Every year, hundreds of thousands of houses have been sold in Canada. In most cases, the sale of a home represents a significant milestone for both buyers and sellers. Many buyers are young families looking to buy their first property, and those selling are often doing so to move into a bigger property.
In essence, looking for houses or showing the property to potential buyers should be exciting. However, it’s also often long, tedious, and can be very frustrating, especially, for first-time buyers. This is why many people prefer to hire a realtor to help alleviate the pressures.
By leveraging the experience and network of a real estate agent, the process of buying or selling a home can be much smoother for you. However, there are bad real estate agents that can make the process even more stressful for you. Therefore, it is crucial that you pick a good real estate agent to work with.
In this article, you’ll learn about all the signs of a bad realtor so that you can make an informed decision.
1. Poor Communication Skills
The day-to-day work of a realtor involves round-the-clock communication with clients, prospects, contacts within their network, and other realtors. Poor communication skills are one of the main signs of a bad real estate agent. The key aspect of communication you need to assess is responsiveness. How soon do they call you back or reply to your emails? Any delays can result in missed opportunities, especially when the housing market is hot.
In addition, take note of how they communicate with you and other parties related to your real estate transaction. Observe their verbal and nonverbal cues when they’re conversing with you to determine whether they respect you as their client. The best local agent would exhibit top-notch communication skills that would prevent any misunderstandings.
2.Lack of Leadership
The primary reason for hiring a real estate agent is to leverage their industry and market experience to make the process easier for you. As such, the ability to lead is one of the vital signs of an excellent real estate agent. Any realtor who is quick to agree with you does not have the necessary leadership abilities that you require. However, there’s a difference between a realtor who can lead and a pushy real estate agent.
Take note of how they try to influence you and your actions with regard to crucial real estate decisions. Say you folks are trying to look for a property that suits your set budget and expectations, yet there are very limited options available in the market. A realtor who lacks leadership would coerce you to make a lot of compromises instead of stepping up to the challenge and leading you to a successful real estate transaction.
3. No Interest in Your Goals or plans
There are many things that come into play when buying a house. For your agent to be able to find a house that’s perfect for your need’s they must be aware of your desires. With a good real estate agent, this will involve thorough questioning so that they can find you a good fit. As such, interest in clients’ needs comes with listening skills.
Some of the questions to expect from a good real estate agent include:
- What type of property are you looking for?
- Within which period do you wish to buy or sell?
- Do you have any preferred neighbourhoods?
- What do you expect from me?
- What is the preferred mode of communication?
These questions are the key to satisfactory service from your real estate agent.
Keenly observe how your realtor is interacting with you whenever you try to share your insights and the like. If they’re not enthusiastic about them or they outright dismiss them without any valid reason, then it’s highly likely that they don’t have your best interests in mind.
4. Lack of Experience
In the real estate business, there’s no compromise when it comes to experience. Becoming a successful and effective realtor is not just about their skills but the skills of those within their network. Realtors who have been in the industry for some time have a wide network, which helps expedite the process. Five or more years within the industry is a sign of a good real estate agent.
There are many drawbacks when working with an inexperienced realtor. Firstly, they may be more likely susceptible to making errors, errors that can be very detrimental when closing on a real estate transaction. Additionally, they may still lack crucial soft skills that make realtors a standout of the rest of the real estate industry.
5. Unprofessional
Buying or selling a house is a big decision. Therefore, your real estate agent must treat it as a serious issue. Are they showing up for appointments late? Does the language used during communication seem too informal? Is their hygiene and grooming questionable? All these are signs of bad real estate agents that translate into wasted time and money.
Unprofessionalism does not necessarily mean that they’re not good enough, but it shows they do not value your business as much. Any time you notice unprofessional behaviours from your realtor, it’s best to find another one.
6. Too Pressurizing
The sole job of a realtor is to find you a property that’s as close to your desires as possible. They understand that finding the perfect home for you may involve looking at a few properties. As such, pushy real estate agents are to be avoided at all costs. With such a real estate agent, you will always feel pressured to purchase the first home that’s within your price range
A realtor who’s genuinely interested in satisfying your needs always lets you know that it’s okay to keep looking. Finding a house that matches your desires is not easy. That’s why it’s best for you to learn more about looking for homes.
7. Willing to Reduce Their Commission
Though all real estate agents leave room for discussing rates, one of the signs of a bad realtor Is that they’re too flexible in the negotiation. Finding clients for your property or the perfect house for you can take months and requires a lot of effort.
Good real estate agents understand this and are willing to see the process through without rushing or pressuring you. This is why they’re often rigid with rates. On the other hand, a realtor who’s willing to take a massive cut on their commission is a red flag. It demonstrates that they have no experience or haven’t had much business done recently.
8. Speaks Ill of Their Competitors
Is a realtor speaking ill of their competitors to get you to hire them? Any good realtor wants to be hired because of their ability and qualifications, but not because of the inadequacies of their competitors. Also, speaking ill of competitors is unprofessional and reeks of desperation, which is not a good quality in a realtor.
9. Never Compromise on Quality Service
Working with a realtor should alleviate most of the pressures of buying or selling a house. Inexperienced or bad realtors have a way of adding to such stress. Therefore, before hiring a realtor, be sure to interview a few to find one that’s qualified and easy to interact with.
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