MsElui

we loved our last one as he really seemed to be in it for us. He would let us look around but point out good or bad features as we went (if we had missed it). like he would say - in my opinion that ceiling crack there is an issue and is indicative of a bigger problem, (or also - in m.o. thats just cosmetic and i dont see anything else that makes it a cause for concern). also things like 'this' fixture is dated. so you may want to factor in replacement costs into your budget) etc.
He also took note of every comment we made and you could start to see them factored into every subsequent search. ie if we loved a particular feature or size of room, he showed us more of that.

i think it comes down to who you believe to be really interested in helping you. If you are happy you will recommend them and they will get more business - so avoid any ones that appear shortsighted and just want to maximize sales right now.

mrken30

I heard from someone today , it's sometimes helps to write a letter to the seller saying how nice you are.

Pulaski

I have heard something like that too, make it very personal, so tell the owner-seller that this will be perfect for your children/dogs/retirement/whatever, that you are looking forward to enjoying the yard/neighborhood/scenery/whatever, that you especially like the kitchen/bathroom/ basement rec-room/ garage workshop/ whatever/ all of the above, and that you will "look after it, as you have obviously done".

I believe that in 90% of cases such a letter will make no difference, but I expect that the worst case scenario is that your letter is ignored for being the nonsense that it is.

petitefrancaise

here's my story.... remember that I got the house I wanted at the price I wanted first time round in a very fast moving market.
viewed the house first, then spoke to the neighbour who was outside doing a spot of gardening. Liked him (still do!), had a conversation about kids and schools etc. Went back with realtor, OH and kids. Turns out the owner's have the same first names as me and OH and our youngest has the same name as their youngest. Got on like a house on fire! Yes, making a personal connection does work although I guess not many can make such a connection like we did!

N1cky

I guess it's just difficult to identify that they are going to do that before you appoint someone.

Must be a Yorkshire thing, all that sucking up makes me want to vomit too.


I went and looked at a few open houses on Sunday, just because they were in the right areas really. Was speaking to 1 agent who said he'd never heard of anyone interviewing buying agents before, so maybe I'm just putting too much thought into this. Anyhow, meeting the 2 agents tomorrow, so will make a decision then.

Thanks for everyone's feedback.

cxx

I'd avoid that one then

H Bomb

We kind of did something similar. We saw 3 lots of houses with 3 different agents - and made them aware we were going to visit with other agents in the first round to see who we preferred.

We were lucky that the agent we liked the most and was most helpful actually showed us the perfect house and we have already put an offer in that has been expected.

Unfortunately since our offer has been accepted the agent has become quite short and is being very pushy.

Pulaski

Agreed.

There is a realtor who runs ads on the radio here in NC, who always ends her ads ".... I'm not bragging, I'm interviewing for a job, as your realtor."

N1cky

We chose someone yay! I feel she's not giving me any b/s, the other agent was telling me how confident she was that we'd be able to get something in our most preferred area, with all our requirements, for our budget. This agent was telling me that it's possible but it's going to be hard.

You don't have to be in the industry to know how difficult this is going to be. There are currently 4 houses on Trulia/Zillow in the 3 cities we are looking, that are within our budget. I'd rather go into this realistically than with ridiculous expectations.

So we now have our pre-approval, a mortgage guy who seems really on top of things, and someone who seems a really great agent. All we need now are some houses to actually come up for sale.

She did tell me that occasionally for some houses she may ask us to write a letter to the buyer, but don't make it cheesy and vomit worthy.

N1cky

That's exciting about the house, shame about the agent. In what ways has she become pushy?

Ours is getting us to try get all kinds of things in place so we're in the best possible position when we do make an offer. I know we have to move very quickly here, not sure if it's just here or everywhere though.

tom169

Is the preferred thing here to get a Realtor first and then explain to them the requirements?

I'm house hunting, but just go through the online listings myself.

N1cky

I think it's very important in a fast moving market, our offer packet is being prepared now, as we'll need to submit it within a matter of hours after seeing a house. I was actually surprised at how much is prepared for the offer, likewise the realtors I spoke to were surprised that in the UK you basically call up and offer an amount...

Pulaski

Do both, they're not mutually exclusive - and you need a realtor "ready to go" when you find a house you'd like to see. Just ask "your" realtor and they will arrange a time to go and see it, and they can access the lockbox with the key in it, so you don't need to be färting around coordinating with the listing agent. As far as I can tell, the listing agents aren't much interested in showing houses to prospective buyers.

tom169

Ah, i'm following you. Thanks.

petitefrancaise

Just come across this webapp for choosing a realtor...I love tech :-) !!

https://www.homelight.com/how-it-works

Be interested in opinions. It is doing automatically what my realtor friend told me already. To look for someone who has been doing it for a while and closes on over 10 houses a year. Anyone else is a housewife!!! ( her words, not mine.....)