The GTA has been the most active real estate market in Canada in recent years. Naturally hot market has drawn many to become real estate agents. Some work full time while others sell real estate in their spare time or after hours.
Listed below are characteristics a good realtor would possess:
- Knowledgeable
- Experienced
- Internet savvy
- Available
- Resourceful
- Trustworthy
- Networked
- Reliable
- Sincere
- Loyal
- Fair
By looking at the short list above, you can come to the conclusion that many part-time realtors would not be able to retain the majority of the characteristics.
As you come to the decision of selling your home or purchasing one, this may be the biggest investment you make. To put trust into an incompetent, unreliable or inexperienced agent, you would find it to be a poor choice.
There is the alternative category of agents who simply buy business. To clarify what that means, buying business is when they spend hundreds of thousands of dollars every year to have their photos posted on huge billboards. When interviewing a prospective seller, typically these realtors use the biggest tool they have, that is ” I have a big market exposure and spend hundreds of thousands in advertising”.
Typically, advertising is a good way of speeding up the selling process, but what they advertise may not be beneficial to selling your home. In order to advertise on huge billboards, or at bus stops, they need money, and where money does that money come from? Your wallet.
What you can expect to receive for paying a huge commission:
1. The file will be assigned to a junior agent or secretary.
2. When you call, you get an assistant on the phone.
3. When buyers call, the same thing occurs. They either speak to a new agent or a secretary.
4. Your file is handled by an agent who cannot make it on his own in the real estate market and has to join
a team.
5. All other shortfalls that you can think of that come with volume business model.
What you can expect from a full-time Realtor:
- Competency
- Someone who takes care of every sale on his own
- Someone who talks to buyers and sellers in person
- A realtor whose business depends on happy and satisfied clients, as most of his business come from past clients and referrals
- Someone who charges a reasonable commission
Finding the ideal realtor consists of research and past experiences of their clients. When you do find a realtor and have had a great experience buying or selling your home, try to hold on to them as a competent and trustworthy realtor is irreplaceable.