As my REALTOR guided her preferred carpet installer through my home pointing out the things that needed to be fixed before listing my house for sale, the installer leaned over to me and whispered, “Just do whatever she says. She knows what she’s doing”. I did what he said – the carpet and the other 25 things that she told me to fix were done and my house sold in 7 days with multiple offers. The carpet came out great – this is when I learned to rely on my REALTOR’s preferred vendor recommendations.

From hiring a plumber, to a painter, to a junk removal guy, my REALTOR had every home-related service under the sun on speed dial. These were her trusted vendors – people she used for every listing she took to market. Talking to the carpet installer during my walkthrough, it was pretty clear to me that she was his best source of referrals. It’s easy to see why – every good REALTOR handles 15 to 30 home listings per year and every house needs multiple things fixed or cleaned before it is ready for sale. Recommendations from a REALTOR are earned with every job performed – I know that my agent wouldn’t tolerate sloppy work, not when these vendors are extensions of her in front of the home seller.  

Keep in mind that here are over 2 million real estate agents in this country, so I wouldn’t recommend blindly trusting one just because he or she sells homes. Usually, a good sign that you’re working with a reputable REALTOR is that you see their for-sale signs around your local neighborhood, you see them sponsoring local community events, or you might even see their name on a shopping cart in your local grocery store. Successful REALTORS are typically embedded in the community in different ways – the fact that they can afford to promote themselves speaks volumes over those that can’t. 

Another reason to trust a local REALTOR’s preferred vendor list is because sometimes the best vendors aren’t the flashiest. For example, when I was searching for a plumber, I looked at Yelp and Google, but then I remembered that my REALTOR also had her preferred vendor list. I checked her list for plumbers and found one entry – the first name of a person and a mobile number – that’s it – no glowing reviews, no fancy website. I sent a text to this number and mentioned that I got his name from my REALTOR. He responded immediately, asked me to send him a picture of the plumbing issue I was having. Within 10 minutes, he told me what was wrong, how much it would cost to fix it, and that he could come by in the morning. He ended up fixing my problem for far less than I would have guessed, and within 24 hours. He’s now my go-to guy for any plumbing issue – he’s saved in my speed-dial now. The point is that this plumber wasn’t listed on top on Yelp or Google Reviews – I never would have found this hidden gem if it wasn’t for the years of vetting and experience that REALTOR had invested in her preferred vendor list. 

In my experience, only a handful of REALTORS have preferred vendor lists. Despite the fact that there are 2 million real estate agents in the US, only a small percentage of these agents are actually listing most of the homes. As a result, the agents that do publish preferred vendors typically have a great assortment high quality vendors for every task imaginable. In addition to the typical services like plumbing and painting, things such as Christmas light hanging, snow removal, play structure assembly, piano moving, and bee removal are just some of the obscure things you might find a REALTOR’s preferred vendor list. 

Don’t take our word for it, find your next home project vendor through your local REALTOR. 

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