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Buyers: Key Advice for Picking Chicago Realtors
10 Questions To Ask Any Realtor When Looking to
Hire One to Help With the Chicago Real Estate Listings
"We had no idea buying real estate could be so complicated," said Grace Tan a newly minted Chicago home owner. "Without trustworthy real estate agents to guide you it's easy to make a costly mistake."
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"But I'm not talking any kind of realtor," cautioned Tan. "If you don't use a buyers' broker to help you work through all the Chicago area homes for sale, you're crazy." "Yeah, Tony and I had never heard of this type of real estate person either. But his cousin advised we look at working with one. I think you're looking for an Accredited Buyer Representative. One with an ABR designation? Tony and I would never buy another home without one." Grace is right. there are different types of Chicago realtors. And if you want to work with someone with your best interest in mind instead of the sellers, here's some questions to consider asking. Making sure you do so before agreeing to an exclusive relationship with someone. |
1) You obviously want to make sure they are an Accredited Buyer Representative as well as a member of the National Association of Realtors.
2) How long have they been representing buyers in the greater Chicago area?
3) Get their take on the condition of the current Chicago housing market. You want to know if they think it's a buyers market, sellers market or more neutral.
4) Read their contract carefully. Don't be afraid to clarify the fee. And find out what happens if the real estate commission offered by the seller doesn't cover your agents agreed upon fee. And also nail down the charge if you don't buy a house with their help? 5) Along the same lines ask about the commission you'd owe if they find one of the homes for sale that's being sold directly by the owner without an agent? You might want to know if that purchase can be set up so you don't have to pay their fee out of pocket.
6) What parts of town do they specialize in?
7) What's their success rate? That is out of all the buyers they've worked with in the past year, how many actually landed a house with their help?
8) Do they have a support staff? Ask about the staffs role in the home buying process.
9) Find out how they determine what to offer, how they respond to counter offers and get a feel about how they'd go about negotiating the price. What else to they typically negotiate?
10) Chicago realtors often have a network of contacts. Explore their access to other real estate service providers like say a home inspector or mortgage broker - if any.
"Keep track of the answers," Grace advised. "There are really no right or wrong answers either, just better ones. Besides this talk will help you get a better feel if you are comfortable working with a given Realtor. You know? if they're someone you can trust to help you sort through the homes for sale in Chicago or not."
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