How to Find a Real Estate Agent

"I am planning to buy a home soon. I need help from an agent because this is my first time going through the process. How do I find a real estate agent in my area who can help me?"

This is one of the most common questions we receive from readers at the Home Buying Institute. So we've built an entire website around this one question. This site offers the tools and information you need to find the right real estate agent. You'll also learn about the duties they perform, how they get paid, and other helpful topics.

In truth, there are many ways to find a good agent. You could meet one through your everyday dealings with people. You could get a business card on your front door, or a postcard in the mail. You might see one on a roadside billboard, or in a local magazine ad. But there are better ways to find a real estate agent before buying or selling a home. Here's a list of methods recommended by the Home Buying Institute:

How to Find a Good Real Estate Agent

Regardless of where you live, you should be able to use one of the following strategies for finding a real estate agent. If you've lived in the same area for many years, it should be even easier to find an agent. We will talk about the pros and cons of each method as we go along.

1. Get referrals from friends, family, etc.

This is arguably the best way to find a local real estate agent, because you are getting your information from a trusted source. Nothing takes the place of a referral from somebody you actually know. So start asking around through your extended network of personal contacts.

Start with your family, since they know you best. Even if no one in your family has bought a home recently, they still might know an agent who works in town.

Next, move on to your friends and coworkers. Put the word out that you're buying a home soon, and that you need help finding a real estate agent. People love to recommend services they have used and enjoyed. So this process should turn up a few good leads.

Do you use Facebook? This is a great way to find a real estate agent in your area. You can tell your entire network of friends and family that you need help finding an agent -- with a few strokes of the keyboard. It's incredibly efficient. If you don't use Facebook, you can always reach out to everyone by email. It's almost as efficient.

2. Use the link at the top of this page.

If you're moving and buying a home in a new area, you might not know very many locals yet. Not to worry. There are other ways to find an agent in the area. For instance, you could submit your information to a network of local Realtors. You'll find a link at the top of the page for this very purpose.

The link will take you to the HomeGain website, where you can request information from several local agents all at once. Best of all, you can remain anonymous to the agents until you're ready to share your contact information.

3. Read local real estate blogs.

These days, a lot of agents have started blogging about their local real estate scenes. It's a great way for them to share information with a large audience online, and in a timely fashion. It's also another way for you to find a good real estate agent to help you. And there's a key benefit to this particular strategy. You can evaluate the person's knowledge, personality and communication skills -- just by reading their blog.

You'll also be learning about the current state of the housing market where you live. So it's a double win.

So how do you find real estate blogs for your area? You could start by using Google's blog search feature, and searching for key phrases relevant to your local housing market. For instance, I might do a search for "San Diego housing market," or any number of "real estate" phrases followed by my city name. By using this particular search tool, you'll be narrowing the results to blogs only (as compared to regular websites). Blogs are updated more frequently than static websites. So you'll benefit from having access to more timely information.

You might want to find your city in the ActiveRain.com network as well. This is another useful website for finding an agent. From the home page, navigate to your state, and then to your city or county.

Again, the benefits of this strategy are twofold. It's a good way to find a local agent to help you buy or sell a home. And it also helps you research the local housing market.

4. Use the Exclusive Buyer Agent website.

Did you know there are different types of real estate agents? It's true. Some can represent both the buyer and the seller (though this is prohibited in some states). Some choose to represent sellers only -- i.e., listing agents. And there are those who work with buyers exclusively. These are known as exclusive buyer agents, or EBAs.

So, if you happen to be buying a home, you have one more way to find a real estate agent in your area. You can use the search tool provided by the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents (NAEBA). Their website address is www.naeba.org. There are certain advantages to using this type of realty professional. First and foremost, you can be sure they only represent your interests as the buyer. So you can confide in this person without fearing that the information will be used against you and/or given to the seller. That sort of thing is a violation of the NAEBA code of ethics. 

This article explains how to find a good real estate agent when buying or selling a home. If you're ready to move forward with the process, you can use the link provided below.