Insights from Suburban Jungle Founder & President Alison Bernstein on How to Find a Real Estate Agent
When I initially started this company, it was born out of my struggle to figure out how to find a real estate agent who could provide me with the answers I needed. There were numerous brokerage firms and countless agents claiming to be the best, yet they all seemed identical.
It’s not that these firms or agents were ineffective at branding or marketing – that wasn’t the issue. The problem was that I didn’t know where to begin or how to find the right real estate agent. I didn’t want to sit through a sales pitch every single time.
Over time, platforms like Zillow and Realtor.com emerged, charging agents to market their services and acquire client leads. Compass boasted about its technology and superior approach to real estate. However, at the core of it all, the fundamental question remained – how can I find the right town to live in and objectively identify the right real estate agent to work with?
Suburban Jungle was founded for precisely this purpose. We don’t focus on marketing agents or generating “leads.” Instead, we engage in personal conversations with you, getting to understand your needs and objectives before you even connect with an agent. We don’t simply forward you to a call center or distribute your information to the highest bidder. Instead, we collaborate with you to develop a strategy, and only after that, do we connect you with the right real estate agent. Our approach involves curating a specialized team tailored to your specific requirements.
Why do we carefully select agents out of the many who apply? It’s because we want to ensure that they dedicate the time to show you around the town, not just push homes for sale. We also aim to guarantee that they are the best agents for your current phase in the search and buying process, as you’ll require a lot of support, attention, and time.
“One thing my husband loved about your agent that no other agent did was how she approached the entire tour and situation. She never once asked us our budget (even though she knew it) or never once did she ask if we have pre-approval. She literally spent three hours with us just educating us on the towns, the surroundings and why she loved living there and being a member of that community. He thought it was humbling and genuine how she wanted to ‘teach us about the town’ rather than ‘sell us’ or make it about our money or physically buying a house. We felt her approach to the tour was the most genuine and perhaps that is one of the reasons we now love and are interested in this town! Kudos to her!”
Being an amazing real estate agent is great, but not enough to cut it here at Suburban Jungle. You also need to be in the know, meaning having knowledge of inventory that MIGHT come up BEFORE it hits the market. Just earlier today, one of our Strategists commented to our partner agent,
“Love how you were able to get the client a house that wasn’t even listed or going to be on the market for a year because of your personal connections and being a local agent. Love the creative thinking!”
As you can see, when it comes to how to find the right real estate agent buyers and sellers need to take a multi-faceted approach. Frequently, individuals reach out to us while already engaging with an agent, and they wonder if that’s acceptable. Our response is always the same: if you’ve contacted us, it’s evident that you’re seeking more insight, information, and service than what you’re currently receiving. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be having this conversation!
There are hundreds of towns to choose from. How do you figure it all out? You simply don’t, without getting a Suburban Jungle Strategist to help you through it all. Schedule here for your strategy session with our innovative suburbs strategy team and find a real estate agent for you. All services are completely free.
