Hiring a real estate agent in Chicago

Hiring a real estate agent in Chicago is a very important process that should not be taken lightly.  Think about this for a moment.  Step back and really think about the amount of money it took to either buy your condo or sell your condo.  If it's just simply an average condo in Chicago you're talking about an average price of $400,000.  Do you want just anyone to represent you?

Hiring a real estate agent in Chicago should be a step in the buying or selling process that you should take a great amount of care in doing. It can save you thousands and thousands of dollars.

Do you really know how the real estate agents position works?  How he or she sells real estate?  When you call a real estate agency, a secretary answers the phone and asks you a few questions.  She then puts you on hold and gives "the lead" to a person that is sitting in the office waiting for this lead.  It's called "floor-time or opportunity time". Who is this real estate agent she just handed the lead to?  How qualified is he or she to handle this lead? Is she a part-timer, does she specialize in condos or houses or vacant land?  She gets on the phone with you and the relationship starts.  She'll make an appointment to meet with you at your property and the whole process gets started.

When you hire a Chicago real estate agent, you're in essence, hiring an independent contractor that has their real estate license hung in an agency.  They are not paid by the company. They get paid when they close a real estate transaction.  In a normal real estate office, you may find one hundred agents.  Of the hundred, twenty are excellent, five are exceptional. Of the remaining eighty, twenty have true potential leaving sixty agents or 60% of the real estate office.  These sixty should not be in the real estate business or they eventually will leave regardless.    

What agent did you get?  Are they a part-timer that just happened to be there the time you called?  My suggestion is to interview the agent, not necessarily the company.  Ask what their sales volume was last year?  How long have they sold real estate?  What area of the business do they specialize in?  Come up with at least twenty sold questions to see if they are right for the job.  This is a huge transaction for you.  Take the time and do your due diligence.