Purchasing a home can be an exciting, stressful adventure. Choosing a real estate agent that is right for you can take a lot of stress out of the process.

According to realtor.com, more than 2 million people in the United States hold real estate licenses, but only a percentage of those are actively helping buyers find the right home. A few guidelines can help take the guesswork in finding the right person.

“I think for the most part people [look for Realtors] in the same way. They will ask friends and family if they know of anyone they have worked with in the past,” Joel Hall, a Realtor with RE/MAX Real Estate Services in Shreveport, said. “The biggest thing people are looking for today that goes a long way is an agent that answers the phone. The days of the agent having a message on their voicemail that says, ‘I return calls between 2 and 4, and if I don’t answer my phone on the weekends, then I will call you on Monday’ – that doesn’t cut it anymore. You [want your agent] to be available.”

There are many agents to choose from, but experience and commitment should be big factors in the selection.

“Buyers really appreciate someone who does it full time. There’s a lot of people who have an uncle or a grandmother that has their real estate license, maybe they do one or two deals a year for extra income,” Hall said. “I think the value of having a full-time agent is you have someone who’s working for you 24-7. They deal with contractors, deal with investors, deal with property inspectors. There’s little things and little problems that can pop up behind the scenes once you get a house under contract and a full-time agent will be able to see those, or have a better eye to see those while you’re going through the house maybe before it goes under contract.

“Agents can look for those things and see red flags in a property disclosure whereas a new agent or part-time agent might not. I think that’s the biggest thing – the experience and the amount of time that agent devotes to real estate that can make the difference.”

The Internet provides a wealth of information and education when trying to find the right agent. “There’s so much information out there – as far as with company’s websites and being able to get the information to find out how long an agent has been in the business, and how much inventory they might be working with,” Hall said.

Availability is key. “I think today what buyers really want is that 24-7 agent and if you don’t answer a call you at least return it in 30 minutes to an hour. Any longer than that, the buyer is going to get in touch with another agent. There’s so much on Zillow and Trulia with those preferred agents that pay for those ads, so if one doesn’t answer the phone they just move on to the next person on the list,” Hall said.

Before beginning a home search, it’s good to research agents. Visit sites such as the Northwest Louisiana Association of Realtors (www.nlra.org) or realtor.com, click on the “Find a Member” button, and read the background and experience levels of agents in the area. Company websites are a great resource as well.

“Any website that features agents is a good tool for buyers to go to. Any of those main sites – RE/MAX or Coldwell Banker or Century 21 – that basically have an overview of all the agents and the properties listed are good to go to because it does give you lots of information. You can read up on the agents and their backgrounds,” Hall said.

What it really boils down to is personality and dedication to finding the best home. “I think most people want to work with someone who is like-minded, hard-working and gets with them to do showings as quickly as possible. Most schedules don’t permit agents to just drop their hats and go show, but I think if within a 24-hour period someone is able to arrange a showing then the clients are usually satisfied,” Hall said.

For more information, contact Hall at 464-7003 or through his website www.joelmhall.com.