A Portland Real Estate Blog

It’s so hard to pick a good Realtor because most people don’t buy homes often enough to get a good gauge on the process and know what to look for or what works for them.

Do you pick based on sales?  I know a Realtor that had 60 sales in one year and your best interest is the very last thing on his mind.  I had ten sales in one month and I don’t even remember it because things were so crazy.

Do you pick based on the car they drive?  I know a Realtor who got a listing specifically because of the Lexus she drove because it alluded to success. There is a Realtor with a jaguar who is on my list of three Realtors that I do my best to avoid along with the guy above.  The third is in jail.

Do you pick based on company? Every Realtor is different and the company they work for has little to do with how the Realtor works or treats you.  In one case a Principal Broker at a very large company told me that a Realtor he had was doing bad stuff but that he kept documentation of his reprimands so the Principal Broker would not go down with him.  But the Realtor produced so he kept him.

Do you pick on experience? Sometimes youth has exuberance and will work harder but they don’t know what they don’t know. The aged veterans can get careless or not keep up with the times. It’s a crap shoot as well.

Do you pick on referrals? This is probably the best idea though I know when I started there were some rough deals.  The clients in the end were ecstatic because what they wanted happened and loved me.  They remember the end more than the hiccups. Realtors are like airplane pilots in that there are many things going on that we take care of that you may never know.  So referrals are best when they include a story of how the agent helped through some tough parts of the deal.

So what would I do?

The thing I tell every single client is that you have to feel comfortable with your agent. You have to know that you can talk to them.  I have heard plenty of people say their Realtor made them feel dumb when they asked a question or that they wouldn’t answer the phone.  That should never happen.

I would also start with referrals.  I think testimonials are good but the agent is only going to ask his best clients for those.  I hate to ask for those so I have very few because I don’t like to bother people.

It’s not easy to pick an agent which is why I tell sellers that my contract can be cancelled anytime if they don’t like me. I’m not forcing you to work with me if you don’t want to work with me, and I have watched as other Realtors force a seller to stick with them because of the 6 month contract.  That sounds like no fun for anyone involved.

So far I have only had one person end the contract to list with someone else.  They met another Realtor in a coffee shop that had “good energy”. I cancelled it immediately and told her there were no hard feelings.  Five months later it sold…..for $100,000 off her list price.  I had told her the price needed to drop but wow.  Even I didn’t think it needed to go that low, and they didn’t even do price drops. That was one single drop.

I also wouldn’t hire a Realtor that did dual agency where they would represent the Seller and Buyer at the same time.  If they have that mindset they are focused on the money, and it’s called double-siding a deal.  I have yet to hear a good argument on how one agent can represent two different sides trying to negotiate their best price.  Some liken it to one lawyer representing both sides in a murder trial.  At some point the Realtor becomes an order taker and can’t have anyone’s interest in mind much less yours.

For Buyers, ask your Realtor if they show all homes regardless of the commission.  I don’t blame Realtors who won’t show a home because the commission is low but I hold them in contempt if they don’t tell their clients that they are hiding listings from them for that reason.

I see Realtors as something like a Presidential Advisor.  You hire us for our expertise but you have the final say.  We should work with you in your best interest not ours. I have told clients that they shouldn’t buy because of their life circumstance. I have told them that a house wasn’t a good fit for them based on everything they told me.  I have said plenty that could or did talk myself out of getting a commission, even when things have been slow and I really would have enjoyed that commission check.

Pick a Realtor that you believe has your best interests in mind and doesn’t hold you to a long contract.  We do exist.  And there are only a handful of agents that I trust to work with in this business.  One of them is Sandra Daniels who I call my partner.

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Last year the Vice President of a major title company was in town to talk about the state of our local housing market. He started off by asking, why is there so much litigation with siding in the Northwest.

If you live anywhere in the Portland area you have likely seen whole housing developments with their siding removed in the last few years. Apparently homes built in the last 12 years or so weren’t done according the siding manufacturer’s instructions.

I don’t know if it is because builder’s foremans got lazy or what but it seems like the majority of developments have gone through or are about to go through some litigation due to construction defects or improper installation. Why it isn’t all over the country I don’t know.

Almost every time I have a client interested in a newer home I ask about any litigation and really hope it’s over. If not then there is a good chance it is coming, and it is near impossible these days to get a loan while litigaton is pending.
While the HOA may win the lawsuit agains the builder’s insurance there is often an out of pocket retainer for the lawyers. If they don’t have that in reserves then they have to give an assessment to the homeonwners hoping they have the money.

What can also happen is that the lawyers win and then they have to get paid and there might not be enough money left over. This creates another assessment. I have had two clients successfully flee those situations.

So you can’t buy one and you can’t sell one and if you’re lucky they have already gone through it. Here’s to hoping you don’t have to go through it.

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