So you want to fire your Realtor?

Let’s take a step back to see why you chose to work with them in the first place? People decide to work with someone because they are a relative, close friend, personal recommendation, or someone they found on Yelp. These are all great reasons–we all want to work with people we know, trust and like! But it is imperative to do your homework before committing to working with any Realtor that will presumably be responsible for handling your largest financial transaction.

Let’s look at several fundamental skills and qualities that any Realtor must possess before deciding to work with them:

1. Knowledge:
   • Micro and macro real estate market and economic trends.
   • Neighborhood characteristics
   • Real estate contracts, legal issues, and disclosures;
   • Relevant tax, legal, financing principles of owning and transacting real estate
2. Skills & Experience:
   • People, marketing, and technical skills
   • Transaction experience
   • Industry reputation and network (ask for references!)
   • Problem-solving skills
3. Extended Team:
   • Countable lenders, appraisers, contractors, tradespeople, inspectors and property management
   • Insurance, tax, title, trust attorneys, and other legal professionals.
4. Service:
   • Ethical, principled and reliable (fiduciary relationship)
   • Responsive and available
   • Objective and factual
   • Discreet and confidential
   • Service guarantee! (they should be confident enough to guarantee their services)

At the end of the day, you need to work with a Realtor that accepts high responsibility, educates and guides, and helps interpret data with a big picture perspective, while keeping your interest top priority. Don’t make the mistake of hiring a Realtor out of convenience over rigorous screening. Do your due diligence, ask questions and get referrals from real people, so you’ll never be in a position that you would want to fire your Realtor. Instead, look for that one individual or team that can be your trusted One Stop Realtor for all your real estate needs. Lastly, make sure to check their CalBRE license to see if their license is active as well as any public comments place on their record.

Click here for our “12 Questions To Ask When Choosing A REALTOR” guide every buyer and seller must ask a Realtor before hiring them?

What other qualities do you think a Realtor should have?

Feel free to visit our website to learn more about how we can help you buy or sell your Silicon Valley Home, as well as build your real estate portfolio for retirement. Also, please join us for our real estate seminars held each month in Palo Alto. Don’t forget to look at our Yelp page to see what clients are saying behind our backs!