How to Choose a Buyer's Representative

Have you ever asked yourself, "How do I choose a good buyer's representative?" When you decide to buy a home, whether it's a vacation home, an investment property, or your primary residence, you'll have many advantages if you hire a good real estate agent to represent you. However, hiring the wrong real estate agent can be nothing more than an expensive burden on your home-buying process. How can you determine when an agent is the best choice for your real estate needs?

Here are the most important qualities to look for in a potential representative when you're looking to buy a home.

1. Experience

Real estate agents do train before they get their jobs, but the vast majority of the skill that an agent develops comes from on-the-job experience. The longer that an agent has practiced, the more opportunities they've had to encounter every strange situation and potential problem. They can make this experience work for you by being prepared for anything that might happen during the home search process. Less experienced agents, on the other hand, are often learning how to solve your problems for the first time, and won't always have the best or the fastest solution.

Of course, less experienced real estate professionals can be quite gifted, and more experienced ones haven't always managed to improve over the years. But an agent like Kathy Palmer, who has demonstrated consistent and sustained excellent over more than 25 years, is someone you can trust to do a great job.

2. Specialization

A good buyer's representative will have the skills necessary to help you find any kind of home you want. But for the best results, you should try to find a real estate agent who specializes in the type of property you're looking for. By knowing the area and the specific market, your representative will be better equipped to find you the best home for your needs quickly, and will know how to tell the difference between a good opportunity and a bad one.

For example, Kathy specializes in luxury homes, especially those in the Ranch Colony group of gated communities. Having sold more than $96 million worth of homes in Ranch Colony alone, Kathy is an absolute expert on helping clients find their dream home in Florida. With her connections within the community, Kathy can also help you meet people and find out if the community is right for you.

3. Connections

A good real estate agent is fully integrated into the local community, which means that they know the best people to recommend for any job. When you buy a home, there's a good chance that you'll need more than just a real estate agent—you'll be wise to invest in a home inspector and a real estate lawyer, and you may need to hire contractors after the purchase to make your dream home perfect. Find an agent who's ready to recommend people for these jobs, then investigate the people they recommend. Good professionals will often recommend other good professionals, but if the recommended people don't check out, that could be a red flag about the real estate agent.

The other benefit of choosing a real estate agent with connections is that they can get you access to homes that others might not be able to see. The gated communities in Southeast Florida often won't show homes to buyers who lack representation; with someone like Kathy Palmer, who lives in Ranch Colony and truly knows everyone, you'll be allowed in and may even get to see homes before they're officially on the market.

4. Attitude

Buying a home isn't always an easy process. You will likely encounter frustrations at some point—with sellers making unreasonable demands, with a good offer not being accepted, or with the right home being hard to find. You're allowed to let your emotions get the better of you when you encounter these obstacles, but your real estate agent isn't. It's their job to help guide you through these rough patches with confidence and professionalism, and to help you solve problems along the way.

One of the best ways to test whether a real estate agent is the right choice to represent you is to ask that agent's former clients. Find other people who have bought their homes with representation from the agent, and ask them about their experience. Was the agent calm and reliable even in difficult times? Were they enthusiastic and helpful?

Luckily, you can usually find an agent's recent clients in the neighborhood where you're looking to buy—after all, that's where the agent focuses most of their time and expertise. For example, you can find dozens of Kathy Palmer's satisfied customers in Jupiter and Ranch Colony. Ask Kathy to refer you to them, and they'll tell you exactly how well Kathy can handle herself when a home-search gets difficult.

5. Results

Last, but not least, a good buyer's representative will get results. You can ask about these results—a good agent will be happy to share their successes and show you the numbers that set them apart from other agents. One detail you should look into is their list-to-sale-price ratio as a buyer's representative. Ideally, they'll have a record of helping their clients get a sale price at or below the listing price.

However, don't get too caught up in the ratio. A great buyer's representative shows their results through more than just the numbers. You'll find an abundance of satisfied clients who will happily share just how much Kathy Palmer has helped them in finding a new home. You'll also know that an agent gets results when you start working with them—you'll immediately recognize their skill when they start showing you listings and homes for sale that perfectly match your needs.

Looking for a home in Jupiter, Ranch Colony, or elsewhere in Southeast Florida? Find out for yourself why Kathy Palmer is such a beloved buyer's representative by getting in touch with her today!