How to know if your agent is well prepared

There are some requirements that every agent must meet (and your instincts will agree):

• Local knowledge. Is this person aware of trends in neighborhood home values, stores and restaurants, schools, travel times, and geographic factors such as flood zones? These are important things, especially if you are looking to move to a new city or town. If the agent seems to be lost or improvising, keep looking.

• Answer's capacity. You will have many questions and will be asked to present various documents at certain steps during the purchase process. Think about how available you want your agent to be and how quickly you want them to respond. A way to find out? Contact a potential agent online or by phone and see how long it takes for them to respond. If you don't get a response within a timeframe that works for you, it's probably best to go ahead with your search.

• Reputation. Check back with your inner circle. The search tool that we mentioned earlier can also be useful for you. And we recommend you verify that the agent's license is current; If you type “real estate agent license [state]” into the browser, you can find the information for your state. If you want to confirm that an agent is a REALTOR® professional, you can call the NAR at 1-800-874-6500.

There are professional designations that show that an agent, in addition to being licensed, has been specifically trained. For example, ABR® professionals are Accredited Buyer Representatives: They specialize in working with buyers and have passed a course on Buyer-Customer Relationship Specificity.