How to Choose the Right Real Estate Agent in Today’s Market
A global pandemic has made it tougher for sellers and potential buyers to navigate the Cayman Islands property market. Yet business continues, and the best practice for choosing a real estate agent still applies.
Remote viewings, presentation videos, and videoconferencing are the new normal in the real estate business as agents, sellers, and buyers battle to cope with travel and other restrictions brought in to minimize the spread of the coronavirus infection. Yet demand for Cayman Islands real estate for sale continues, whether it’s for investment in properties, holiday homes, or a place to relocate to as a safe haven from the troubles of the world.
There’s no point pretending that a global pandemic, lockdowns, closed borders, and social distancing hasn’t negatively affected the Cayman property market, making it difficult for sellers and potential buyers to conduct business. Yet business continues, and the best practice for choosing a real estate agent still applies. Here are the top five things to look for:
There’s no Substitute for Experience You can’t beat experience. Your real estate agent has spent a lot of time and effort getting to know the ins and outs of the profession and should have a track record to prove it. The best agents are always members of a professional body, such as CIREBA, the Cayman Islands Real Estate Brokers Association, that is responsible for the vast majority of successful sales in the Cayman Islands.
Seek Out Those with Local Knowledge Besides expertise and experience in real estate, any agent you consider should have extensive local knowledge. They should know all the popular areas, and the unpopular ones, the various types of neighborhoods, their facilities, their unique features and all the categories of accommodation available. Knowledgeable Cayman Islands real estate agents help clients make the right choices and conduct negotiations based on solid and first-hand market intelligence.
Get Referrals from Past Clients The best agents are not the ones with their faces plastered all over billboards or benches. The best ones are the ones who get business through word-of-mouth recommendations, not advertising. As with any business, referrals and recommendations by satisfied customers are like gold dust and far more effective at bringing in new customers.
Watch How Agents Interact with Potential Clients Observe agents conducting Open House events. See how they work with the full spectrum of visitors turning up — from the man who wants to know every detail of the construction materials used to the large family group using a dull afternoon to tour aspirational homes they don’t have the means or the interest to ever buy. Is the agent polite, courteous, and helpful? Can they dispose of time-wasters without being rude? Can they listen carefully to your list of needs and wants, get to the heart of the matter, and, very importantly, strike up a rapport and personal chemistry with a potential client?
Know the Questions to Ask Whether buying or selling, you want an agent who can give satisfactory answers to a whole range of questions as to their suitability, including — What is your background in real estate, and how long have you been in the industry? How many active clients are you serving at any one time? What is your real estate specialty? Can you provide references?
Follow these tips, choose your agent carefully, and you are one step closer to the perfect Cayman Islands property purchased or sold at the perfect price in the shortest time with the least amount of hassle.
