When buying or selling a home, hiring a real estate is essential for making sure the process runs smoothly. Not only do real estate agents help find homes to buy and make for-sale homes easy for buyers to find, but they can also negotiate prices to make sure their client is getting the best deal possible. However it can be difficult for buyers and sellers to know what to look for when hiring an agent, so here are five red flags to keep an eye out for to help prevent accidentally hiring someone who may hurt more than help.

The Agent Has Few References

When it comes to finding out if an agent is quality, one of the easiest ways to do so is to look at reviews from past clients to see how well they have been received. Most agents will keep their testimonials where they’re easy for prospective clients to find, so if they’re hidden in a website or seemingly nonexistent, it’s a big red flag. No reviews means the agent is either extremely new to agenting, or none of their clients wanted to leave reviews, which can imply a poor quality agent.

The Agent Works Part Time

When working with a real estate agent, it’s important that they have the time and experience necessary to help their clients to the best of their ability, at such times like the home inspection. When an agent works part time, that means they likely have another job to balance on top of agenting, which takes away from the time they can devote to their clients. While being a real estate agent may seem like it can be a good weekend job, putting in just a few days a week means they gain experience much slower than full time agents and that their attention will constantly be split between jobs. 

The Agent Gives Unrealistic Expectations

When interviewing agents, it’s a common strategy for homeowners to ask how much money the agent thinks they’ll be able to sell the home for. The higher the estimate, the more the seller wants to work with the agent who gave it. However, this can be a bad sign because agents who give very high estimates often only do so in order to get clients. The homes they try to sell then end up sitting on the market with no offers, so sellers should be wary of any estimates that sound too good to be true. 

The Agent Doesn’t Deal With the Type of Property

Many agents specialize in a certain type of Nolensville property, be it single family homes, condos, or apartments. In order to get a better idea of an agent’s preferred property type, look at the listings they’ve helped buy and sell. It should be easy to find a trend, but if it seems like an agent works with a variety of different properties, don’t be afraid to either call or email them to ask if they’re comfortable working with a specific type.

The Agent Has Too Many Clients

If an agent is popular, this is a sign that can point to the agent being good at their job. And while a lot of clients can mean a skilled agent, it can also mean a very busy agent. Buying and selling homes requires a lot of attention, so it’s imperative that an agent’s focus isn’t divided between too many clients. If the agent has too many clients, it means they can’t give all of their clients the attention and care they deserve. 

Knowing the red flags to look out for can make finding a good real estate agent all the easier. By keeping these in mind, all buyers and sellers can help themselves work with only the best.