How to Choose a Realtor

Virginia Realtor Lon Crow has firm ideas on how homebuyers should choose a Realtor. And they don't involve calling the agent named at the bottom of a listing.

"You have to find someone who will act on your behalf. A listing agent's not going to do that. A listing agent is going to try to get the price that, in theory, they've helped the seller determine," Crow says.

Home sellers often go to great lengths to choose a Realtor to help in selling their homes; an effective Realtor can assist in determining an appropriate asking price, stage a house to sell and market the property.

But buyers, 90 percent of whom now use the Internet for their home search (according to the National Association of Realtors), often just pick up the phone and call the Realtor or agent who is selling the house.

It's an approach to choosing a Realtor that can cost the buyers, Crow says.