Seeking a Realtor in Bedford, Virginia

I’m wondering – if you’re looking for a real estate agent in a foreign town, how do you find one? I’m trying to help a client find a Realtor in Bedford, Virginia and frankly, it’s challenging. I’m looking on google, Facebook (no longer available), twitter, LinkedIn and I’m realizing how difficult this task is (and thinking of ways to solve this problem … more later)

I’m googling for whatever terms I can think of – realtor in …, real estate agent in …, seller’s agent in …, real estate blog in … looking at listings on realtor.com, trulia, zillow and trying to figure out who uses professional photos, etc, and this is nearly an impossible task. Ratings sites aren’t what I’m looking for – I’m trying to figure out who I’d hire, and I know better than to trust ratings.

My google (as opposed to your google) (no longer available) has zillow, trulia and realtor.com – and a few other national sites – as the top three results – which aren’t what I’m looking for. (and thanks, Google, for letting your results be less than helpful)

The agent webpages I’m finding are generic and replete with platitudes and hyperbole. I found one with a blog – that was last updated in April. I found one agent on Twitter, but every tweet was a link of some sort, rather than insight into who that person is.

I’ve never sent or received a client referral to or from a Realtor there so my knowledge base is limited. I have my interview questions I’d ask before referring a client, but don’t have a fellow professional to whom I can direct my questions.

What I’m looking for is – who are these people and why should I trust my clients’ best interests to them?

The quest continues. I won’t be defeated.

One thing I’ve determined: I need to seriously revamp my “about Jim” page.

Image courtesy of.