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When it comes time to put your house on the market, or, if you want to buy a house, you may need to get a real estate agent. You could try and do it yourself, but experienced professionals know many more of the tricks of the trade than you do. Real estate agents, though, like people in general, come in all sorts - good and bad. Here are some tips that will help you to avoid the kind you don't want, and will help you to find that great real estate agent.

Get References

As you look around a community, you will see various homes for sale. Quite possibly, you may even see particular faces and names of real estate agents on various ads, or signs posted at different homes. The best advice is not to go by these. Instead, you want to start by getting a strong recommendation from someone that has used that agent's services recently and were really helped by him or her. Get more than one recommendation.

Find Out About Their Commitment

After you have a good recommendation, you next want to find out a little more about that real estate agent. You will want to know if they are full time or part-time, and if they have been in real estate for some time or not. Obviously, the longer one is in the field, the more they know about the tricks and trade. Someone who is working only part-time, can only offer you part-time help. It could also be because they are not yet successful enough to be able to go full-time. Ideally, you want to find someone that has been in real estate for more than five years - showing both a commitment and a degree of success.

Meet With The Agent

Call them, or email, and set up an appointment to talk with them. If they do not get back with you, you can be sure they really do not want to help you. It would be a good idea to invite them over to your house so they can see what you have to sell - if you are selling. Then, when you talk to them, find out what it is that they will do to get your home out there on the market. If you are not satisfied with their answer, be sure to talk to other agents. Also, see what they might recommend you do to make your house more attractive for a profitable sale.

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It is also very important to see just how well you get along with that agent. Since it will be necessary to communicate a lot with that individual, and spend considerable time with them, you want someone that you can get along with easily and naturally. See if they gladly listen to you - without cutting you off, and hear what you want.

Obviously, if you conclude that the real estate agent will not be a great benefit to helping your house get sold, or if they are not willing to take you to at least ten houses (if you are buying), then you need to find someone else.

Solidify Your Relationship

When it comes time to enter into a solid arrangement with your great real estate agent, you have some choices to make. You want to make sure that they become the agent that is working solely for you. If you are a seller, make sure that they represent your interests - and not the buyer's. Some agents actually work for both sides, called a dual agent - watch out for this. Make sure that everything that they had promised to do to promote your house is in the contract. Do not go by anything that was said if it is not there - you won't get it.

Also, be very careful about entering into a lengthy contract. Some real estate agencies charge a fee for getting started - look for one that does not collect anything until there is a sale. It should only be for a couple of months - six at the very most. This way, if they do not live up to your expectations, you can get someone else without having to wait too long.