Home shoppers now must sign a contract with their agents before getting professional help, thanks to new rules under a National Association of Realtors’ court settlement.
While you don’t have to use an agent to buy a home, 89% of home buyers do, NAR figures show.
Home sellers long ago had to master the skills for hiring an agent, said Lisa Dunn of Laurel Real Estate Resources in Rancho Santa Margarita.
“Now, I guess it’s to become standard operating procedure with buyers,” she said.
As of June, the top 25% of agents handled 70% of the sales in the California Regional Multiple Listing Service, which covers most of California, according to Laguna Beach consulting firm Real Data Strategies. That left the remaining 75% scrambling for a third of the business.
“Dabblers and part-timers are the scourge of this industry,” said Pomona agent Fred Van Allen, of First Team Real Estate. “You need a pro.”
So, how do you find a pro? And how do you avoid working with an ill-informed underachiever who only sees you as a dollar sign?
Agents and real estate experts recommended the following tips.
Do you need an agent?
Hiring a sales agent is not required.
And many DIY buyers actually manage to purchase a home without paying the extra $19,000-$23,000 agents typically command for medium-priced California homes.
RELATED: Now that California homebuyers are on the hook for paying agent commissions, some ask: Is this worth it?
Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, Homes.com and myriad other websites provide lists of homes for sale.
Some buyers and sellers said they used an attorney to handle the paperwork at a fraction of the cost.
Industry insiders advise against going it alone, however.
“There are a lot of wheels turning and many moving parts in a real estate transaction,” said Aimee Hanson, a Minnesota broker and a long-time instructor at licensing course provider Kaplan Real Estate Education. “You need a trusted partner during this process, and that means doing research and asking the right questions before you get excited about opening doors and looking at houses.”
Buying a home is one of the most complicated and expensive things you do in life, added Brentwood broker Anne Russell Sullivan, president of the Greater Los Angeles Realtor Association.
The right agent will save you a ton of headaches, culling the number of homes you look at, guiding you through the lending process, helping you find appraisers and inspectors and streamlining voluminous paperwork.
“Before you do anything else, find a professional who will guide you,” she said.
Sullivan advises that you approach it the same way you would when looking for a divorce attorney, an architect, an accountant or a heart surgeon.
Look for referrals, research prospective agents, interview at least two or three of them, then sign up a skillful agent whom you feel most comfortable with.
Get referrals
Ask family, friends, colleagues and acquaintances if they had a positive experience with an agent.
“Use your network,” said Holden Lewis, a senior writer for Nerdwallet.com. “Dig through agents’ websites to see if they have experience working in your target neighborhood and in your price range.”
RELATED: The rules for homebuyers and sellers are changing in California. Here’s what you need to know.
What if you don’t have a network for your target area? What if you’re new to the neighborhood?
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