Too often when we as consumers talk about real estate agents, it’s with a negative edge in our tone. But real estate agents aren’t actually all that bad. Sure there are a few that put a negative light on the industry, but generally these are just a handful among thousands of many great real estate agents. Now, there’s a website that homeowners and home buyers can visit to check up on their agents, or to do a bit of research into three or four before they sign on with one.
The website was started by Riti Verma, an agent and an investor that founded RankMyAgent.com. This site is one that anyone can go to and find out about a particular real estate agent.
“With so many agents, it is often hard for clients to know who is good and bad. If it’s a bad service, they want to voice that,” says Verma. “Agents need to hear that feedback, both positive and negative, to help their own service offering. I believe this will help all parties and the industry as a whole.”
Verma says her website is different from others in that the website actually monitors the reviews given by every client. And she’s hoping that this this will set it apart from the Rate Your Realtor website that the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA) recently stopped from going live.
“Any flagged reviews require user follow-up to ensure that the user did have an actual transaction and experience working with the agent. This ensure truly factual and unbiased reviews.”
But as Melissa Hole, of Royal LePage Westwin Realty in B.C. says, the site is not just for home buyers or sellers. It’s also a place for real estate agents to come and see what their clients are saying about them; and hopefully, showing them areas in which they can improve. She says that agents not only encourage online comments, but that they embrace them.
“There is a lot of misinformation online, especially when it comes to service providers,” says Verma. “We are not basing reviews on one-time meetings or second hand opinions. Buyers are and need to be more aware of who they are dealing with now. They cannot afford to take a chance with agents.”
