Research You Can Do Online Before Interviewing a Realtor

[Published Sept. 24, 2015, in the Jeffco editions of the Denver Post's YourHub section and in four Jefferson County weekly newspapers]

Is the agent a Realtor— a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR)?  Not all agents are Realtors. It’s our trade association with a Code of Ethics that non-Realtors don’t swear to, but it also lobbies at the state and federal level for you to protect property rights and preserve the home mortgage interest deduction. But another reason it’s important is that you want an agent who can afford to pay the $500/year dues. It’s an indicator of whether he’ll spend money promoting your listing! Go to www.realtor.com and click on “Find Realtors.” If he’s there, click on his profile.

Is he a member of the Denver MLS and how successful is he?  A new feature of the Denver MLS is that consumers, not just MLS members, can find members at www.REcolorado.com and see how many active, under contract and sold listings he or she has.  If your listing agent is not a member of the Denver MLS, your metro area home’s exposure to potential buyers is severely reduced.  Click on “Find Agent/Office” and type in the name of any agent. (Remember that the first name might be a nickname.) If you find the agent, click on “view my listings.”  Click the address of any listing and you’ll also be able to evaluate the quality of the photos, video (if any), description and extent of details provided. Keep in mind that the best predictor of how well an agent will market your listing is how well they have marketed previous listings.

 

Google the agent’s name + “Realtor.” You’ll find links with bios and reviews. Also look for him/her on www.RatedAgent.com, the only rating website which limits published reviews to those by actual past clients.