As simple as this sounds, interview agents until you find one that you click with. This person is going to be your front-line representative when you view homes , is going to present your offer and negotiate on your behalf, interface with other Realtors, homeowners, your attorney, your banker/mortgage broker and a myiad of other people important to you! Be sure you're comfortable with him or her!
Marketing and negotiating experience, their level of technical expertise, knowledge of the towns you're interested in living in as well as of the local market trends are all incredibly important. Quite frankly, these traits should be easy to spot after the first fifteen minutes you speak with an agent.
Once you know you've found someone with the right credentials, you also need to be sure that this person is someone you want to spend a lot of time with! You're going to need to feel comfortable sharing your financial and personal situations because the more honest you can be with them, the better service they will be able to give you.
Good luck with your search. I hope you enjoy the process, it's a great time to be a buyer! - Thu May 22 2008, 14:09