How to find a good realtor?

[N/A N/A]

I'm trying to find out how to tell if a realtor is good. There are so many of them out there. How do I find a good one? Are there questions to ask in an interview or something?

[Frank Adams]

Remember when dealing with a Realtor they are first and foremost COMMISSION ONLY SALES REPS. They don't get paid for talking to you, driving you around looking at "possibles" or listening to your personal problems (that's why you have a dog) LOL. That said, IMO RE agents (and Realtors) are like the rest of the population, 99% of them are BELOW AVERAGE.

I realize that statistically that can't be correct, but bear with me a minute. The most imporant attribute of an agent to you is; AVAILABILITY. Not in person, but at least returning calls. I've found that most of them are very bad at this. Even in this day of cell phones, Blackberry's and all the other stuff that makes it impossible to get away from people who we don't want to talk to! If an agent returns your calls in a "reasonable" time, they're a keeper, if they don't, they're not!

That said, when you leave ANYONE a voice mail, make sure that you've conveyed to them (1) why you're calling (2) the relative urgency of the call, (3) how soon you EXPECT to hear back from them, and (4) the TWO OR THREE WORDS that will answer your question.

IOW, don't ramble on about everything, ask a direct question, tell them how important it is to hear back from them in XX hours, tell them to call you IMMEDIATELY if they need any clarification from you. Remember, people rate you BASED ON YOUR IMPORTANCE TO THEM. If they're working on a $300K deal with you that may close in 30 days, and I"m asking them to look up something that I could have found for myself with a bit of effort, YOU'RE THEIR HIGHER PRIORITY. But, if I've got an earnest money check on a "dog" property they've listed, and another 2 or 3 prospective "dogs" to look at I'D BETTER BE A HIGHER PRIORITY.

All of the above having been said:
The short answer to your question is: If they are prompt in returning calls and getting you the info you need to CLOSE DEALS, they're the one. Treat them with respect, honor and honesty, and they'll return the same to you.

If they don't return IMPORTANT (remember it has to be important to them too), phone calls in a reasonable time, DROP THEM RIGHT NOW. They'll be out of the business in 6 months to a year anyway.

all cash