Choosing a Hamptons Real Estate Agent

When it comes to buying real estate in the Hamptons, you may have as many questions about how to pick an agent as you do about how to pick a property. Bill Carroll at Hampton One Real Estate Group is here to share his insights.

The Question: Over the last many months, you have made it very clear that representation is important and anyone purchasing a home in the Hamptons should be working with a buyer’s agent. With that established, how important is the individual agent selection?

The Answer from Bill Carroll of Hampton One Real Estate Group: Choosing the right agent is absolutely vital in determining the level of success you will have. That is true whether buying or selling.  Consumers owe it to themselves to do some research and find the best agent available, one that will first and foremost represent them throughout the process.

The Question: Bill, having been in the business as long as you have been, how would you go about choosing an agent if you were a buying or selling a home?

The Answer from Bill Carroll of Hampton One Real Estate Group: The first thing I would do is not to make certain assumptions. For example, I would not assume that just because an agent works for a big name company that makes them better at what they do. And I probably would not assume that just because I see their name on a sign on every other house I am going to do better with them. In fact, if I’m a buyer, I am not looking for a listing agent at all; I’m looking for a buyer’s agent.

The second thing I would point out is that as an industry, agents know with a high degree of accuracy what the consumer is going to ask before they ask it. So the answers are already prepared. In addition, agents are trained to lead the discussion toward their strengths and away from their weaknesses. So if it were me, I would change the questions up and see how the agent handles them. And my questions would be more relevant to my needs, not theirs.

So what are some questions you would ask?

The Answer from Bill Carroll of Hampton One Real Estate Group: You may find it hard to believe, but I rarely get asked any of the following questions.

• Have you earned any specific certifications or designations in your field?
• What sets you apart from other agents?
• Can you provide me with references from clients you have worked for in the past year?
• Tell me about your most recent deal- in what way did you advance the best interests of your client? Were there any bumps in the road, if so how did you handle them? What was your negotiating strategy?
• Will I be working with you directly, or be assigned to someone on your “team”?
• Will you be available to me when I need you? What is your typical response time?
• Are you prepared to put my interests above all else including your own in this real estate matter?

I guess you can see from the questions above that I am all about commitment and dedication. As and old mentor of mine once said, “They don’t care what you know, until they know that you care.” I would want an agent that is 100% committed to me and my best interest. I would demand representation.

If you have questions for Bill Carroll at Hampton One Real Estate Group, where buyer clients never pay anything additional for their service, you can contact him at (631) 241-8168 or by email at bill@hamptonone.com. You can also ask questions and find answers from Hampton One Real Estate Group on Facebook.