Do You Vet Your Agent?

Many buyers and sellers will do a Google search to get as much information on their agent as possible. How many homes have they sold? What is their experience level? Do they have an online presence? Unfortunately, many consumers skip out on one of the most important pieces of research - the license status of their agent. We encourage all consumers to vet their agent starting with their license, as any violations against their license will only show up on the California DRE website, and no other source.

Researching License Status On www.DRE.ca.gov

Once you're on the DRE website, hover over "Consumers" and click on "Verify a License".

Once you've clicked on that, you're presented with the search page. You can choose between their name, address or license ID. Department of Real Estate licensing laws require our license numbers be displayed on every consumer "point of contact". Ordinarily, you can find our license numbers on business cards, postcards/doorhangers, print advertising, websites, and other consumer-intended marketing pieces, including real estate websites like Zillow and Realtor.

Once you've put in the relevant name or license (try it with ours: 01872106), you'll be presented with a screen that shows their legal names, license date/expiration/address, affiliated companies (or DBA's), as well as a list of salespeople under their employment (if they're a broker) or the brokerage names and licenses that they are affiliated with (if they're an agent).

At the bottom of the page, you will find a section named "Comment". This section will show if there are any disciplinary actions against the individual or broker's license. As shown above, our company comment section states "No Disciplinary Action or Other Public Comments" because we are proud to have a discipline-free track record.

While this doesn't show any lawsuits or litigation against the licensee (whether professional or personal) in civil or criminal court, it's an excellent first step in making sure that the agent you align with respects and follows the laws of our state. Because most accusations of malpractice will ultimately end up with disciplinary investigation and/or action from the Department of Real Estate, it's a safe bet that if their license is clean, you're off to a good start.

At Benchmark, a key part of our agent hiring process is to vet agents not only on the state licensing database, but personal as well. To the best of our abilities, we screen our agents' criminal and civil backgrounds to ensure that their choices align with our core values. Immediate causes for withdrawing employment opportunities include backgrounds that show fraudulent, irresponsible, criminal or inappropriate behaviors. When hiring an agent, you are inviting a stranger into your home - your sacred space - and we do everything we can to ensure that only practitioners who model excellent decisions are allowed the honor of being welcomed into your space, and being a part of your real estate journey.

While an agent's production and online presence certainly are important, it should all start with their license. When one sits for a salesperson or broker's exam, they are tested on their knowledge of some of the most rudimentary and essential laws and practices in real estate. No license exam or course of study will ever sufficiently 'weed out' those with less-than-desirable character qualities.