Congratulations, you have jumped the first emotional hurdle as a homebuyer, and decided that you want to buy a home. The excitement is building, and you have gotten out there and driven the neighborhoods, stopped by an open house or two or looked on the Internet. You might have even picked out a couple of areas that you want to investigate further. You have gotten a quick view of what is on the market, now your next step is finding a real estate agent.

You always want to have a professional at your side during a home-buying process, representing your interests. An agent will be there to handle the transaction, assist you in making an appropriate offer, take over any tough negotiations, handle any problems that may arise and coordinate all of the necessary paperwork and players in the process of buying a home

Your real estate agent will be there to provide personalized service, helping you buy a home that fits both your lifestyle and your budget and representing you in all aspects of the purchase. An agent is your advocate, a trusted advisor, who is an expert in the complicated forms, negotiations and financing, and can give you information about the community and the marketplace. Agents also have connections with reputable mortgage lenders, title companies and other real estate services, to whom they can refer you.

And just like finding any other type of professional, you should ask around before hiring an agent. Quizzing friends and associates for names of their real estate agents is a great way to start. A good fit between you and your agent can result in you making a satisfactory home purchase. Ask the reference what they liked about that particular Realtor — would they hire them again, did the agent listen to the reference’s wants and requirements?

To see if a particular agent fits your needs, call them. Ask them how familiar they are with the particular area that you are interested in, what strategies they would use to find you a home and how they would win a bidding war for a house (this is especially important during the current market situation) and how tech-savvy they are. A tech-savvy agent has a distinct advantage — they can be contacted through email, they have more information resources than the non-tech savvy agent, what additional information they have is instant and they can steer you to other sites on the web to help you in your home buying research.

I know that this sounds complicated and time-consuming, but you shouldn’t pick any professional out of the yellow pages without references. A good agent will be able to translate your dreams into reality, and help you through the process.

Next issue, I will tackle finding a mortgage lender and the financing of your home.

(Editor’s Note: J. Lennox Scott, is president of John L. Scott Real Estate. He may be reached at realnews@johnlscott.com, or visit his firm’s award-winning website at www.johnlscott.com.)