I always recommend that you interview multiple Realtors before selecting the right one for you. There are a lot of Realtors in the Cincinnati area, and you want to be sure you pick a good one! (I’ll be talking more about interviewing Realtors on the blog in the coming weeks.)

Some Realtors are more professional and trustworthy than others. A lot of new Realtors hastily entered the market during the housing boom to make quick money. The truth is, about 10% of the Realtors do 90% of the business. There are a few key things to look for when doing your homework online — Here are some ways to tell if Realtors are telling the truth about their qualifications on their websites.

Listings: You will want to be able to look at the agent’s active listings. Hopefully they have a ‘my listings’ section. Only specific kinds of realtors, such as exclusive buyer broker agents, refuse to take listings. If you can’t find any evidence of current or recently sold listings, it might mean the agent has no listings, has not had a listing in a long time, or has never had a listing.

Also make sure that if he or she has listings posted, that they are the agent’s own listings. Some will post colleague’s listings on their own site. If you can’t find the name of the agent on the listing, call the company and see who is listing the home. If it’s not the agent advertising the listing, the agent is misrepresenting him/herself.

Experience: Look for references to the number of years the agent has been licensed to sell real estate. Either in a biography or in a collection of past listings. Be wary of the agent bragging about how long he/she worked somewhere else or lived in the area. It’s fine if they discuss other experiences, but read between the lines. Look for specifics and details about real estate.

An unexperienced agent might not be able to anticipate problems that could arise. A more experienced agent can handle the unexpected without running somewhere else for advice. When you see agents that don’t directly discuss their experience, it makes you wonder what else they are not being direct about.

Specialty: Many agents advertise a specialty, wether it’s a neighborhood, a type or property or types of buyers/sellers they represent. If they claim to work in Hyde Park, but have never been involved in a sale of a property in this neighborhood, that is a red flag! Or they may claim to specialize in luxury listings, but can’t show evidence of having sold one.

A specialty might get a little muddled in this market of high inventory. Agents might have some out-of-character listings, or simply a lot of listings! Just look closely at whether or not their claims match the proof you can find. If they say they specialize in Oakley, but all of their listings are in West Chester, again this is a red flag.

There’s some other homework you can do when researching agents. First, you can look up an agent’s license. You can start at The Association of Real Estate License Law Officials and search for the agent’s name. (You can find me there!) This will provide you with a license number and perhaps dates on when the license was issued. You can also find your state’s real estate licensing division, but admittedly the Ohio site is very confusing and unhelpful!

You can also get a copy of the agent’s production record. You can ask the agent him/herself to print this out from MLS, or you can ask another agent to do it. You might discover that this agent has been exaggerating the amount of sales he/she has. As a tip, a “successful” agent sells, on average, a minimum of one home per month or 12 homes a year.

Finally, ask about references and testimonials. If an agent is reluctant to give them, or the references may not have any names attached. This could mean a client is uncomfortable having his/her name published — what does this tell you? Ideally, your agent will be upfront about past clients. Be wary of vague and secretive agents.

Related...

• March 26, 2009 -- BUYERS: Questions to ask your Realtor
• March 23, 2009 -- SELLERS: Questions to Ask your Realtor
• June 14, 2010 -- Job Numbers Improve in Greater Cincinnati
• March 22, 2010 -- Cincinnati MLS Home Search:
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