You can’t overstate the importance of a quality real estate agent in the buying/selling process. The best ones effortlessly balance multiple roles – marketing your home, competing against other offers, staying on top of documents and dates, answering your questions, quelling your concerns, guiding your knowledge of real estate, and effectively demonstrating their staunch fiduciary duty to you alone.
That’s the platonic ideal of a realtor, one who works tirelessly for you. However, that’s not always the case.
Sometimes, you enter into a relationship with a realtor that just isn’t working. In these cases, the consequences can be significant. If you’re a seller, it can mean your home languishes for too long on the market, or you’re forced to take a lower offer. For buyers, it can mean seeing your dream home slip through the cracks.
How do you know when it’s time for a change? Consider the four signs below.
They’re Slow to Respond
Communication is the bedrock of the client-realtor relationship. A realtor needs to be clear and understandable in their counsel to ensure that you understand every problem or opportunity coming your way. They also need to be expeditious in their communication since real estate transactions are a highly time-sensitive process.
If your realtor is sluggish with replies, challenging to get a hold of, or ineffective at communicating complex real estate tenets with you, it’s probably time for a change.
You’re Doing a Better Job Finding Properties/Buyer Leads
One of the most pivotal roles a realtor assumes is as a researcher. For sellers, they research and pursue leads to find qualified buyers. For buyers, they research and contact multiple open listings to give you as much choice as possible.
You shouldn’t be better at their job than they are. You shouldn’t be showing up to meetings with more properties, more leads, more opportunities. If you feel like you’re pulling more of the weight in the relationship, it might be time to find better realtors.
For an example of what great realtors look like, check out the Harvey Kalles Real Estate website, which outlines the extraordinary lengths they go to market a home, increase exposure, and generate interest among prospective homebuyers.
They Aren’t Providing Resources, Lessons, Guidance and Support
No one should expect you to have a degree in real estate. As a buyer/seller, you won’t know the real estate landscape and process as intimately as a professional realtor. Therefore, it is their job to bring you up to speed.
Quality realtors do this by continually offering resources, lessons, guidance and support. If you feel like you’re in the dark about what’s going on, it might be time to find more transparent and helpful professionals.
They Lack a Network and Online Presence
A realtor needs a network. They need dedicated administrative specialists, a marketing community to help them reach a broad audience, and a Rolodex of trusted third-party professionals like stagers, photographers, etc. Moreover, they need a big online presence to help them draw in leads or catch listings for buyers.
If your realtor lacks a strong network and their online presence is scant, it’s cause for concern. Consider switching to a well-regarded, well-connected real estate company.
Typically, a person switches realtors between buys and sells (i.e., not when actively looking or selling). If you’re in between transactions and think you can do better, research the best realtors in your area to start the conversation.