How to choose a real estate agent

A little while back I wrote an article about how to to choose a real estate agent.

The article discussed practical interview questions to ask a real estate agent – that is, your potential listing agent candidates.

I arrived at these questions following feedback with a significant number of our clients and other experienced Realtors, coupled with our team’s experience.

As with most significant transactions, it pays to be informed. Interviewing candidate real estate agents that you are considering to list your home with just makes sense.  This is the largest investment in your life, do your homework.

Talking to a realtor early can eliminate many problems that might occur later in the sales process.  A short interview will help determine if you and the realtor are on the same page, which benefits both of you.  This may also eliminate you improving things in the home that aren’t needed and spending money unnecessarily.

Most of all, interviewing Realtors for the job, gives you the opportunity to ask some important questions that will help you choose the right realtor for your needs.  Over the next several blogs I’ll be giving my suggestions on some questions you may want to ask.

How long have you been in the business and how many homes have you sold?

Experienced selling agents have a lot going for them.  They know how to effectively list, market and sell homes, and typically have a network of potential buyers, or agents who have potential buyers, now.  An experienced realtor also has a keen sense about what sells and why.  Always be sure to ask the potential listing agent how much experience they have selling residential properties that are reasonably similar to yours.  What about what areas do they primarily work in?  Ask them to tell you about your area and what do they know about your subdivision, these are all questions they could be asked by a potential buyer and these are things that should be answered.  Something else to consider, will they be your primary point of contact or will they list your home and or pass you off to another Realtor on their team, or admin.?  These are all things you need to consider when deciding on what type of relationship you want with your Realtor.  You should be partners to accomplish the goal!

Are you a full-time agent?

A full-time realtor means you SHOULD get full-time representation.  This doesn’t mean that there are no solid, professional part-time realtors because there are.  Most people choose to sign with a full-time agent because they want the attention, experience and commitment that comes from making selling homes their first priority.  I would suggest to keep track of how the Realtor responds when you’re reaching out to them prior to the appointment. Did they answer the call?  How long did it take them to call or text you back?  The initial contact will be a good indication of what you can expect in working with that agent.  I can’t stress enough the importance of having a full time Realtor, if you receive an offer you need an agent who can handle it immediately.  Real estate can be overwhelming in itself, so this should be top priority, it’s the largest investment most of us will make in our lifetime.

To be continued…….