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12 questions to ask when choosing a Realtor
1- How long have you been in residential real estate sales? Is it your full-time job? (While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate, like many other professions, is mostly learned on the job.)
2- What designations do you hold? (Designations, such as GRI and CRS, which require that real estate professionals take additional, specialized real estate training, are held by only about one-quarter of real estate practitioners.)
3- How many homes did you and your company sell last year?
4- How many days did it take you to sell the average home? How did that compare to the overall market?
5- How close to the initial asking prices of the homes you sold were the final sale prices?
6- What types of specific marketing systems and approaches will you use to sell my home? (Look for someone who has aggressive, innovative approaches, not just someone who’s going to put a sign in the yard and hope for the best.)
7- Will you represent me exclusively, or will you represent both the buyer and the seller in the transaction? (While it’s usually legal to represent both parties in a transaction, it’s important to understand where the practitioner’s obligations lie. A good practitioner will explain the agency relationship to you and describe the rights of each party. It’s also possible to insist that the practitioner represent you exclusively.)
8- Can you recommend service providers who can assist me in obtaining a mortgage, making repairs on my home, and other things I need done? (Keep in mind here that real estate professionals should generally recommend more than one provider and should tell you if they receive any compensation from any provider.)
9- What type of support and supervision does your brokerage office provide to you? (Having resources, such as in-house support staff, access to a real estate attorney, or assistance with technology, can help a real estate professional sell your home.)
10- What’s your business philosophy? (While there’s no right answer to this question, the response will help you assess what’s important to the real estate practitioner-fast sales, service, etc.-and determine how closely the practitioner’s goals and business emphasis mesh with your own.)
11- How will you keep me informed about the progress of my transaction? How frequently? Using what media? (Again, this is not a question with a correct answer, but that one reflects your desires. Do you want updates twice a week or don’t want to be bothered unless there’s a hot prospect? Do you prefer phone, e-mail, or a personal visit?)
12- Could you please give me the names and phone numbers of your three most recent clients?
