"When you go to buy a new home, you will be working with a number of different professionals and you want to make sure that you've got good ones on your side. One of the best ways to ensure this is to work with professionals that have been referred to you by others. This is because word-of-mouth is more reliable than any kind of advertising that a professional can do. The two key people that you're going to want referrals for are your real estate agent and your mortgage lender. But where do you go to get good referrals for the professionals that are going to be helping you with buying your home?
Here are some people and places to check for realtor and mortgage lender referrals:
1) Family and close friends. You can be fairly certain that the people who love you aren't going to refer you to someone that they don't trust implicitly. Of course, you should take your knowledge of their particular quirks into consideration when listening to their suggestions. If you know that Uncle Bob hates everyone who works for him, you won't necessarily want to dismiss his wife's realtor referral just because he has negative things to say. Likewise if one of your best friend's flaws is adoration of everyone, you'll want to think twice about taking her mortgage lender referral too seriously.
2) People you know in the industry. Perhaps you remember meeting a friend of a friend who worked at a mortgage company. Or maybe you vaguely remember that your friend's sister does something with real estate. If you have some kind of 'in' to the industry, you should call that person up. A simple, 'hey remember me, hey I have a question' can gain you a wealth of information and some great referrals to professionals who can help you buy a home.
3) Anyone you know of who has recently bought or sold a home. These people have probably been working with professionals in the field, especially if they just bought a home. If they liked the people they worked with, they won't hesitate to tell you so. Referrals like that are priceless because they speak not only to the overall experience of the professionals but also to their recent track record.
4) Website forums and review sites. There are website forums and review sites dedicated to letting users tell you what they thought about different professionals. Find one for your area and get referrals there. Remember that sometimes professionals are paid to post positive reviews on those sites so read them with caution but they can be a good starting point for getting referrals.
5) Ask your realtor and mortgage lender for referrals. If you find one of these professionals before the other, ask for a professional referral to find the other one.
Of course, you should take all referrals of realtors and mortgage lenders with a grain of salt. You'll want to interview them yourself, make sure that your personalities mesh well together and look closely at the terms of working with them (especially in the case of the mortgage lender). But getting a referral is a very good start to making sure that you work with the professionals who can best help you find a new home."
