What questions should a seller ask when interviewing a Realtor?
As a potential seller it is always a good idea to interview several agents when you sell your home. Not all Realtors are created equal, and when you sell your home you are hiring ONE agent to represent you - all the rest are looking out for the best interest of the buyer. Many sellers make the assumption that all agents from a particular company are the same and nothing could be further from the truth. Here are a few questions to ask a potential Realtor when you are hiring that agent.
1) Are you a full-time or part-time agent? There are some great part-time agents, however, what happens if someone wants to show the home while your agent is at their other job? If that situation arises, what is their plan to handle that situation? No plan in place, I'm sorry that is unacceptable. Buyers want to look at homes on THEIR schedule not the work schedule of your agent at their other job.
2) What professional designations do you have? Professional designations indicate that the agent is seeking a greater degree of professionalism. The more educated the agent the better your representation. The quality of your representation should not be dependent on the lack of education of your agent. Notice that the question is not, "How many years have you been in business?" What if your agent has been in the business for 15 years, but works part-time as an agent has only done 6 transactions in the last 3 years? I think you get a better indication of their activity by looking at their production. Has your agent been in the business for 20+ years but does not have a website or try to further develop themselves with designations.
3) Can I see a list of of your production for the last 6 months? More specificly, I would like to have a MLS printout of the homes you have on the active market, pending, sold, CANCELLEDs and EXPIREDs. Wow, in the last six months your agent sold 20 homes. However, in the same time period that agent had 40 cancelled and expired listings? Most agents will not like to provide you with this information for a varity of reasons. Do they have too many expireds and cancelleds? Do they have low production or have they not sold a home in the last 6 months? You are hiring the AGENT, not the company. You do not want company stats, you want that particular AGENT's STATS. Company stats are meaningless, real estate is now a 93/7 business. 93% of the business is done by only 7% of the agents. Almost anybody I talk to at one time had or has a real estate license, the key is that do they sell any homes. Great agents come from all companies either big or small.
4) What is your cancellation policy if I am not satisfied with your marketing efforts? Are you stuck with that agent even if you are unhappy? No written cancellation policy, that is unacceptable.
5) How long is the listing contract? Most sellers do not want to be in a long protracted listing contract. If the home is priced properly then it will sell. 51% of the homes sell within 30 days. If it has not sold in that time than it is a price problem, NOT a marketing problem. The best time to sell a home is in the first 3 weeks.
6) Do you have any references or feedback from past clients that I can see? No references or feedback from past clients, I'm sorry that is unacceptable.
7) Can I have a written copy of your marketing plan? No written marketing plan, I'm sorry that is unacceptable. You should look at the marketing stategy, where are the efforts focused. Newspaper and print material were successful 30 years ago. Will the home be advertised on www.Craigslist.org? If you get a blank stare from the agent, I'm sorry that is unacceptable. If they have never heard of Craigslist then hire another agent. The average age of last year's homebuyer is 34 years old. The average age of the newspaper reader is 52. Why advertise in a place where it is ineffective? Well, the average age of the typical Realtor - 55.
8) What commission do you charge AND what more importantly what amount/percentage does the co-broker receive? Commissions are NEGOTIABLE, and you should never hire an agent solely on the commission or the agent with the highest listing price. You should know that the commission is X% and the buyer's agent will receive Y%. You should also ask if there is a "Broker Admin Fee"? Even if they charge you X%, they will still tack on a another couple of hundred bucks for a broker admin fee on TOP of the commission. Is it legal, yes. Is it right? Depends on when you find out about it. Is it buried in the listing agreement? Probably. It is not a bad idea to ask for a copy of the listing agreement before you interview the agent.
9) Will my home have a virtual tour? and can I have an example of one of your virtual tours? Newspaper and print magazines are on the way out. It is not enough to be on the web with a photo. You MUST have a virtual tour.
10) Can I have an example of one of your property flyers? Does it look professional? Is it in COLOR? Does it have multiple photos, does it drive potential buyers to the web, and does it show the price? No price irritates most potential buyers, most buyers do not want to talk to most agents. But, most agents want the phone to ring so they leave off the price. If they want the phone to ring then take off the COMPANY number off the sign! Most hitters have their own sign with only THEIR number so leads do NOT go to the company. Most brokers, still have a agent duty desk so agents can get leads. Top listing agents do not want their leads going to the company and do not sit the duty desk.
These are some tough hard hitting questions. However, you are hiring someone to represent you. If you were in a courtroom would you hire an attorney based on their refrigerator magnet or their cherry pie recipe they have sent to you? No, you would want to hire them based on their competence. Real estate is no different, you want to hire someone on their competence to price it right, market it effectively, and to represent your best interest.
Sincerely,
David Matney, CRS, GRI, e-Pro
Alliance Real Estate
(402) 490-6771
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