Looking at houses in multiple locations - how do I find an agent?

[Nicole Heasley Beitenman]

Hi BP! I'm currently saving up for a downpayment on a MFH. I plan to start looking early next spring. In the meantime, I have a few saved searches on Trulia to determine what neighborhoods have a healthy stock of MFH's, their typical conditions, prices, and driving by ones I like so I can get a feel for the neighborhoods. I'm looking at suburbs around Cleveland.

From my experience buying my first house in Cleveland, I know that most RE agents tend to focus on either the east or west side of the city. I'm going to be looking in multiple different neighborhoods that will be, at minimum, 40 minutes apart. When searching a wide area, do buyers typically work with multiple agents from the same broker? I don't want to waste anyone's time; I know I would not be eager to work with someone who was working with multiple agents.

TIA!

[James Wise]

Originally posted by @Nicole Heasley Beitenman:

Hi BP! I'm currently saving up for a downpayment on a MFH. I plan to start looking early next spring. In the meantime, I have a few saved searches on Trulia to determine what neighborhoods have a healthy stock of MFH's, their typical conditions, prices, and driving by ones I like so I can get a feel for the neighborhoods. I'm looking at suburbs around Cleveland.

From my experience buying my first house in Cleveland, I know that most RE agents tend to focus on either the east or west side of the city. I'm going to be looking in multiple different neighborhoods that will be, at minimum, 40 minutes apart. When searching a wide area, do buyers typically work with multiple agents from the same broker? I don't want to waste anyone's time; I know I would not be eager to work with someone who was working with multiple agents.

TIA!

With what you've laid out you're gonna have a hard time finding knowledgeable agents who are willing to put any time into you. You're all over the place. You don't want to buy until next year and have no idea where you want to buy. From an agents perspective they need to utilize their time to get buyers / sellers to the closing table. You are a long shot at best. They would make more money passing you over to work with the next client. My advice would be to keep looking online in the background until you are ready to go next year with a much more narrowed approach to what you want.

OR

You could just keep calling around until you get yourself a newbie agent who needs the experience. No clue if they will be any good but at some point you need to analyze what you bring to the table. It's a give take relationship.