INTERVIEW YOUR REALTOR!!!


Let's face it, there are a lot of Realtors out there - some much, much, much better than others. Most people know a Realtor or know someone who knows a Realtor and they just go with them - whether or not that agent is a good fit. Make sure it's a good fit - INTERVIEW YOUR REALTOR!!!

Generally when a seller hires a Realtor, the Realtor performs a market analysis. Besides providing information about the pricing of the home, the Realtor should review how they will market the home. Typically more than one Realtor does a market analysis - so you've made a decent effort at an interview process. Here are some things you can ask (though the agent should cover these things while presenting the market analysis):

1. How long have you been a licensed realtor or real-estate agent?
2. How far does your area extend?
3. Do you live in the area?
4. How many homes have you sold in the past year?
5. What services can you provide, specifically, in terms of marketing my home? (flyers, ads, open houses, etc.)
6. What other services or individuals can you recommend to assist in preparing my home for sale? (repair people, gardeners, painters)
7. How quickly will my home appear in the MLS? How quickly will the photos be added after it goes online?
8. What is the average number of visitors you expect to get through my home?
9. How long do you expect my home to be on the market? Why?
10. How will you go about setting the price of my home?

One extra step I wish more sellers would take is to look at listings online that a Realtor has. What you can see online might shock you - misspelled words in the description and a lack of photos or worse yet - BAD PHOTOS!! There are so many bad photos out there that people have made websites dedicated to actual real estate photos.

Because of the market analysis process, most sellers interview their future Realtor. Very few buyers (especially first time buyers) interview their future Realtor though. You want to hire someone with experience and ability, but you want someone who you can get along with. Beyond that, first time buyers might need someone who can take more time explaining the process and setting some expectations. Here are some questions that perspective buyers recently asked me:

1. Are you a full-time agent?
2. Whom do you represent (buyer or seller)?
3. What is your office size, support staff, etc. ?
4. How long have you been an agent?
5. Do you have a salesperson’s license or a broker’s license?
6. Do you hold any professional designations? Any courses/classes taken recently? How do you stay current?
7. What is your understanding of my home buying needs?
8. What do you think of the other agents I am interviewing?
9. How many buyers or sellers are representing at this time?
10. Do you work in partnership or use assistants?
11. Can you provide references?
12. Could you provide us an activity report for the last 12 months – concentrating on the areas we are interested in?

• Property address?


• Property type?


• Sales price?


• Date of sale?


• Was the buyer or the seller represented?

13. What was the total dollar value of the property sold during the preceding 12 months?

Another question for both buyers and sellers in regards to an agent with a "Team" is - Who will I work with? You might be hiring the super star Realtor in your area, but never look at a house or negotiate an offer with that Realtor, instead you get assigned to their less experienced underling.
In the end you want someone who you're comfortable with. Comfortable that they'll do a good job for you and comfortable with their personality. You're going to be spending a significant amount of time with your Realtor, you should be confident that they're the right person for the job.

I'm confident in my skills and I'm happy to compete for your business.