We are thinking about moving in a year at the earliest but we haven't really settled on a city yet. I have been doing research on few cities by visiting them and watching realtors YouTube channels on those cities but I feel weird contacting them to ask questions and then ultimately not deciding to move to that city.

I already sort of ran into this issue with a realtor down in Houston who was very helpful but we ultimately decided that wasnt the city for us. She spent a few hours helping us and ultimately got nothing in return (maybe I should send a thank you gift card or something?)

I know there are a lot of realtors on this board so what do you think about tire kickers like me?

Martin Q. Blank said:

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Whatever you do, I would rent the first year to get a feel of the city before buying.

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I'm not a big fan of renting overall. That said, this is sound advice.

True about renting. I have some clients that are closing on a home in Cincinnati today. I was able to find them a rental early May in Lakeway. I mentioned to them to get a feel for the area first before buying in case they want to move closer to Austin.

A good agent would understand that it's part of the process. Like CS said, just be honest. Good agents are servant minded. They know that not every client will be a buyer (or they may not buy for quite some time). But helping you out with some research and fact finding may lead to some good referrals down the road.

Unfortunately a lot of realtors just want the free lunches, unlock a couple of doors, and maybe show up for the closing.

Thanks for all the feedback.

The questions I would likely be asking would just better understanding of the neighborhood and if they knew other neighborhoods with similar amenities that I should be looking into. Homes that are on the market now won't be available when we are ready to move, but if I can zero in on a certain area we will be able to keep an eye on that area when we get closer to our move.

Currently we are looking at Colorado Springs and we have already been there twice in the last year and will be going back for a few weeks next month.

I've got a handful of clients that aren't moving until next calendar year. A good realtor will answer your questions, keep you in their pipeline, reach out occasionally. You might get some random emails about market conditions or some other sort of marketing, and the occasional text, but that generally means they're keeping tabs and not forgetting about you.

I help folks out with neighborhood info, school zoning, tax protest stuff all the time. It's all part of the job, and many aren't clients. Just seems like the right thing to do, regardless, since I have the access and knowledge. Good luck with the move! Colorado is beautiful

I've worked with agents before and if we decided on a different area, I would get them a finders fee. It's something I would let the realtor we ultimately go with know up front. They have always been fine with it. It's just a part of their job, however. At the very least, it's more networking opportunities for them so I wouldn't sweat it.