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Is this your full time job? Can you provide a schedule for your daily activities?
A
lot of agents are not on point full time. Knowing how much time they choose to
devote to the real estate profession can help you determine how much time and
effort you can expect them to put into helping you. Find out if they consider
real estate a job or a career.
How many clients
have you served this year? How many clients did you service last year?
The
difference between an agent that averages 10 transactions in a year versus 10
transactions in a month is the difference between how aggressively they put
forth an effort into their work. Naturally you want to work with a team that is
on top; their experience level will reflect directly on your home buying or
selling experience.
How many sales have
you handled in my neighborhood?
If
not a particular neighborhood then you should find out if they specialize in
the same type of transaction that you will be going through. Residential or
Commercial property? Multi-unit properties? Condos? Investment properties?
What do you charge?
And how long is your contract?
Contract
length can become a major concern for people if they don’t realize what they are signing. From the start, it’s a good idea to ask your agent how long they
typically set up a contract. Keep in mind that contract length, just like many
other things in real estate, is negotiable. You can also negotiate listing
commissions. If you don’t agree with their pricing or time frame – you have no
reason to work with them.
What services do
you offer?
Many
agents revert to the traditional methods of selling a home. They just put out a
sign in the yard, post the listing on the MLS, host one open house and that’s
that. They wait.
The
same thing applies with helping buyers find a home. Less than aggressive
buyer’s agents might rely on their clients to search homes online. Proactive
teams will go out there and get the connections you need to buy or sell your
home.
What are you going
to do to advertise my home or how do you help find a home?
There’s
advertising and then there’s marketing. Find out what the agent plans to do to
market your home. Will they rely only on traditional methods or will they get
outside the box and cater to today’s buyers and sellers? Will they use
technology? Are they well versed in the latest tools out there to get more
exposure on your home when selling?
Who else will be
working with you?
What
happens to your home and search when your agent is not well or is out of town
or on vacation? Is everything put on hold? Is there a team in place? It’s
important to find out if you have a strong team on your side so that when your
agent goes on vacation, your listing or home search doesn’t have to go on
vacation too.
Do you represent
buyers and sellers in the same transactions?
At
times, some agents will profess their allegiance to only one side of the
transaction. But truth be told, a good agent will recognize being hired to
bring business to your property. Taking a proactive stance is key in finding
the perfect home or bringing buyers to your house.
What sets you apart
from other agents?
This
is an important question to ask since there are so many agents in the field.
What really sets them apart? Are they one of the 90% that only contributes to
10% of the sales volume in your area? Or are they among the 10% that
contributes to 90% of the sales volume in your vicinity?
Will you provide a
list of references of past client you’ve worked with?
This
one may take some agents by surprise. If not prepared, it may be the best way
to gain an accurate understanding of how their clients perceive them on a
service level, communication level, updates and more. You can learn how the
agent conducts business, how they are in negotiation and how they treat their
clients.
