Realtors tend to have a lot of contacts. The realtor I worked with knew “a great guy” for every aspect of the house (roof, plumbing, cabinets, driveways, etc.) due to the fact that she naturally encountered so many of these tradespeople.
She would get recommendations from sellers. Either the seller recently had work done in order to improve the home before putting it on the market, or, the seller had some trusted expert they used for years.
My realtor actually encouraged me to ask her for any contacts if I needed something done in the future. I sense that her contacts like having customer referrals as well.
Realtors often have a list of contractors they rely on to help potential sellers get their homes ready for sale. I have found and used recommended roofers, plumbers, HVAC and electricians from a local realtor that wants my future business.
I would caution seeing a Realtor as an easy way to avoid doing your homework on someone. I did this long ago and the Realtor's recommendation was one of the worst I have ever worked with.
There is, unfortunately, no shortcut to finding quality handymen.
Seconded. What Realtors value in a contractor is someone who will respond quickly and do a job that looks good on the surface to avoid delaying closing. For the most part they don't know whether the job was well done and will hold up over time since they are already on to the next house.
you can definitely save a lot of time by asking your friends for referrals. Anybody who loves their Electrician/Plumber should be listened to in particular.
A good realtor will often not recommend the same contractors that they use for prepping a home for sale. The requirements for getting a home in saleable condition and getting a home in livable condition are not always the same.
Instead they act as an information hub for homeowners.
Obviously "good realtor" is doing a lot of work here, and I don't know how you find a good realtor (kind of lucked into mine after having a terrible one for my first purchase).
It sucks to find good tradespeople because word of mouth does so much for them that they hardly advertise. So if you actively look for one, you tend to ONLY find the bad ones, and you're actually less likely to find the good ones... unless you know someone who happens to know someone. Which sucks since I don't know anyone (and trying to look for someone encounters the exact same problem)