REFERRALS AND JOIN VENTURES
I may cooperate or joint venture with agents across the country, or help monitor your transaction in a different state.
In my approach, my job as a joint-venturing/cooperating agent is not over until your transaction is complete. Here’s what I do during the course of the transaction.
If you’re not in my area, or moving out of my area, I offer you the service of referring you to another top agent in your new area.
Here’s a map of some of the states I’ve referred people to. NOTE: This includes referrals to certain areas in California that are not in my local area.
How I qualify your agent for a referral
I recommend real estate agents all across the country.
I have been referring real estate agents, and been referred by other real estate agents, for decades. And over that time, I’ve developed a process of qualifying agents that I believe gives the highest chance of success for you, the client, and all involved.
I customize these steps for the client, the location, and the needs – with many follow-up questions based on the initial answers.
HERE'S THE STEPS:
1. THE CLIENT INTERVIEW
First, I interview the client with these questions and others.
a. What location are you selling in?
b. What location do you want to buy in?
c. What type of property are you looking for?
d. What is your timeline?
e. What is your previous experience in buying/selling residential properties
f. We get a sense of how you work best, so when we speak to your prospective agents, we choose the ones where you’re likely to have good chemistry and similar communication styles.
2. RESEARCH AGENTS THAT WILL MATCH
Here’s roughly how I do my research.
a. I consider my long list of agents I’ve worked with before, all across the country, to see if they’re in the relevant area to match this client.
b. I research real estate agents in that relevant area who have earned the special CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) designation. These are agents who, like myself, have had more years of experience, have had a higher than average number of successful transactions, and have developed greater expertise than agents in general.
c. If there’s no CRS available in the relevant area, I gather recommendations from my connections, and look for people with other advanced certifications that demonstrate appropriate additional expertise.
d. Then I interview the agents, and I ask a number of questions to get a sense of their methods and personalities, including:
– What is their response time?
– Do they handle transactions themselves and work directly with the clients? [Best answer!]
– Do they have assistants handle the transactions? [Not as good]
e. After the interviews, I usually provide the client with a choice of 2-3 real estate agents that the client can interview.
f. We advise clients to look for the agent where there is good chemistry and similar communication styles.
3. MAINTAIN CONTACT WITH AGENT AND CLIENT
In my approach, my job as a referring agent is not over until your transaction is complete. Here’s what I do during the course of the transaction.
a. Stay in contact with the client.
b. Stay in contact with the agent(s).
c. Stay in contact with parties such as the Qualified Intermediary, accountant and others to make sure deadlines are met to qualify for the tax benefit.