>(who came highly recommended by a neighbor whose house she sold)
I had a neighbor once tell me how much they loved their agent, and before I could stop myself I blurted out "I can't believe they stayed sober long enough to get your deal done!" It's a sad reality that while agents get to know who is trustworthy / skilled, because we deal with each other every day, the public seldom really gets the whole picture. I think it's worse in large metro areas because there are thousands of agents - so doing your research is hard. I assure you - national brands have very little to do with quality either.
If I'm being really crass - I find a lot of people pick their agents like it is a beauty contest. They pick based on age, looks, they go to the same church we do, our kids are at the same school, etc. And for a lot of people, whether they feel good about the agent has more to do with if they are now "friends" then if there was actually a successful business outcome.
I had a neighbor once tell me how much they loved their agent, and before I could stop myself I blurted out "I can't believe they stayed sober long enough to get your deal done!" It's a sad reality that while agents get to know who is trustworthy / skilled, because we deal with each other every day, the public seldom really gets the whole picture. I think it's worse in large metro areas because there are thousands of agents - so doing your research is hard. I assure you - national brands have very little to do with quality either.
If I'm being really crass - I find a lot of people pick their agents like it is a beauty contest. They pick based on age, looks, they go to the same church we do, our kids are at the same school, etc. And for a lot of people, whether they feel good about the agent has more to do with if they are now "friends" then if there was actually a successful business outcome.