How To Choose A Good Agent?

[CuGu 12]

There are so many agents out there who all seemed to be the best among the best.

Can you share what are the criteria you look for before engaging one?

1. Years of experiences

2. Top producers

3. No of units sold/bought

4. Personel feeling (I like, i take/ dont like, dont disturb)

5. See the look (go for handsome/pretty type)

6. Others (Fengshui master say so)

[gemini 8]

Did I read correctly, 'Best among the best'? They just want your money. You are buying/selling a house so it has no relation to whether an agent is good or not.

My Agent A was very diligent and patience, brought me to view >10 houses. Then I saw Agent B's advertisement, view 1 house, like it, and bought it. So, which agent is good? Does it matter?

Edited June 4, 2014 by gemini

[CuGu 12]

hmm..I mean they all claim to be the best...

for selling, most agents will request for an exclusive agreement..what is the criteria to look for?

for buying, if I want to sign an exclusive to appoint a buying agent? I think there will be critieria to look at too..

[gemini 8]

I suggest to DIY. Advertise in StraitsTime and you will be overwhelmed by the number of responses despite just a small advertisement column . You just need to advertise once, no need to do it weekly, because serious buyers will be flipping through the newspaper property buy/sell columns very actively. Agents here are not professional and don't do much except to close case and collect commission.

Edited June 4, 2014 by gemini

[ANDiLaLaLa 2]

after over 5 months in the market...i finally managed to close the deal to sell my 4 room flat.

i never signed any exclusives..even though we were pressed to do so..cos they couldn't guarantee can definitely sell.

i also negotiated on the commission..who sells first..get lor.

The biggest lesson we learnt...there are more krap agents out there than honest ones...

So..beware.

[morgulboy 0]

Exclusive. You commit agent. Agent commit you. Agent spends more on marketing. They put your interest first hand. Usually agent taking the exclusive are more stressed up if the unit cannot sell.

Non exclusive agents tend to fight to close your deal. How to close the fastest? At the most attractive deal to the buyers which will eventually bring your price down. And non exclusive will not spend 50 bucks per advert as frequent as an exclusive. Some maybe zero.

[morgulboy 0]

To add on. Exclusive can hold your price better. Have you visit propertyguru and saw some exact same listings with different pricing? Thats because it has multiple agents marketing it.

So if u r the seller. Would u prefer your unit listing with many pricing?

[jamescoane 2]

You just need to advertise once, no need to do it weekly, because serious buyers will be flipping through the newspaper property buy/sell columns very actively.

[Number One Property 0]

Choose agent based on its experience.

[AmirNity 1]

For me, never believe in signing exclusive. If you get a crap agent, you will get stuck with them.

[kimmykim 0]

If you are urgent in selling off the unit, also best not to sign exclusive

[saradanyal91 0]

Sometimes agents avoid answering questions, regarding the quality of construction, history of possession delays by the builder etc. You should not rush into a deal even if the price seems attractive to you, unless you have all the necessary information.

[Bluesky3000 1]

Sometimes it really depend on luck . Great if you have a good agent who look after your interest. Good luck to you if you happen to get a lousy one.

Recently was told by a friend that the agent has been with her for the past 12 years, managing her property tenancy and also managed to get a good price on her sold property. He was strongly recommended by my friend to use his services.

I did a online check on him and found out that he even create a blog for his property business. One of his blog article that I read on 3 Unique Challenges of Being a Property agent  quite interesting, coming from his point of view.