9 Critical Questions To Ask Your Realtor
1. What makes you different than all the other Realtors that are available to choose from?
The agent that you choose to sell your home should be able to tell you what he or she does that is different than the great majority of Realtors who simply put your home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and hope it sells.
2. Do you sell real estate as your only/full-time profession? How may years have you been selling real estate? Do you have any professional designations?
Having a full-time agent represent you is extremely important – part time agents quite simply won’t be able to give you the time/commitment necessary to effectively market/sell your home that a full-time agent can.
The number of years of experience your agent has should definitely be considered as you decide who to list your home with – as with any profession (attorneys, doctors, accountants etc….) – the more experience (number of homes sold/transactions completed) your agent has will enable him or her to more effectively help you negotiate the sale of your home and deal with/advise you on how to handle any unexpected issues that may come up throughout the process from the initial listing to closing.
Less than 5% of agents nationwide have the GRI (Graduate of the Realtors Institute) and the CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) professional designations – Harry Cassidy has them BOTH – having these designations shows that your agent has additional knowledge and experience that other agents don’t have or took the time necessary to complete the classes to obtain these important industry credentials.
3. Do you have any support staff and/or assistants to help you? What role would they play in the sale/marketing of my home? How would I be able to reach them if I needed assistance and you were helping another client?
Like how doctors have nurses to help them and attorneys have paralegals to help them – it is common for very successful real estate agents to have assistants to help them and their clients throughout the process – it allows them to provide a much level higher of customer service for their clients. (Harry’s clients love his support staff!)
4. Please explain the marketing plan/strategies/methods that you will use to get my home sold?
Please show me examples of what you are doing for your current listings. The agent you choose to sell your home should be able to easily and fully explain what he or she will be doing for you to get your home sold. The best way to see what he or she will do to market your home is to look at the marketing he or she is doing for their current listings – that is what you can expect for your home.
5. Do you have your own website that will be able to help with the marketing of my home?
Looking at the agent’s website (if they have one) – that you are considering listing your home with – will give you a good glimpse into the quality/extent of the marketing you can expect for your home.
6. If I list my home with you how often should I expect to hear from you thereafter?
You should want and expect that the agent you choose to list your home with will be keeping you updated on a consistent basis – for most people their home is their most valuable asset – Harry and his staff are well aware of this and they go out of their way to keep his clients updated throughout the process (feel free to read many of his past client’s testimonials and recommendations).
7. Are you willing to provide the names of current and/or past clients?
Most successful companies are more that happy to provide a list of satisfied clients – if not – there’s a reason for that. Harry will be happy to provide references upon request.
8. How long do I have to list my home with you? Do you offer any type of a satisfaction guarantee?
Most agents/brokers will require a 3 to 6 month contract and if you’re not satisfied with the service your receiving you are stuck with him or her until the contract expires.
Harry offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee/easy exit listing so that if for any reason you aren’t happy with the service you’re receiving you can cancel the agreement (Harry doesn’t worry about offering this to his clients – he is sure his clients are going to be 110% satisfied!).
9. How do you determine the appropriate listing price for my home? Do you have any strategies you use to ensure that I get top dollar for my home?
The agent you choose to list your home should be able to fully explain/show you what the proper listing price should be for your home and be able to show you the data/comparable sales that justify the recommendation.
The agent you choose should be able to explain to you what he or she will do to ensure you get the most money possible for your home (feel free to ask Harry – he will be happy to explain how he does this!).