When Should I Call My Real Estate Agent?

When a buyer or seller asks, "Should I call my agent?" the answer is almost always "Yes." Most agents welcome calls from their clients, regardless of frequency. Real estate agents are in the business of service, and that means taking care of clients' needs and addressing concerns as they come up.

Of course, calling your agent 10 times a day is not recommended. But things often move fast in this business. If you're in the middle of intense negotiations or an emergency has arisen—perhaps you are down to the wire on closing and paperwork is missing or an unexpected lien popped up on the title work—those circumstances warrant frequent phone contact.

Let's delve more deeply into the whys, whens, and wherefores of calling your real estate agent.

Establish a Communication Plan Early

After you decide to engage an agent, discuss how, when, and how often to communicate. Set up the parameters in advance. You and your agent can decide on one or all of the following methods:

• Daily or weekly telephone updates and conference calls
• Email regular updates or on an as-needed basis
• Text messages—best for confirming an appointment or short conversations
• Voicemail messages
• Face-to-face meetings for complex situations

Reasons to Call Your Agent

If something is bothering you, no question is unreasonable. Below are a few topics that a home buyer or home seller might have questions about. However, any type of real-estate-related question, even if it doesn't fall into one of the following categories, is important to address with your agent.

• Property information
• Home prices
• Home buying or home selling steps
• Finding a mortgage or paying off a mortgage
• Home inspections
• Purchase offer presentation
• Counteroffer preparation
• Offer negotiation
• Comparable sales
• Repair requests
• Seller disclosures
• Closing process

These are all critical aspects of the home buying or selling process. If your agent doesn't have an immediate answer, they should be able to get one for you quickly.

Bonus Advice for Homebuyers

Here's one thing guaranteed to give your real estate agent gray hairs: Start driving around neighborhoods you like and calling on the "for sale" signs you see—by yourself. Agents understand that you're trying to be proactive. But if you're worried about wasting your agent's time, don't be.

Agents often work with buyers in the very early stages of looking for a home. Sometimes buyers have several potential neighborhoods on their list. Part of a real estate agent's job is to help buyers narrow their selection. To do so, an agent might take buyers on neighborhood tours, send email listings targeting particular areas, and spend time on the phone or in person discussing parameters and defining wants vs. needs.

So, if you spot a "for sale" sign and want to know more or see the property, you don't need to call the listing agent to get information. That's why you have hired an agent. For buyers, keeping your agent in the loop prevents procuring cause problems, in which an agent might lose credit for a purchase. For sellers, calling your agent about other listings prevents misunderstandings; besides, it's against the Realtor's Code of Ethics to solicit another agent's listing.

Homebuying and home selling should not be painful experiences, nor should any buyer or seller ever worry about calling their agent. Remember, you're the client, so you set the expectations.