Choosing An LA Realtor Part 3: Friends & Family
Interviewing for the job of being your realtor is extremely important and should not be taken lightly. Is it a question of life or death? No, of course not! But choosing an LA realtor with a good portfolio can make the difference between making a lot of money or none at all from selling your property. He also holds the keys (pun intended!) to your financial future by possibly introducing you to the home of your future. A good realtor plays a crucial role in this process and you should interview a variety of potential professionals with great care and thoughtfulness. Tip number three: be wary of keeping it All in the Family.
Situations can get tricky when you have this major asset to buy or sell and all of a sudden you’re faced with the dilemma of whether or not to use the real estate services of your niece, sister, uncle or great cousin twice removed. Just because you have a family member who works in real estate doesn’t mean you should trust that person with handling your transactions. Approach the decision as you would if this person was not actually related to you. If you trust that he/she has the experience, tenacity, motivation and professional capabilities to do the job as well as anyone not related to you, then you can consider using him or her. Remember, though, if you’re not happy with the services your relative is providing, it’s not too comfortable to fire a family member and then sit down to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner together. What’s nice about this profession is there are referral fees. That means you don’t necessarily have to hire your long lost cousin who just passed his license exam, however, you can extend to him a referral fee or even suggest he share the listing with someone who has more experience. That could actually be a win/win. You can provide an opportunity for your relative to get his feet wet in a transaction and shadow someone who you may trust a little bit more to do a better job.
Try not to let anyone make you feel guilty about this decision. You are doing what’s best for you and your family by hiring someone who’s the best candidate for the job. It’s not your responsibility to be the nice guy in this situation. Sure, there may be some hurt feelings about it in the beginning, but ultimately you need to be pragmatic and make the decision that makes most sense for you. Just because you share DNA with this person doesn’t mean he’s the most qualified to make you the money you deserve.
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