How to hire the best real estate agent in Encinitas.

The following are tips to help you find the best real estate agent in Encinitas…

1. Look For An Advocate, Not A Best Friend

It's important to find the right agent who best supports your end goal of buying or selling a home. A first-time homebuyer might want an agent to hold their hand throughout the process. An experienced seller might prefer someone who can just do everything. Remember, you're hiring them to do a job — so choose carefully.

2. Evaluate Their Availability

Buying or selling a home takes a lot of time and doesn't align to normal working hours. Look for an agent with a team as that will relieve some of the busy work that agents normally deal with and free them up to do the real work of buying and selling your home. It all boils down to the amount of time they can allocate toward your specific needs.

3. Spend Time With Your Agent

Homebuyers or sellers need to feel confident with their professional agent. This is accomplished by either meeting personally or on FaceTime, Skype or via text. The most important question is, "Do you have the time I need from you to help me?" You can also ask, "How do you handle each transaction? Will I ever see you or are you using a virtual agent who refers out the prospect to another person?"

4. Look For A Local Expert

These agents will not only access and share market data but also interpret the data for you, as they know that local market deeply. A hyper-localist can also give a client a sense of how a market evolves over time, not just the snapshot at that moment. Great agents also take time to teach clients to interpret market data on their own.

5. Ask For References

Ask for references from past clients. Find out how long they have been in the business and what their area of expertise is, and ask specific questions pertaining to your situation. Google them to find out if they were ever fined by real estate organizations. Buyers should ask how the agent would handle their offer in a bidding war situation. Sellers should ask how the agent will help them prepare the property for sale.

6. Look For Loyalty

The best trait is loyalty. What I mean is the real estate agent will have to have the buyer's or seller's best interest at heart over their commission. They have to be willing to sacrifice their commission for their client's best interest, no matter what. Also, an agent should not try to influence a buyer or seller to pay more or spend less for the agent's own personal gain.

7. Go With Your Gut

Go with your gut. I believe that people can usually tell if they are going to like someone or not within the first few minutes of meeting them. The same goes for trust. If they seem like the slick salesman type, just looking to make a deal, they probably are and, in turn, they are most likely much more interested in their commission than your best interests.

8. Check For Longevity Rather Than Quantity

The first question you will want to ask when hiring an agent is, “How long have you been licensed?” A lot of new agents will appear to have been in business a long time when in reality they may have licensed for only a year or two. I also do not believe in agents having a million listings or closings at once — that signals that they do not have time to dedicate to a client.

9. Do Your Research

A real estate agent is a critical relationship that you want to get right the first time. Do your research. Check their online reviews (Zillow, Yelp, Google My Business, etc.). Interview previous clients. Ask them questions such as: How long have you been in the business? Do you have an assistant? Do you have specific work hours or can I call you at any time? Are you familiar with the area where I want to buy?

10. Make Sure They Truly Listen To You

Active listening is key. Go through your wishlist of important items (you should have one) then leave it to the agent to produce as closely as possible. Yes, some people want it all, but leave them for later unless you are buying custom or luxury. See if the agent even remembers what you told them. If they do, then you have a chance. If not, keep looking. The same applies to buyer and seller.

11. Test Their Knowledge Of The Market

An agent's knowledge of the market and process, whether it be rentals or sales, plays a big part in being the right fit. Also, evaluate their attentiveness and follow-up habits. If most of your time is spent chasing him/her for answers and looking into information the agent should know or obtain — those are red flags!