In 2021, nearly anything can be accomplished online — from workouts to meetings to classes — even finding the perfect realtor. If you begin your quest to find a realtor online with an internet search, you might quickly get overwhelmed by the results. But there is a better way, and that’s why you need a strategy with tips for searching for a realtor online. With a few targeted steps, including tips from top agents, you’ll find a realtor fast, which will get you into your dream home, or get your home sold, that much faster, too.
Know your priorities
Before you even start looking for a realtor online, you need to know a lot about the home that you are seeking or your timeline for selling. That’s because the best realtor for you will be someone who has experience in your target market, and can more easily guide you. Some questions to consider if buying are your budget, ideal neighborhood, and ideal features of your dream home like the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, important kitchen amenities, and what your ideal outdoor space looks like. If your budget is a big unknown, and especially if you are selling a home to buy a new one, you can use a net proceeds calculator to get a sense of the budget you’ll have to work with. If selling, you need to know your timeline and ideal sale price. With this information you can move on to using online tools that will help you find a realtor who will help you find the perfect home.
Use a targeted realtor search tool
Perhaps because of generational priorities showing that Gen Z (born from 1997-2012), are the next in line for home buying, there is a focus on efficiency in 2021, with online search tools to find your dream agent. For example, using HomeLight’s agent search tool after answering some basic questions like your city, budget, type of home, and whether you are buying or selling, you’ll get targeted results for agents who specialize in your current real estate priorities. This can save you the time of having to look up the experience of individual agents who you might find with a broader online search. Once you have a list of potential agents, it’s time to do more research to see who might be the best candidate for you to hire.
Do your homework
While targeted internet search results can provide a great list to work from to start your search, internet research alone is not enough to find someone who will truly be your best advocate in achieving your real estate goals. A pro-tip is to schedule a 15-minute phone call with each of your top picks to get some information that you are unlikely to get on the internet. Some questions to consider are: What sets you apart from other agents in my area? What is included in your rates and how much might I expect to spend? How deep is your professional network if we need to hire other professionals like stagers or contractors? How many years of experience do you have in the particular market that I am targeting? These few questions can make a big difference when it comes to saving time in the long run.
Using online search tools to find a realtor can help you hire someone fast, but you have to be strategic about it, like with any virtual tool.
