Should You Hire a Realtor Who’s a Relative or Friend?

Some people fear doing business with friends or family. 

I’ve met people who have a standing rule – regardless of the person or circumstances they’ll never do business with friends or family.

Others feel obligated to do business with friends or family. 

Even if they have a relative or friend who hasn’t been in real estate very long, or doesn’t have enough experience.

Or there might even just be a personality clash and they aren’t the right fit to work with. 

But they hate confrontation so they fear having to tell a relative/friend that they’re choosing to hire another Real Estate Agent.

My best advice (just like I advise in any negotiation or important decisions in life) is to remove all emotions from your decision making. 

And then don’t define who you’re going to hire based on a definition of the relationship with that person. 

The most important thing for you is to hire someone with the knowledge & skills to sell (or buy) the type of property you have (or are looking for), in the specific areas that interest you, and with the personal fit you’re comfortable working with. 

And so ultimately you want to hire the most qualified individual and the person who is the best fit for you to work with. 

Now you might be thinking “oh sure Michael that’s easy for you to say”. 

And so my response to that is everything is difficult until you know a solution – right?

And that’s why I wrote my book a few years ago called “Choose Your Realtor Carefully”. 

I didn’t write it for self-promotion or even revenue from book sales. 

In fact, if you want a FREE copy just let me know and I’d be happy to send one to you. 

But in my book, not only do I provide 18 strategic interview questions you should ask any & all Realtors you interview or consider. 

But I also provide examples of what answers might be good answers and what answers should cause red flags for you. 

And of course, I’ve addressed the topic of friends & family. 

Specifically, if you have a Realtor who is a relative or friend, but you’d prefer to hire a different Realtor, I offer suggestions as to how you can let that relative or friend know, while not hurting their feelings or burning bridges or ruining a good relationship. 

In my many years of real estate I’ve had people say they want to hire me but feel obligated to use their relative or friend. 

I’ve also had people say they respect the work I do but they do feel comfortable hiring their relative or friend. 

As a professional and someone who only wants the best for my clients (and friends) I have to respect that – and any good professional should. 

In fact, if someone doesn’t respect your right to choose who you hire, or tries to make you feel guilty, or is willing to burn bridges, that says something about them as a professional, not to mention how much they value (or don’t value) their relationship with you.

Oh and by the way, if you think hiring someone is difficult, just think about what would happen if you hire someone out of obligation but then have to fire them because you’re not happy or they’re not getting the job done?  

So if you’re thinking of moving and want some free advice on how to choose a Realtor or how to not choose someone you might otherwise feel obligated to work with, just let me know and I’d be happy to share some ideas with you.