Not all real estate agents are the same. If you decide to seek the help of a REALTOR® when selling or buying your home, you need some good information before you make any moves. Hiring a real estate agent is just like any hiring process – with you on the boss’s side of the desk. It’s critical that you make the right decision about who will handle what since this is probably the single largest financial investment you will ever make.
When interviewing for a real estate professional to work with, here’s some questions that will give you a lot of insight:
- What makes you different from other REALTORS®? What unique marketing plans and programs does this agent have in place to make sure that your home stands out favorably versus other competing homes? What things does this agent offer you that others don’t to help you sell your home in the least amount of time with the least amount of hassle and for the most amount of money?
- What is your company’s reputation? What is your track record as a REALTOR®? You want your home sold fast and for top dollar, you should be asking the agents you interview how many homes they have sold. I’m sure you will agree that success in real estate is selling homes. If one agent is selling a lot of homes where another is selling only a handful, ask yourself why this might be? What things are these two agents doing differently? You may be surprised to know that many agents sell fewer than 10 homes a year. This volume makes it difficult for them to do full impact marketing on your home, because they can’t raise the money it takes to afford the advertising and special programs to give your home a high profile.
- What is your marketing plan for selling homes? How much money does this agent spend in advertising the homes s/he lists versus the other agents you are interviewing? In what media (newspaper, magazine, TV etc.) does this agent advertise? What does s/he know about the effectiveness of one medium over the other?
- What have you sold in my area? Agents should bring you a complete listing of both their own, and other comparable sales in your area.
- On average, when your listings sell, how close is the selling price to the asking price? Is this agent’s performance higher or lower than the board average? Their performance on this measurement will help you predict how high a price you will get for the sale of your home.
- On average, how long does it take for your listings to sell? Their performance on this measurement will help you predict how long your home will be on the market before it sells.
- What happens if I’m not happy with the job you’re doing? Can I cancel my listing contract? Be wary of agents that lock you into a lengthy listing contract where they can get out of (by ceasing to effectively market your home) but you can’t. There are usually penalties and broker protection periods which safeguard the agent’s interests, but not yours. How confident is your agent in the service s/he will provide you? Will s/he allow you to cancel your contract without penalty if you’re not satisfied with the service provided?
If you have questions about buying or selling or home, or want to hear our answers to these questions, please contact us.
