When you buy or sell a home, the rest of your day-to-day activities tend to get less attention. When an offer comes in (or doesn’t) — or when you have to wait on pins and needles to hear if the home of our dreams will be your— the rest of what’s going on takes a back seat. That is because buying and selling real estate involves not only significant sums of money, but also crucial and emotional decisions about the center of your family’s activities.

At such a life-changing crossroad, most Portland residents decide that it’s a good idea to work with a professional real estate agent. But since not all real estate agents are equally equipped to provide the same quality of support, the questions is, how to choose?

The following are potential red flags:

1. Non-communicative

Your Portland real estate agent is working for you; you should be their priority. A real estate agent who is not communicative is either not invested in working hard for you, or is not organizing his or her real estate processes effectively. Everyone is slow to return a phone call once. Twice is a red flag!

2. Too Much Pressure

A real estate professional’s job is to offer guidance and provide resources that would be hard to get on your own — not to boss you around. The selling and buying process is ultimately about you and what you want and need, not about your agent making a fast sale. If something about a potential transaction makes you uncomfortable, your real estate agent should respect that.

3. Former Disciplinary Problems

Every real estate agent in Oregon must be licensed. State agencies record complaints and disciplinary actions. Before you start working with an agent, check that no disciplinary actions have been filed against her or him.

With so much on the line, the importance of working with a top-tier Portland real estate agent is unquestionable. If you are ready to start interviewing agents, we welcome the opportunity to put our resources to work for you! The Craig Reger Group is here to help you every step of the way in the home buying and selling process. Contact us today at (503) 389-0686 to get started!