Hiring a Realtor
Questions to Ask When Choosing a Real Estate Agent
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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.
- Are you a REALTOR? Members of the National Association of REALTORS, a trade organization of more than 800,000 members nationwide, subscribe to a stringent code of ethics that helps guarantee the highest level of service and integrity.
- What designations do you hold? Designations such as ABR, GRI and CRS, which require that agents take additional, specialized real estate training, are held by only about one-quarter of real estate practitioners.
- How many homes did you and your company sell last year?
- How many days did it take you to sell the average home? How did that compare to the overall market?
- How close to the initial asking prices of the homes you sold were the final sale prices?
- 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.
- 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 agent's obligations lie. A good agent will explain the agency relationship to you and describe the rights of each party. It's also possible to insist that the agent represent you exclusively.
- 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 agents should generally recommend more than one provider and should tell you if they receive any compensation from any provider.
- 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 an agent sell your home.
- 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 agent: fast sales, service, etc., and determine how closely the agent's goals and business emphasis mesh with your own.
- 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 one that 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?
- Could you please give me the names and phone numbers of your three most recent clients?
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Information herein believed to be accurate but not warranted.
