When purchasing or selling real estate, it is a good idea to hire a real estate agent. In Canada, there is a lot of options when we talk about real estate agents. When you are looking to find a real estate agent in Canada, there are several things that you need to consider.
Credibility
The first thing that you need to check when you want to hire a real estate agent is their credibility. You need to know whether or not they are trustworthy so that you will be able to rely on them for tough negotiations and giving you the best offers. When you want to check their credibility, you should look at their experience. It is better to hire someone who already has been in the business for quite a while and has a good reputation. Checking their reputation is also important. You would want to hire someone who has a long list of good case practices.
Interview them
When you are looking to find and hire a real estate agent, it is better to interview them and ask them questions to know more about them. Make a list of potential real estate agents that you might be interested in working with, and then hit them up with a few questions regarding their services that you are curious about.
You should also make a list of questions you want to ask them so that it can be structured and easily compared. You should ask them their commission structure and how much they would want to get paid per transaction. Ask them for a list of recent references as well as a list of their recent sales.
You should also ask them about their plans for finding you a perfect home or marketing your real estate. Keep in mind how they answer your questions because it will be a telling factor of how they will perform. You should also make your expectations known and set expectations with them beforehand.
Protocol
When hiring a real estate agent, you should know that there are several protocols and legal things that are involved. You should be wise about them. You should check out what protocols each agent sticks to, and you should follow suit. Remember not to sign anything that you haven’t read or understood because it can be your downfall. Other than that, you should ask for an agency agreement, buyer’s broker agreement, ask the open house protocol, as well as don’t call the listing agent when you’re working with a buying agent and vice versa.
Recommendations
When looking for real estate agents, it is always handy to get some references and recommendations from people you know and trust. Ask around your inner circle about who they are hiring as their agent and look at the reviews. You can ask your family, friends, neighbor, colleagues, and so on.…
