How to chose a realtor....one for buying and one for selling?

[AnnieW625]

So we are listing our house for sale in the next two months or so (early to mid April is what I am thinking as the kids aren’t done with school until mid June) and we are moving an hour or so east (Long Beach, CA area to Riverside, CA) of where we are now. Because I live in a high to very high col area that could be on the verge of being a sellers market again (my house went up in value per Zillow $15k in the last month....I know Zillow is just an estimate and some think it is high and some think it is low) I want to use an agent from my area who knows the area and the pricing trends. I am going to interview the agent that we bought the house with because she does a fair amount of local business near us, maybe DH’s friend from Knights of Columbus who also does real estate but he doesn’t seem to be active (he has no connections on LinkedIn and no yelp reviews, but he used to live in the city we are moving to but didn’t do real estate there) and and I have never seen one of his signs in my neighborhood. I can also interview at least two or three other agents who sell a fair amount in my area.

The reason for two agents is I feel like we need a realtor who specializes in the city we are moving to because a lot of the houses we are interested in are selling like hot cakes (we must have casually looked at about 10 houses on the market via Zillow last week and looked at 5 more in person at open houses and now about half to 2/3rds had open houses this past weekend (plus 2 of the 5 we looked at in person) and all of those houses have a pending or contingent offer on them now)....the rest of the area is peppered with million dollar mansions that have been on the market for a year or year plus, a few foreclosures, and other houses that may have some small layout issues or sellers who aren’t serious about selling their house because they aren’t price dropping their house or having open houses.

So if any of you have sold in area and bought in different region and used two different realtors or used the sellers agent to find you a house in your new area please let me know what worked and what didn’t.

(Sorry this is so long)


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[SnuggleBuggles]

It makes sense to use 2 different people. No explanation needed. Totally different markets. I do think I would use a buyer's agent though so you can get in on the ground floor of listings. Around here, some houses are shown a day or 2 ahead of being fully listed and sales can happen then. We aren't in the same crazy market as you so take my experience with a grain of salt- you have a whole other thing there!!
So, for selling, it's not hard to do the legwork and get a sense of what's fair for your area. I used the website movoto and was able to filter to see all home sales in 2019 in my neighborhood and I added additional filters as needed (size...). I had a range in mind based on that data so I could easily know if a seller agent was way off base with what they thought we should list for. Be honest with yourself when you look at those listings. If a house sold for your dream price but it's on a better street, has a better yard, is bigger- don't expect that price. Our agent had a pretty simple formula like "well, compared to this sold comp, you have an extra bathroom so add $10k but they have X so lose $5k from what they sold for."
I'm going to PM you too!

[Myira]

I agree it makes so much sense to go with a realtor that knows the area. We bought with a realtor that knew the area we were looking to buy in very well and sold with the same realtor which may not have been the smartest thing to do but our market isn’t as high HOL and competitive as your in CA.

I don’t live in LA but I thought you may even consider going with the sellers agent when buying to sweeten the deal (not sure if this is an option but thought I’d throw this out there) as long as you get your independent inspection done.


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[jawilli4]

I am going to interview the agent that we bought the house with because she does a fair amount of local business near us, maybe DH’s friend from Knights of Columbus who also does real estate but he doesn’t seem to be active (he has no connections on LinkedIn and no yelp reviews, but he used to live in the city we are moving to but didn’t do real estate there) and and I have never seen one of his signs in my neighborhood. I can also interview at least two or three other agents who sell a fair amount in my area.

We've sold four houses over the years and were the absolute happiest with our last Realtor. We found her just by the shear number of house listings we passed in the area with her name on the sign. What we liked the most were her super professional pictures, the fact that she had a binder full of everything we ever wanted to know including recommended businesses that we might need to use, and tons of discounts from those businesses because they liked her so much. She even gave out a voucher for a plant at a local nursery. When I went to pick it up, the people there even gushed about her. She sold our house in 8 days.

I'm already taking notes about Realtors for when we sell this house in the hopeful far off future. I've been looking at the mailers that have been sent to the house as well as taking note of the most common names that pop up when I drive. Then, I have been going online and looking at their websites. I look for words like professional staging and pictures as well as an emphasis on marketing. I also look for their current listings to see their volume as well as current examples of their work.

With the interviews, I would look for examples of their paper brochures. Make sure the pictures look amazing as they really do sell a house for the most amount of money. The quality of the brochure is also important. I would also look at the other materials they bring for you. Like I said, we were floored with her binder of not only her selling strategy, comps, and market trends, but also tips and recommendations. Also ask about the team behind the Realtor and how easy it is to get in contact with them. Ours had at least seven specialized employees, including on the buyers side of the business. She made the selling process seamless by being handed off from person to person as we moved from stage to stage.

One of my friends lived in my cul-de-sac and put her house up for sale a month after mine. She used one of her husband's friends and had the worst time. Her house was on the market for over a year. She said if she had to do it again, she would have insisted against using the friend who was just starting out as a Realtor and who only had one other listing. If I were you, I would run from the friend and remember that this is just business and you need to look out for yourselves.

Good luck with everything!

[legaleagle]

100% separate agents in your situation. You may want to ask for a rec from a your selling agent - generally they get some kind of payment for a referral.

[westwoodmom04]

agree with Jawilli, do not use the inexperienced friend. Two agents seems like a great idea since it is two different markets.

[California]

Slightly off topic- how did your kitchen remodel turn out? If you feel okay sharing a photo or two, I'd love to see one!

[georgiegirl]

Slightly off topic- how did your kitchen remodel turn out? If you feel okay sharing a photo or two, I'd love to see one!

Yes to this

Too bad you won’t be able to enjoy it for long

[KpbS]

Honestly, word of mouth goes a long ways. Find a friend/neighbor who has sold in your area in the last year and find who they recommend. The best realtors are not only knowledgeable about houses and selling, but good negotiators as well. There are always snags in the process!

Also for your new area, find someone who is very knowledgeable. Post in a local group (if you can) and ask for recs. Look at their websites, reviews, etc.