Interviewing a prospective real estate agent is a safe way to choose the agent who will represent you in your home-buying transaction. It is important to learn about the agent’s personality, experience, specialties, values, and manners. You can begin this process by getting to know each McCreith Team broker by viewing our biographies under “Our Team“. Interviews can be conducted in whatever method you are most comfortable with: via email, telephone, or face to face at the office.
Test-drive a prospective real estate agent
Ask to be taken out to see four or five properties in a day and see the broker in action. Are you comfortable? Does he present himself professionally? Is she helpful and knowledgeable? Does she listen to what you say and understand what you want? Does he continue to keep you informed and send value-added information for your quest?
There are certain questions you should ask when evaluating a potential agent
- Is the agent a REALTOR®? (if it’s a Bella Casa real estate agent, then YES!)
- Does the agent have an active real estate license in good standing? To find this information, you can check with the Oregon Association of REALTORS®.
- Does the agent belong to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and/or a reliable online home buyer’s search service? Multiple Listing Services are cooperative information networks of REALTORS® that provide descriptions of most of the houses for sale in a particular region.
- Is real estate their full-time career?
- What real estate designations does the agent hold? Designations like GRI (Graduate REALTOR® Institute) require that agents complete additional real estate training, which show they’re constantly learning. Ask if agents have designations and, if not, why not?
- In exchange for your commitment, how will the agent help you accomplish your goals? Show you homes that meet your requirements and provide you with a list of the properties he or she is showing you?
- How will the agent keep you informed? If you want weekly updates by email, don’t choose an agent who plans to contact you only if there’s an offer.
- Can you provide references? Ask to talk to the last three customers the agent assisted. Call and ask if they’d work with the agent again and if the agent did anything that didn’t sit well with them.
Communicate your intentions
When you are comfortable, communicate your intention to work solely with your broker until closing. At that point you will be placed on the Priority Service List. When our Realtors® are able to confidently place you on the Priority Service List, then they are willing to turn down other work and reserve that premium level of service for you. Your loyalty allows us guarantees our service.
Still not a committing person? Of course, we hope that if we serve you well that you will reward our efforts with payment for services. That can only happen if we write the offer for you, represent you in a sale, and close it to your satisfaction. If you ask us to write the offer for you, you are automatically placed on our Priority Service List.
Our guarantee insures you will not be locked into a relationship that does not serve your interests before ours. If we fall short of your expectations, please tell us so we can correct the oversight. If desired, we will provide you with another professional to serve you. If that does not satisfy you, then we will not hold you to any expectation of loyalty.
Team Support
The McCreith Team fosters a corporate culture of sharing. We all give and we all receive; we are all the richer for it and our clients enjoy the best service available.
