Choosing the best Charleston real estate agent
It seems like an appropriate time to discuss a better way of finding and choosing a real estate agent which is probably just as important as finding the perfect home in light of this weekend's brouhaha in the REnet regarding syndicated listings and the battle for LEADS being waged by real estate agents trying to get you to contact them.
First of all, I would suggest that the BEST does not necessarily refer to the agent who has helped the most people buy or sell a home. The best Charleston real estate agent is the agent who you are most comfortable with and has the experience and local market knowledge to best help you buy or sell a home.
Now, you can do any number of things to find the best agent for you.
If you're buying, you can find homes that you like and contact the agent who is offering it for sale. You should realize that agent however has already signed a contract to represent the seller and should you want him / her to represent you, that would be dual agency (which is perfectly legal) but each party has to sign off on the fact that the agent can only offer limited representation to both parties or continue to represent the seller as the client and the buyer would then be an unrepresented customer.
If that isn't something you want to do and you want to find an agent to represent your interests in the transaction, I would suggest that you meet and interview several agents to find one that is best for you. If you're local, you can always ask friends, neighbors, family or a co-worker for recommendations and since everyone knows at least a half dozen real estate agents, you should be all set to begin the interviewing process. If you are planning to relocate to Charleston and are doing an online search, you can learn a lot from the agent websites to determine whether you'd like to contact them.
Generally, when home owners are looking to sell their home, they interview at least several agents. Some might only consider the agent that will offer to list their home for the lowest commission to be the best agent for them while others are more concerned with getting the best results at a reasonable cost. It's just my opinion but more often than not, buyers don't bother to interview several agents and spend a lot more time searching for a home and then rushing to find the first available agent they come across.
And whether you believe it or not, all agents are not created equal. So choose the best Charleston agent you can find to help you. It's worth your effort and after all, you don't want to just be a LEAD, do you.
Photo courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons by RLHyde