TOP 10 QUESTIONS YOU SHOULD ASK WHEN INTERVIEWING A REALTOR TO SELL YOUR HOME

 

When it’s time to sell your home, it’s important to find an agent you are comfortable working with.  While selecting an agent, interviewing few agents is important to learn various styles and ideas on listing and marketing your home.  Knowing that your agent is knowledgeable, has the necessary resources, and is willing to invest time and money into your marketing campaign is the key to getting the best price for your home.  Here are some questions and follow up questions you may want to ask.

 

1)     Can you tell me about your real estate sales and successes?

It’s important to know your agent’s statistics.  Some questions to ask: 

·      How many homes have you listed and sold? (Be sure to ask for the agent specific sales – and not the total sales of their franchise or office) 

·      How many average days are your homes on the market?

·      What is your average sales price?

·      Historically, what is your selling price compared to your asking price?

 

2)    What kind of support do you have? 

The best agents have a stable of people behind them to help. Some questions to ask:

·      Do you have an office support staff to help you? 

·      Do you have a full-time marketing person? 

·      Do you have processors to stay on top of the paperwork and legal requirements? 

 

It’s also important for your agent to be well connected and tied into the real estate community.

·      Do you network? 

·      Are you a member of TAN – The Top Agent Network?

·      Do you market globally and how?

 

3)    How well do you know my neighborhood?

Your agent should be familiar with your area and the community.  The more they know about your neighborhood, the better they can market and price your home.

·      When was the last time you sold in my neighborhood?

·      Do you know the community amenities?

·      Do you know which streets are the quietest? 

·      Do you know the different models of houses and how they should be priced?

 

 

4)    What can you do to help me get my home ready for sale?

Your agent should be able to look at your home and immediately tell you what needs to be done to get a top selling price.

·      What furniture should I take out to make the house seem bigger?

·      Should I stage my home?

·      Do I need to redo my bathrooms?

·      What color should I paint my walls?

·      Do you have a list of contractors that you work with? 

·      Do you know Estate Sales companies and Staging companies, Trash Hauling companies? 

 

5)    How will you market my home?

Your agent should present you with a personalized comprehensive marketing plan for your home.  Some questions you should ask:

·      Can I see an example of your brochures?  For example brochures should be on good quality paper stock and be six or eight pages with high quality photos.

·      Will you do a video and a 3-D Matterport walk-thru of my home so that prospective buyers can see my house on-line?  

·      Will you have webpage dedicated to my home?

·      How many mailers will you send out and where will you send them?

·      Will you plan special events to entice people to come see my home?

·      Do you send a weekly newsletter to thousands of potential buyers that will feature my home?

·      Will you actively and creatively market my home on social media?

 

Understanding and knowing how to market your home with a customized plan that is tailored specifically to your community and your potential buyers is a key component in selling your home quicker and for better price and contingencies. 

 

 

 

6)    Are you active on social media?

Your agent should have a comprehensive knowledge of social media.  It isn’t just posting your house on their Facebook page; it is setting up a campaign that will promote your home. 

·      Do you have an active community facebook page?  Do you have a business facebook page?

·      Will you spend advertising dollars to boost my social media presence? 

·      Will you choose the right demographics to market to? 

·      Do you know how to use Instagram?  

·      Do you understand geofencing? 

·      Do you use Google ads?

 

7)    Will you do an Open House?

Open houses are very important and many agents downplay them.  In today’s digital society, almost all buyers will start the process on-line and without an agent.  That means they will be searching out open houses to see without having to make an appointment and sign up with an agent.   It’s amazing how many houses are sold because they were the only one open in the neighborhood.  Also, Open Houses need to be done in the first three weeks your home is on the market.  You are only a fresh listing once and all this marketing should be done when you list your house, to make a big impact in the market. 

·      What will you do to make my home stand out from all the other open houses?

·      What advertising will you do for my open house?

·      Will the open house be posted on social media?

 

8)    Will you be able to evaluate the success of the marketing plan?

It’s very important that your agent not only does all the work, but makes sure what is being done is effective.  You want to know the results of what they are doing and be able to adjust the plan if it is not working.

·      How many people looked at the pictures of my house? 

·      How many people clicked on my Facebook ad? 

·      What was the most successful social media campaign? 

 

9)    What out-of-the box marketing tools do you have that will get my house noticed?

What will your agent do to set themselves apart from everyone else out there and get your house noticed?  That’s the key – getting people to look at your listing.

·      Will you do a TV segment, or a Facebook video?

·      Will there be an Instagram story with an attention-grabbing theme?

·      Will you host a special event or use advanced technology such as video brochures or the Alexa Open House tour?  

·      How are you going to get people to want to come see my home?

 

10) What sort of negotiation skills do you have?

Negotiation is a skill and an art.  When negotiating, it’s important that both sides feel they have won, yet your agent is the person who needs to stand up for your interests.  When an agent signs on to sell your home… they need to actually be able to sell it, believe in it, love it and be your cheerleader!  Also, there are many aspects in the contract to negotiate, not just the sale price, that can be very costly to you or can even stop the contract from getting to settlement.  All the aspects of the contract need to be considered and negotiated for a smooth satisfactory transaction!