends in your area.
25.    Knows the comps inside and out.
26.    Knows the schools.