I suggest a customer should ask the following questions.

Is this your full time job?
Are you familiar with property type client seeks (e.g. condos, REOs, etc)?
Where were your last five deals?
Who else will be working with me?
Will you show me all properties for sale?
When am I committed to working with you?
Has a client ever filed a complaint?
How are you paid?

Thanks for sharing, Greg. Mighty impressive feedback on your webpage by the way!

Anyone else?

In Illinois that’s the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. Visit the Department’s website and confirm your agent is licensed as a “Real Estate Broker” or “Real Estate Salesperson.” You can do this by entering the agent’s last name, selecting Real Estate Salesperson (or Real Estate Broker) from the ‘Select a Profession’ dropdown, then clicking ‘Search.’

Confirm the agent is listed as either a salesperson or broker, his or her license status is “active”, and the license expiration date is in the future.

Also note whether the agent has ever been disciplined (if so, this is something to ask about). According to the Department, “if the ‘Ever Discplned’ column contains a ‘Y,’ there has been disciplinary action taken against this license. Click on the ‘Y’ to view details of the disciplinary action.”

An active broker or salesperson license is no guarantee that the agent is right for you. But consumers should consider it a prerequisite to working with any agent.

Naturally I gravitated toward the “Find REALTORS®” tab located toward the top center of the page. You can’t miss it – it has a fancy orange “NEW” ribbon hanging just above it.

Curious, I clicked it just now and entered my zip code. Immediately I was informed that 1,527 agents serve my area. Interested, but a little overwhelmed, I hit the search button.

You’re going to love this. Realtor.com has sorted this list of 1,527 agents alphabetically – using the agent’s first name mind you – and divided it up into 150+ pages of 10 agents each. Think Michael Adams, Michael Burke, Michael Carter, Michael Dole, etc. After clicking the search button, I was randomly taken to one of these 150+ pages.

Are you kidding me? ARE YOU KIDDING ME? Making matters worse, the only other way to sort this massive list is in reverse-alphabetical order. I think the only thing worse – and more useless – than sorting 1,527 agents alphabetically by first name is to sort them reverse-alphabetically by first name. Where’s the beef? I may as well flip through an old phone book and randomly select an agent, no?

As before, Realtor.com offers no easy way to compare agents on the few relevant fields included in its agent search results. The status quo lives on.

This is the kind of nonsense that consumers, to put it politely, can’t stand. It’s also what in part inspired me to launch AgentsCompared.com last year in Chicagoland. Our mission – help consumers choose the right real estate agent for them.

I’m not sure what, if anything, Realtor.com’s “Find REALTORS®” function accomplishes, other than frustrating consumers and inspiring entrepreneurs. Oh, but wait a minute. If I’m feeling like sorting my Realtor.com agent search results in reverse-alphabetical order, Zoran Denovich is going to be looking pretty good! (Zoran, if you’re reading this, email me and I’ll set you up with a free, one year Premium Plan subscription on AgentsCompared.com)

Thoughts?

Here are some quotes on the subject from folks on Real Estate’s A-list. Thoughts?

“I know of a dozen ‘Top Producers’ who, through time spent or number of transactions closed, are driving under the influence of their own “success” but have no business being behind the wheel.”
-Kris Berg

“Suffice it too say, real estate is and always will be a personalized business built off of relationships. There will still be many, many consumers that will be happy, in fact, more than happy to hire the nice young 22-year old kid they met at an open house who isn’t carrying 15 other listings and willing to kill for their one and only customer.”
-Marc Davison (comment #13)

“I do think that its interesting that the number of units an agent sells is still equated with their proficiency or the level of advocacy and skill they bring to a new client or potential transaction – the truth is there really isn’t a correlation – you could sell a quantity of homes without being the best possible representative for a potential seller – maybe you sell so many because your sellers are intimidated into accepting the first offer they get or accepting terms that might not be optimal for them. Even the number of homes they sell in a specific market only shows where they are most active, not that they are the best agent for the job.While it does indicate a familiarity with that marketplace, it doesn’t mean that the agent is the hardest working, most creative, or the best negotiator – it only indicates (factually) that they had the highest volume. Perhaps I’m alone in the experience but I knew an agent who was extremely high volume and hard working, but really difficult to work with because they didn’t take care of details and were much more interested in facilitating the transaction than being the best advocate for their client – not that they didn’t do an acceptable job, but they didn’t do the ‘best’ job – and the cooperating agent always needed to be the ‘laboring oar’ in any transaction.”
-Bill Lublin (comment #13)

When choosing a real estate agent on either the sell or buy side, one of the most fundamental issues to ask about is experience, says Mike Golden, co-founder of Chicago’s @Properties real estate brokerage. The agent you choose should be experienced in short sales, and able to take you step by step through the process, explaining how long it will take and your role at each stage, he says.
…
Sellers should also ask how the agent plans to market the home. The answer should be that the marketing effort will be as or more rigorous than that for a traditional sale, according to Alex Charfen, CEO of Austin, Texas-based Distressed Property Institute.
…
Buyers should ask real estate agents how many short sales they’ve completed, and in how many they represented the buyer, says Pat Kelly, broker-agent with Realty World All-Pro.

On a related subject, watch for future posts here that feature local Realtors® telling us what they look for when choosing an agent for themselves (i.e., when making a referral).

On 6% commissions: “Some pay less and some pay more. Everyone wants to pay less, but I have had some [sellers offer] incentives. For example, someone who needs to move and will pay more if it is sold within X amount of time. I have seen a little bit of that.”

More on 6% commissions: “Every agent and company has different approaches in listing commissions. While our base commission has basically stayed the same, we are working to persuade sellers to offer high co-broker commissions to help encourage other brokers to show our inventory. We are even adjusting co-broker commissions on new development contracts signed years ago and on developments that are just coming to market.”

On “rescuing” a deal: “Lately we’re seeing an increasing amount of buyers asking what our commission is and requesting to leverage it in order to bridge a gap between a buyer’s offer and the seller’s counteroffer. The practice of sellers asking to help bridge a gap is common and, because I represent them, I’ll work with a seller in certain circumstances. However, a buyer asking how much we are making just shows how cutthroat the market can be today and how buyers feel they hold the upper hand.”

On co-brokes: “From a co-broke perspective it betters the chances of [brokers] bringing their buyers to your property when it’s at a full 3 percent commission as opposed to 2 to 2.5 percent, which we are seeing a lot of listings being sent out at.”

On direct deals (buyer without an agent): “There are more direct deals happening now than before. There were always agents during the peak of the market that didn’t co-broke because they had buyers coming directly to them. … [Now], I have seen more direct buyers coming to the properties because they have more resources at their fingertips.”

Chicagoland Realtors®, what say you?

But one of our newest members – Mabel Guzman – deserves special mention. Mabel is the President-Elect of the Chicago Association of Realtors®.

While AgentsCompared.com is an Affiliate Member of CAR, we neither directly nor indirectly approached Mabel about joining the site. She simply signed up for a Premium Plan subscription over the weekend, one of a growing number of savvy agents who recognize the value of a service (offering free and paid options) that helps them attract more prospects.

Welcome aboard Ms. President-Elect!

Ever wonder what the difference is between a Realtor®, Real Estate Agent and Real Estate Broker? Here’s the lowdown. Generally speaking, whoever you hire to list your home or show you properties must be licensed by the state. Here in Illinois there are currently two types of licenses, a broker license and a salesperson licensee. [This will be changing soon. Amendments to the Illinois Real Estate License Act will, effective May 2011, eliminate the "salesperson" license and replace it with a "new" broker license. The "old" broker license will in turn be renamed "managing broker". So we'll go from brokers and salespersons to managing brokers and brokers.]

Brokers are the backbone of any real estate transaction – for compensation they help you list or purchase real estate. Salespersons, though, are on the front lines – typically serving as an independent contractor of the broker and participating “hands-on” in the listing or purchase. The salesperson is usually your main point of contact – in fact you may never meet the broker. However, someone licensed as a broker could also be working the front lines and performing the functions of a salesperson. Salespersons (and sometimes brokers) are commonly referred to as real estate agents. This is because they are functioning as an agent of their brokerage.

So what, then, is a Realtor®? Brokers and salespersons have the option of joining the National Association of Realtors® (for most, if not all, Illinois licensees, membership is effectively mandatory if they want access to a local MLS). Brokers and salespersons who join NAR are called “Realtors®”. The “®” simply indicates that NAR has registered the term Realtor with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and essentially controls its use. So while all Realtors® are real estate licensees (brokers or salespersons), not all brokers and salespersons are Realtors®.

So what do you really need to know? Before working with a real estate professional, consider checking the status of their license (broker or salesperson) with the state. You’ll want confirm that the license is still valid, and see whether there have been any disciplinary actions taken. You should also confirm with the individual that he or she has direct access to the local MLS. Finally, note that one of the main benefits, according to NAR, of working with a Realtor® is that Realtors® are bound by NAR’s Code of Ethics.

I hope this was helpful. More to come!