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12 Top Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring

a Realtor as Your

Dear Reader,

Thank you for requesting a copy of my special report, 12 Top Questions You Must Ask Before Hiring A Realtor as Your Buyer’s Agent. Being a top realtor here in our market place since 2000 and being involved with $1B in real estate transactions, I am continuously amazed at how many buyers simply work with the first realtor they meet, or they are connect with though on-line search engines or discount real estate brokers. Would you hire an attorney or a doctor that way? I know we’re not doctors, but real estate is one of the most litigious industries in our country and your home purchase will likely be one of the biggest investments you ever make, so needless to say, your agent matters! Ranking in the top five agents here in the greater Oakland area year after year, I work with on average 40 to 50 realtors annually who represent buyers on my local listings. I have put this special report together as a way to help educate buyers with the raw understanding of what the process of buying a home is like. Choosing the right realtor and real estate team is essential to helping better guarantee that your home buying process is a success, and I sincerely hope my personal knowledge, gleamed through more than 900 real estate transactions, can be of real value..

Although I cover an extensive amount of information here, it is really just the tip of the iceberg. Please reach out to me directly if this report has triggered further questions, or you have a question regarding something in the process that I did not mention.

Warm Regards and Happy House Hunting,

How long have you been a licensed Realtor?

It’s not so hard to get a license to sell real estate, but the profession itself is grueling, competitive and very hard to succeed in.

The skill set of a realtor needs to be one of care, communication, real estate contract expertise, and of course the advanced knowledge of homes, condos, land, cities, neighborhoods and school districts.

Are you a full time Realtor? Do you have any other jobs?

There are many licensed agents who are in the profession part-time, or are trying to become a Realtor but until they get momentum and sales, are still working another job. Career changes are exciting, but I suggest you don’t become part of their learning curve.

Experience matters, and a track record of a Realtors’ sales history will a clue to what you should also expect from your experience when working with them.

It is essential when hiring a Realtor, that you understand the depth of their knowledge.

How many homes did you successfully help buyers purchase in the past twelve months? 3

Statistics say the average Realtor sells between two to ten homes a year. For perspective, since 2000 I’ve been involved with over 900 home sales in my career. Simply put, experience matters, and success leaves clues.

There are so many different scenarios as well as snafu’s that can happen in a real estate transaction, that it’s vital you have an expert looking out for you who will see potential issues regarding to your purchase, loopholes, or mistakes in a real estate purchase contract, or issues with lenders and appraisers... the list goes on and on.

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How many buyers do you tend to work with at any given time, and how many are you working with now?

It’s my belief that you want an agent who is working with at least 5+ buyers at the same time as you. As the old adage says, “If you want something done, give it to a busy person.” The odds are extremely low that you will fall in love with the same house that another buyer falls in love with who also happens to be working with your agent.

An agent who has multiple clients (hopefully also looking for homes of similar type and price point as you) is more likely to be current on the housing inventory, have stronger relations with the local real estate agents listing the homes, and will be quicker to get important information to you that could help you make key decisions in a timely matter.

Working with a team that has this type of in-depth market experience is crucial to protect your interests in the home buying process.

Simply put, you do not want to be an agents’ only client. Would you hire an attorney that didn’t have any other business?

How will you help me gain a competitive advantage when buying a house in this competitive marketplace?

As a top Realtor in our area, and continuously ranked as one of the top five realtors in Oakland, I know first-hand that a Realtor’s skillset can vary agent to agent, and to an extreme degree. Your Realtor should have a solid relationship with the other top agents in the market place. Relationships matter. Listing agents prefer knowing that the agent representing the buyer(s) is proficient in their ability to get the job done, manage contract deadlines, understand the nuances

needed to support the banks appraisal process, and of course have consistently solid communication skills. Nothing is worse for a listing agent than going into contract with a buyer who’s represented by an agent who will add difficulty to an already intense process. The worst part about this is that you as the buyer may never know that the reason you didn’t win the home of your dreams was due to a reputation you have no control over.

How will you help me find my home? Do you have ways to find homes that other buyers and agents might not know about?

There are many ways that top agents can help you find homes for sale that have not yet hit the market. There are websites only accessible by agents who are in the top 10% for our area where Coming Soon listings are posted. There’s a vibrant word-of-mouth network in which agents may directly share upcoming listings with their associates before they are ready and shown to the public. Lastly, there are the agents own personal listings that you as their client may get VIP access to before they come to market. This doesn’t necessarily mean you will get to make an offer on these homes before coming to market. That’s a decision the sellers would ultimately make, and many want to expose their home (and offer their greatest investment) to the open market to make sure everyone had a chance to see it and potentially make an offer. Regardless, every advantage helps, and working with a team that lists a lot of homes for sale is to the buyers’ advantage.

What neighborhoods and areas do you specialize in?

If you as a buyer are laser-focused on a particular area, or neighborhood, it is in your interest to work with area specialists who also have a strong understanding and knowledge of those same areas.

Understanding hyper localized home values, the finer details or nuances of either a house or its location that will effect that particular homes’ value, knowing the sales history for home sales in the area, and even more important, the reasons those past sales sold where they did. Were there any issues with the house structurally that held it back from selling for more, or was there an amazing attribute to the home that caused it to set a new sale record?

This is the type of knowledge you will NEVER be able to get from automated evaluation systems like Redfin or Zillow. These online systems do not tour homes and know nothing more than the basic data points such as size, bed-bath count, and location.

The real estate process is so much more than that, and I urge you not to learn the hard way (by losing the home of your dreams in a competitive bidding situation).

8What is the average price point of the homes you sell?

Find an agent who in general sells homes that are in the same value range as the houses you are looking for. For example, I would not use an ultra high-end luxury agent if I was looking to buy a more modest property. Just as I would not choose to hire an agent whose track record was strong with entry-level homes if I was a move-up buyer in search of an extravagant dream estate. The fit is just off. The agent’s focus is in a different market segment, likely resulting in you not getting the attention you deserve and losing out on opportunities that never come your way. Take away: Find a great agent with a solid track record for successfully helping buyers win homes similar to those you are looking for.

How will you guide me through the home buying process? 9

How does the agent communicate on a daily and weekly basis and how will they be supporting your home search?

Touring homes on your behalf during the week.

At a minimum your buyers agent should be supporting you in these 8 ways...

They should explain the purchase contract to you in detail, and make sure you understand your contractual rights.

Advise you on the different risks you are assuming when making an offer on a home— especially in a competitive marketplace.

Review the inspection reports available for homes you are considering and give you a recap of key issues related to the property.

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Sending you video walk-through’s of homes they think might be a good fit.

Point out the good, bad and ugly before you make the trip out to see it for yourself.

Prepare a market analysis of other like homes that have sold in the area to help you make an educated decision on how much you want to offer.

Once in contract for a home, your agent should prepare a calendar of events and critical dates and keep you on track with contractual obligations through the close of escrow.

Can you share three recent clients contact information that I could call as a reference?

Not every sale goes perfectly and the process of buying a home can be long, intense and at times stressful. We do our best to make it fun, exciting and enjoyable, but there are always points of stress during different pivotal moments of the process.

Asking the Realtor you’re thinking of hiring for recent references is in my opinion a great idea. See what others have to say about their experience, ask questions such as some of the ones I suggest in this information piece about the process, and use that to help you with your decision.

It’s not likely that you will be given references that a Realtor knows will toss them under the bus, but asking for recent references (or the last three buyers they worked with) will help give you some control over the narrative.

What are the things I should be aware of and looking out for when I buy a home?

This is just a sit back and listen question. The biggest thing to remember about your real estate journey, is that you do not know what you do not know. Hopefully you will gleam some important information from their responses. The needed expertise to truly be the best in this profession is vast.

Contract knowledge, Industry relationship depth, proficient understandings of the home and its systems, neighborhood knowledge, school and school boundary knowledge, seasonality trends with regards to housing inventory in the market, list price versus sale price ratios, understanding market list price strategies (and how each top agent tends to price their homes, etc.) Again, the list goes on and on.

Do I sign a Buyer-Broker Agreement with my Realtor? How does the Realtor get paid?

Yes. You need to enter into an agreement with your realtor.

As of August 2024, it has become law that a licensed realtor must have a signed buyer-broker agreement with a buyer in order to privately show them homes, advise them with regards to properties they are interested in, and to write purchase offers on their behalf.

Pay the Realtor out directly of pocket for their services

Length of time the Agreement is for

The Buyer-Broker Agreement will clarify the following: Realtor compensated to services rendered The length of time the agreement is for The areas (County, City or Neighborhoods) you are working together in How you will compensate the realtor for services

Sellers may offer a financial concession to help pay for the buyers agent fees Areas (county, city or neighborhoods) you are working together in

Request that the seller pays for the Realtors fees out of the proceeds of sale

Depending on the type of loan - add the Realtor fees to your home loan Realtor compensation for services

How you will compensate the Realtor for services

You can also sign Limited Buyer-Broker Agreement based on particular properties (rather than areas) which will also clarify the other various points mentioned above.

Note: Cush Real Estate offers a Buyer-Broker Performance Guarantee allowing a buyer to cancel the agreement with us at any time if they feel we are not providing the service we’ve promised. This takes all the risk out of entering into a Buyer-Broker Agreement with our clients.