5 Must-Have Qualities of a Great Real Estate Agent

Real estate agents are not all created equal.  Not all real estate agents may be the right fit for everyone.  Many will be all talk but no results; others can get you results but may not be the easiest to work with.

Whether you're a buyer or seller, a real estate agent is essential these days when completing most real estate transactions.  For homebuyers, the real estate agent commissions are usually paid by the seller upon closing escrow, so it really is worth it for a buyer to use a real estate agent since there really is no up-front, out-of-pocket cost to you.  But do keep in mind that it CAN cost you a lot either later on down the road or in terms of time and energy if you don't have the right agent for you.

As for homeowners ready to sell, whether you're conducting a standard sale or a short sale, I'm sure the question ALWAYS goes through your mind about whether it's really worth it to hire a real estate agent to help you sell your home or not.  I know I had thought about it before when I sold one of my properties prior to becoming a Realtor.  I've been there.  And if you're willing to take on the risk of selling such an expensive piece of property, learning how to utilize all the forms, providing the required disclosures to the buyers, negotiating the contract, marketing your home, dealing with the lender(s) involved (either for a short sale or the buyer's lender, if necessary), screening the buyers appropriately to make sure they are qualified, hiring/contacting all the appropriate parties and vendors involved (escrow company, title company, termite company, disclosure report company, home warranty company, etc.), making sure that YOUR interests are best protected, and so on and so forth, then selling your own home without an agent may be right for you.  Keep in mind though that the buyers may have their own agents already, and both the buyers and their agents may not want to deal with a seller who is trying to "wing it" on his/her own.  Otherwise, hiring a highly-qualified real estate agent to help you sell your home may be worth it in the long run to help protect you against potential lawsuits after the fact, to find you quality buyers, and to ultimately take as much stress out of the process as possible.

So what should you look for in a real estate agent?  Well, I'm sure we can come up with a huge list of qualifications.  But when you boil it down to what's most important, here are 5 must-have qualities that every agent should have:

#1 - Communication, Communication, Communication

I can't begin to tell you how frustrating it is when there's a breakdown in communication between one or more people involved in a real estate transaction.  But first and foremost, the most important line of communication needs to be between you and your agent.  Agents who are up-to-date with technology will be accessible via e-mail, text, online chat, Facebook, Twitter, and other applications and tools, in addition to the traditional phone call.  Even more important is that they should be able to respond to you fairly quickly.  From my own experience in transactions that don't involve real estate, it makes a HUGE difference when I get a timely phone call, e-mail, or text back from the person who's helping me in the transaction, even if it's just to say, "I haven't forgotten about you.  There's no new update today though.  Here's what I'm doing and what we're waiting on..."  Communication is also essential among the agents involved in the real estate transaction as well.  Now, that can't always be controlled since, like I mentioned before, not all real estate agents are created equal, but a great agent will be able to guide you through your options should the other agent involved (or other parties involved) are not responsive.

#2 - Positive Attitude & Friendly Demeanor

Who wants to work with someone who is negative all the time, or who talks to you like you are just a number or a paycheck to him/her?  It can and probably will take a few or several months right now to buy or sell in home in Orange County, so why spend a big chunk of your year working with someone on a very regular basis who does not really give a darn about you?  At the same time, other agents will notice and respect a sharp agent with a positive attitude and friendly demeanor enough to select YOU over another buyer or seller who is instead being represented by a cold, non-communicative, negative agent.  In my experience, some of my buyers were selected over others despite offering LESS money for a property because of how easy it was to work with me and my clients, how quickly I responded to them, and how knowledgeable I was about the market and process.

#3 - Great Listener

A great listener is an extremely important quality within any relationship, whether it's between you and your real estate agent, or you and a loved one.  When it comes to real estate, a great agent will actually listen to you to find out your needs.  Not just how many bedrooms and bathrooms that you want.  Not just how many parking spaces that you want.  But to find out WHY you need 3 bedrooms instead of 2.  And WHY you need a garage plus ample guest parking nearby.  A great agent will ask questions about features that you like and dislike, and then ask you why you do or don't want certain things.  He/she will find out why you want to sell, where you want to eventually move to, and what your financial situation is so that he/she can best help you.  And upon asking these questions, a great agent will then be quiet and LISTEN.  Any agent who really cares to help you MUST listen to you and find out the reasons for your decisions in real estate.  Without knowing this, he/she will not be able to do his/her job sufficiently, efficiently, and effectively for you.

#4 - Ability to Follow Through

A great agent will be able to follow through with your requests, questions, concerns, and the overall transaction.  There really isn't too much more to elaborate on with this quality.  An agent who says they are going to do something for their client should then do it for their client.  If that doesn't happen, he/she should be able to communicate to you why it wasn't done.  That's still considered following through.  It's about addressing your needs, and a great agent should be able to do this for you.  'Nough said.

#5 - Knows the Market, Laws, and Contracts

There are many agents out there who have the best personalities, the greatest follow-through and communication skills, and are just wonderful people overall.  However, a great agent will also be able to help you actually get the transaction closed.  That can only be done with solid knowledge of your market, the real estate laws in your area, and the contracts and paperwork that you will be signing along the way.  I think this quality is quite self-explanatory as well.  You simply do not want to work with someone who doesn't know how to sell real estate.  And you'll know right off the bat whether your agent is truly knowledgeable or just blowing smoke up your you-know-what; he/she will be able to communicate to you how a transaction should work, what can go wrong, what your risk is, what's going on in the current market, and so forth in a way that should make sense to you.  And like everyone else out there, you'll probably go "Google" it afterwards to double-check.  If something doesn't check out, ask your agent to explain.  You'll be able to get a gut feeling about your agent based on his/her answer.

These 5 must-have qualities are based on my own experience, as well as feedback from my existing clients.  I do want to mention that there may be agents out there who possess all these qualities but just don't "click" with you.  That's perfectly fine; it doesn't mean they are not great real estate agents, but they just aren't right for YOU.

I always know I've done a great job with my clients when they continue to stay in touch with me even after closing escrow and are truly interested in certain aspects of my personal life that they may know about.  For instance, it was very apparent and humbling for me when I received such heartfelt messages and calls from my past clients to congratulate me on my new baby not too long ago.  That really, really warmed my heart to know that we had such a great working relationship to the point that it spilled into my personal life.  And the wonderful thing is that I can point out unique interests and life occurrences that I've learned about each of my clients and past clients as well, all by memory.  That's the type of relationship that I've built with my clients, and I have no doubt that it largely had to do with these 5 must-have qualities that I've been able to exemplify.