Whether you want to sell your home or you are looking to find the right property in a particular region, you need a great realtor to help you navigate this often stressful process.

Thankfully there are a few steps to take to connect with excellent agents with sparkling reputations, and a few tools to help you on the way.

Use online agent directories

The quickest and simplest solution to narrowing down your choice of realtor is to use a site like Homeandmoney.com to quickly sift through the top operators in your area.

Often people don’t know where to start, and an independent online directory is the perfect place to do so, since it will not only pinpoint appropriate agents near to you, but also save you a lot of time that would otherwise be spent seeking them out manually.

Check listings

Another speedy way to identify reputable realtors is to look at property listings nearby and see which agents and agencies are handling the highest volume of properties and showcasing homes effectively.

While this is not always a guarantee of quality service, if it is obvious that one individual or company is catering to the most clients, it is a decent signal that they are doing a good job and beating out competitors.

Ask for personal recommendations

If you know someone who recently moved to the area, or you have a friend, family member or colleague in your network whose opinion you trust, then asking them to refer you to a realtor they know to be reputable is wise.

Word-of-mouth recommendations can carry a lot of weight, especially if they come from a person you know, and who can talk you through their experience with a given agent or organization.

Again, different people can have different experiences, but a personal referral holds more weight than almost anything else.

Better yet, if you have previously used an agent in your area but you are moving elsewhere, you could ask them to suggest someone to work with. Agents have excellent state-wide and national networks, so this could be the right route for anyone who has moved in the past.

Consider your requirements

Your experience with a realtor may vary depending on what you are hoping to achieve, and what you are looking for in a property.

Perhaps you are simply eager to move as quickly as possible, and are more interested in an agent who can get the wheels of a deal spinning faster.

Perhaps you are willing to wait until just the right property comes along, in which case an agent who is a master of the local scene and knows where and when properties that meet your specifications could crop up.

Whatever the case, knowing what will make a good realtor to you is sensible, since this will help to guide your search for them.

Play the field

You don’t have to settle for the first realtor you meet. Instead, feel free to compare several local agents to see which one gels with you.

If in doubt, get prospective agents to send over references from their previous clients. This should be a straightforward process, so any hesitancy here could be a red flag.

Read the small print

Before signing up with a realtor, remember to scrutinize any paperwork which they get you to sign closely.

If something looks suspicious, or there is some term or condition which is not exactly customer-friendly, then it is better to spot this straight away, rather than have it come back to bite you in the future when it’s too late.