Looking for advice to find a good realtor

poguruwer

New member
Hi folks,

I'm a first time home buyer and looking to buy a home in Irvine. I met some realtors by referrals from friends and recommendation from internet. Some of them are in top 100 in terms of transactions while the others don't have many transactions.

Speaking to the top realtors, I got the impression that they are well aware of the market and gave us reasonable market analysis and forecast, which is a great selling point. Also, they emphasized on their network to find good listings and make a strong offer.

For the other realtors, they seemed more focused on our life style and trying to find the home based on it. And, they mentioned that they can take more time on us than other agents who have a lot of transactions. Also, mentioned that the top realtors may look over things as they're busy and tend to delegate their work.

Can you please give us general advice on finding a realtor especially for a first time home buyer?

I hope your advice will be helpful for other home buyers as well.

 
Make it easier for you - USCTrojanCPA on this forum, his info is below.  You'll find a ton of references for him here, I've personally used him on 3 transactions.  Easy to work with and all around good guy who knows his stuff.

Martin Mania, CPA
AgencyOne
CA BRE License # 01799007
CA CPA License # 107675
mmania001@yahoo.com
714-747-3884 cell
 
I second USC. I referred him to some family members and got them a good deal. He has helped me in the past with our current home and will use him to sell/buy the next homes whenever that is.
 
Spend 15 minutes reviewing the posts in this forum and it?s pretty obvious that USC is ?Da Man?. Not one negative comment but numerous high fives - how can you go wrong?
 
zubs said:
One misstep and you can talk shit about him here....
TI reputation > making money.

This is true but I look at it more like this...

Taking care of my clients > TI repulation > making money. 

I live by the "take care of your clients and they will take care of you" motto. ;)
 
What defines a good realtor?


Is it someone who really treats you like a family or a close friend?

Is it someone who knows the specific areas well?

Is it someone who gives the MAX rebate?

Is it someone who gets you the home price at where want?

All of the above? Any other requirements?
 
Thanks everyone for the referrals and the advice!

To answer what defines a good realtor, I honestly don't know. Maybe my initial question was not so clear. I want to know what make the realtor "good" for first time home buyer like me.
 
I have not run into any realtor who is representing you as buyer agent talk you out of a prospective buy, you need to do the homework the agent can give you comps etc. It all depends on what you want to get out, if you do your work and want the agent getting you the max rebate - there are agents who can pass you bigger bucks. I had agents who mentioned they do not rebate back as they provide excellent service after, and that was just bs. Set your criteria of what is good, good for me is not good for you:)
 
Just want to chime in with another recommendation of USCTrojanCPA. He has gone WAY above and beyond for my family in our home purchase. Highly, highly recommended.
 
poguruwer said:
Thanks everyone for the referrals and the advice!

To answer what defines a good realtor, I honestly don't know. Maybe my initial question was not so clear. I want to know what make the realtor "good" for first time home buyer like me.
I'm sorry that most people are not answering your question. I recently bought a home two weeks ago as a FTHB and can explain what I looked for in an agent:

1. Knowledge and expertise in the market you're planning to buy. I came from LA so having this was crucial for me.
2. There are stuff you would know from researching so from there you can ask some questions to see their way of thinking and how they operate. Are they asking you what YOU want? Are they focusing on YOU? Or are they making decisions for you? I personally didn't want agents that were so focused on themselves because I'm buying the home, so I don't want an agent that will speak for me. For example, some home buyers are waiving contingencies in the home buying process. I specifically asked agents what their thoughts were on this. I personally said I WILL NOT waive any contingency. If they showed any signs of disagreement, they were off my list. This goes back to the point of making sure the agent understands what YOU want.
3. Answers questions you have in an objective way and does not have bias. For example, I was debating between Tustin and Lake Forest. The agent simply told me the pros/cons of each location and also the homes in the respective locations. No bias or pressuring at all. Someone that simply lays out the facts and lets you make the final decision was big for me and is one of the main criteria I was looking for in an agent.
4. Get into homes before they are even listed in the market. This gives you an advantage for obvious reasons.
5. Being able to get along with the person. The last thing you want is someone that is difficult to work with. You want to enjoy the process and have someone you get along with by your side in the event things do not go your way due to no fault of your own. The home buying process is stressful as it is and with this crazy market, you definitely need someone that can emotionally be there for you through the process.
6. Read everything you sign, some agents requires you to sign some agreement that restricts you from using another agent in the event things do not work out for you. DO NOT SIGN ANY CONTRACT THAT REQUIRES YOU TO STAY WITH AN AGENT THROUGH THE BUYING PROCESS.
7. Responsive. I do not expect them to be next to their phone 24/7 or answer me quickly, but I do expect to get a response within 24 hrs. Maybe 24 hrs is harsh, but I would not feel comfortable working with an agent that would not respond back when I reach out to them. A simple text saying "I'm busy right now, lets talk tomorrow" will work for me.

Those are the things I would look for. But everyone is different, so you may have things you're looking for that I did not mention. In the end, I would say that even if you're a FTHB, you really need to do your due diligence. You can only ask so many questions when interviewing an agent. You can't expect the agent to know everything. But if you are aware of something that is a deal breaker for you and you make it known to your agent but your agent does not listen, you have the authority to go with another agent. There are tons of real estate agents, make sure you find the one YOU are happy with. Do not settle for less as you want to make sure you find someone that will stand by your side when things get rough and also one that listens to your wants. Its YOUR home in the end, not theirs.



 
We actually had a horrible experience with USC.. He wasn't representing us.. But we went to tour a property that he had posted on this site (he was representing seller), we put in an offer over asking, and never received a response and then promptly found the property for rent the same day. I understand that people can change their minds about selling, but our agent called multiple times to see what the status was on our offer and was completely ghosted. She said she had never had such an unprofessional experience with another agent!

 
irvinenative1995 said:
We actually had a horrible experience with USC.. He wasn't representing us.. But we went to tour a property that he had posted on this site (he was representing seller), we put in an offer over asking, and never received a response and then promptly found the property for rent the same day. I understand that people can change their minds about selling, but our agent called multiple times to see what the status was on our offer and was completely ghosted. She said she had never had such an unprofessional experience with another agent!

Seems harsh to characterize this as a horrible experience with USC. First like you said, he wasn?t representing you, he was representing the best interest of his seller who appears to have had a change for heart. You saw the property listed as a rental. What did you want? A call for details as to why it was rented vs being sold? You already new the answer. The seller changed their mind. 
 
irvinenative1995 said:
We actually had a horrible experience with USC.. He wasn't representing us.. But we went to tour a property that he had posted on this site (he was representing seller), we put in an offer over asking, and never received a response and then promptly found the property for rent the same day. I understand that people can change their minds about selling, but our agent called multiple times to see what the status was on our offer and was completely ghosted. She said she had never had such an unprofessional experience with another agent!

Btw - Did you find a place?
 
irvinenative1995 said:
We actually had a horrible experience with USC.. He wasn't representing us.. But we went to tour a property that he had posted on this site (he was representing seller), we put in an offer over asking, and never received a response and then promptly found the property for rent the same day. I understand that people can change their minds about selling, but our agent called multiple times to see what the status was on our offer and was completely ghosted. She said she had never had such an unprofessional experience with another agent!

You lost me at "He wasn't representing us". 

Maybe your agent dropped the ball and put the blame on the convenient "I was ghosted" excuse.  Is that possible?
 
irvinenative1995 said:
We actually had a horrible experience with USC.. He wasn't representing us.. But we went to tour a property that he had posted on this site (he was representing seller), we put in an offer over asking, and never received a response and then promptly found the property for rent the same day. I understand that people can change their minds about selling, but our agent called multiple times to see what the status was on our offer and was completely ghosted. She said she had never had such an unprofessional experience with another agent!

I told all the agents that the seller was going to review all the offers on Sunday, Jan 17th and it was written in the private remarks on MLS.  I also let all the agents that had submitted an offer on 13 Clover that the seller changed his mind and decided to keep the home as a rental property hence why the listing was pulled off the market. I respond timely to all calls and texts from everyone so not sure if your agent is lying to you. 
 
Wow, the amount of ppl backing up USC is incredible. No one knows the situation besides USC and the irvinenative1995 agent. Before defending ppl, we should at least know both sides of the story instead of immediately making assumptions that irvinenative1995 agent was wrong.
 
sleepy5136 said:
Wow, the amount of ppl backing up USC is incredible. No one knows the situation besides USC and the irvinenative1995 agent. Before defending ppl, we should at least know both sides of the story instead of immediately making assumptions that irvinenative1995 agent was wrong.

2 people is incredible? 

I?m just confused by the timeline. He/she put in an offer. Agent made multiple calls. Found out the property was rented out. All in the same day? Not returning a call within the same day is ghosting?
 
Back
Top