There are over 3,000 Realtors in the Greater Houston area. Statistics show us that in 5 years, 87% of those Realtors will have left the business. That is why it is imperative that you put your trust and money into a Realtor that is proven and committed.

MLS stands for the Multiple Listing Service, wherein member companies catalogue their listed properties for sale so that all agents have immediate access to the information--even information on homes where there is no yard sign. Access to more properties means more for you to choose from in your home search. (Typically, if the agent is a member of MLS, (s)he is also a member of both the national and local Realtor organizations).

The National Association requires higher standards of ethics for membership, thus ensuring you are treated fairly.

The Houston Association of Realtors requires a clearly outlined standard of ethics and provides ongoing educational classes and awards for excellence. This creates local accountability, credibility and influence.

A Realtor who does have an assistant will have the ability to give you more time and individualized attention. Their assistant will be able to help with details and paperwork, so that they can keep in touch more often and have time to be more aggressive about helping you find the home of your dreams.

7. Do you have any professional designations and have you won any awards?

8. Can I get out of the agreement if I am not pleased with your services?

Agents who preview properties are agents who respect your time as well as their own. Agents who preview properties will not waste your time showing you homes that don't meet your needs because they've already seen them. In addition, they are able to prepare you for things that might otherwise be unpleasant surprises--like a home that meets all of your criteria in terms of space, but needs some work. This gives you the opportunity to decide whether or not you want to see it.

A "CMA" is a comparative market analysis based on recent similar sales in the area of your new home. A Realtor should not just give you their opinion offhand, but should be able to document and support their value assessment.

As with the agent who previews the properties they are showing you, agents who require that you be pre-approved for a loan before submitting an offer, are agents who respect your time as well as their own. In fact, many of the most successful (and smart) agents in the industry require that you be pre-approved for a loan before they will show you any property. This prevents the heartbreaking scenario where you go out and fall in love with a home only to discover that it is not financially possible for you to own it. You may think that this is an awful lot of trouble to go through just to look at homes, but the agent who genuinely wants to help you find the home that is right for you will insist upon it. **Not ready to work with an agent yet considering a For Sale By Owner (FSBO), or would like to start looking on your own? Get ahead of the game by getting pre-approved anyway. An Allegro Lending Source mortgage consultant will be glad to help you determine just how much home you can buy right now and/or provide you with guidance on how to get to the price range you want. Contact us today! Your free Real Estate Assistant software details the difference between a pre-qualification and a pre-approval, and provides you with mortgage calculators to give you a ball park figure of what you can comfortably buy. Get your free Real Estate Assistant now!

Because lack of communication is one of the biggest complaints in the real estate industry, it is important that you get the agent to look you in the eye and assure you they will call you back promptly when paged or called. Everyone is human, but on average, you should get rapid responses--or at least know when to expect a response--to your inquiries. Repeated failure to do so is reason to cancel your agreement.

This is a very good way to ensure that you have picked a good Realtor. If you make sure to call on some of the past clients, you can get a very clear picture of the service your agent should provide you, and what standards you should be able to expect. Take notes so that you can point out to your agent during your real estate process that you would like this or that service they arranged for their past clients.

Because you have enlisted your agent to be your real estate advisor, they should always be personally present during all contract negotiations. This will save you large amounts of time, and worry, if a problem should arise.