Find the Real Estate Agent for You: A Western New York Guide

Most people pick an agent the way they pick a restaurant: a name a friend mentioned, or whoever answered first. That’s a big decision to leave to chance. Your agent decides which homes you hear about, how your offer is built, and who you call when the inspection or appraisal goes sideways. Here’s how to choose on purpose.

Start with what you actually need

A first-time buyer in Buffalo, a downsizer selling in Amherst and an investor buying a double in Cheektowaga need different things. Before you interview anyone, write down your goal, your timeline and the areas you’re considering. Then look for an agent whose recent work matches it.

• Buying your first home: patience, clear explanations, and a network of lenders who know the first-time buyer programs.
• Selling: a pricing plan built on recent sales near you, a marketing plan, and a clear answer on what you should and should not fix.
• Investing: someone who can talk rents, taxes, insurance, vacancy and repairs, not just list price.
• Relocating to WNY: an agent who can explain towns, villages, school district lines and winter realities over video.

Check the basics in two minutes

Every real estate salesperson and broker in New York is licensed by the Department of State. You can confirm a license, and whether it is current, with the state’s free license lookup. Also ask which brokerage they work under. In New York an agent must work through a licensed broker.

Questions worth asking in the interview

1. How many clients like me have you helped in the last 12 months, and in which towns?
2. How will we communicate, and how fast do you answer texts?
3. Walk me through how you would write an offer in a multiple-offer situation.
4. Which attorneys, inspectors and lenders do you work with, and why?
5. What does your buyer agreement (or listing agreement) say about compensation, length and how to end it?
6. Who covers for you when you are unavailable?

Expect paperwork up front, and read it

Since August 17, 2024, Realtors working with buyers must have a written agreement in place before touring homes. It spells out how much the agent is paid and how, and must say that compensation is negotiable. New York also requires an agency disclosure form at the first substantive contact and a Housing and Anti-Discrimination Disclosure. None of these lock you into anything you have not agreed to, so ask questions before you sign. More detail is in our guide to choosing your buyer’s agent.

Local knowledge you should test for

Western New York has quirks that out-of-area agents and national websites miss. A good local agent should be comfortable explaining:

• How New York’s attorney-approval period works and why a contract is not final the day you sign it.
• Why the mailing address, town and school district for a home often don’t match, and how to verify the district by tax parcel.
• How town, county and school tax bills are timed, and why a sale can change the next bill. See Property Taxes & STAR.
• What older housing stock brings: sewer laterals, basements, knob-and-tube wiring and lead paint in homes built before 1978. See Home Inspections in WNY.

Red flags

• Pressure to sign a long agreement before you have even talked about your goals.
• Vague answers about compensation.
• A pricing number for your home that seems designed to win the listing, with no recent sales to back it up.
• No local lender, attorney or inspector they can recommend by name.

Talk it through

Kunji Rey is an associate real estate broker with Towne Housing Real Estate and has worked in the Western New York market since 2013. She works with first-time buyers, sellers and investors across Erie and Niagara County. If you are interviewing agents, reach out for a no-pressure conversation, and bring the questions above.