15 Questions to Ask a Real Estate Agent before hiring one.

15

QUESTIONS You Need To Ask A Real Estate Agent

BEFORE HIRING ONE

...And the Answers You Want To Hear

15

QUESTIONS You Need To Ask A Real Estate Agent

BEFORE HIRING ONE

...And the Answers You Want To Hear

1

How many homes have you sold in the last 12 months?

You may feel that if an agent sells too many homes they will be too busy to effectively Market your house or will not have enough time to give you adequate attention or time. In reality, this couldn’t be farther from the truth. Putting your trust in a team that doesn’t have a compelling track record of

success is taking a risk with one of the largest financial decisions you will make in your life. The fact that an agent has an effective system of getting homes sold should build confidence. The average agent in the U.S. sells less than 8 homes a year. This activity level unfortunately doesn’t give the agent much experience in negotiating on your behalf or an understanding of how to find and connect with the right buyer demographic. Furthermore, it likely doesn’t afford them the marketing budget it will take to get your home sold. When you ask this question, you should hope to hear that the agent you are about to hire has a serious track record of success over the last 20+ years.

2

What does your team look like and who will I be working with during each step of the process?

When you go for a routine check-up at your doctor’s office, you will probably interact with at least four. Every professional office works in a similar way.

A true real estate professional should have a team behind them, not only to take great care of their clients, but to make sure the marketing is executed

properly, confirm the paperwork is completed perfectly, make sure timelines and deadlines are met, and complete hundreds of other tasks that come up along the way. An efficient real estate team is often made up of a lead agent, a buyer’s agent and showing assistant, an office manager, a marketing manager, a listing manager, a transaction coordinator, and perhaps even a concierge. It is very time consuming and difficult for one individual to fill all of these roles. Furthermore, focusing on so many different tasks does not give an agent the ability to become an expert at any of them. When you work with a team, you are likely working with a specialist during every step of the process.

3

What are the top 5 ways you will expose and market my home?

Finding an agent that understands and believes in marketing is becoming more and more difficult in today’s real estate market. When asking how an agent will expose your home, you should be listening for a few specific components.

First and foremost, if your agent isn’t a master of online marketing and exposure, begin to look for another agent. Almost all buyers in today’s market start their search online, so you want an agent that will ensure that your home reaches them and stands out.

Second, the agent should recognize and talk about the recent increase in foreign buyers and investors.

Make sure that they have a way to connect with this growing demographic strategically, and can show you how they do that.

Third, many agents say print is dead, however, targeted print advertising still works and should be utilized, regardless of price point and neighborhood.

Fourth, Agent-to-Agent marketing and exposure is critical. Almost 90% of all buyers already have an agent they are working with. Because of this, the agent that you choose to sell your home must have a strategic way to connect with this group and show evidence of spending time and money in doing so. The more homes your agent has sold, the more opportunities that agent has had to build great relationships with other agents in the market place.

Fifth, the agent you interview should understand how to connect with the likely buyer on an emotional level. Logic makes buyers think, but emotion makes a buyer act. Understanding what leads to buyer and emotion will be a critical part of putting the deal together, and keeping it together. Marketing in a way that appeals to the auditory buyer, the kinesthetic buyer, and the visual buyer will eliminate any possibility of missing a potential buyer. Your agent should understand how to connect with each of these groups and offer evidence of how they do so.

4

What was your list price to sales price ratio in the last year?

Any agent that values negotiation strength and recognizes the value of this for their client should know not only their own list price to sales price ratio, but that of the city average and even perhaps the average for your specific neighborhood and price point. This should be a good indication of whether

or not the agent you are interviewing is a strong negotiator. For instance, if the citywide list price to sales price average were 94.5%, it would indicate that the average seller gives up 5.5% of their equity while negotiating an offer on their home. You should look for an agent that stands out and has a higher list price to sales price ratio than the average. After all, you should be looking for a top agent to represent you, and not an average one!

5

On average, how many days does it take for you to sell your listings?

A great agent will know what the average days on the market is for the general area, as well as for your specific neighborhood. They should also be able to share their personal average days on the market for the listings they have sold, as well as the listings they currently have on the market. Keep

in mind that luxury homes often have a longer average time on market than the overall area average. Either way, your agent should be able to share with you why it takes them less or more time to sell homes than the area average. You should ideally be looking for an agent that has a lower time on market than the average, specifically because it indicates they not only know how to market homes effectively, but they also know how to price homes. Improper pricing is the most common reason a home sits on the market without selling.

6

Are you flexible in your commission rate?

You should ask this question of every agent you interview, and understand this is as much a test of who you are hiring as a sincere question of whether or not they will discount their commission. If an agent feels they need to reduce their commission in order to win you as a client, you are about to hire

the wrong agent. Remember, the top agents in a market place will have a superior list price to sales price ratio, in effect helping their clients net 2% - 4% more money than the average agent. This means that even when paying the best agent a 1% higher fee, you will still net more money on the day of closing. Here is one of the biggest concerns when hiring an agent that agreed to reduce their commission the first time you requested it: If an agent was so eager and willing to reduce their commission fee, or in effect give up and walk away from their earned equity when selling your home, how much more likely will it be for them to walk away from your equity when that offer comes in. If they can’t negotiate their own fee or value, remember, they won’t be able to negotiate on your behalf or the value of your home. If you were able to get your real estate agent to reduce their own commission, they have likely just proved to you that they won’t be the best negotiator to represent you and your home.

7

Do you have any references that I can call?

Every real estate agent or broker should be willing to provide references upon request. Keep in mind you should ask for references of previous or current sellers if you are hiring that agent to help you sell your home. Ask for some past clients as well as current clients to talk with. Look for clients in

similar neighborhoods and similar price points as your home.

8

How long have you been an agent?

Knowing how long the agent you are going to hire has been in the business may be an important fact. Be mindful that time spent in the business does not necessarily correlate to the quality of the agent. In fact, it is more important to know how many homes the agent has sold during his or her time in

the real estate industry. As way of example, our team sells over 150-250 homes a year. The reason you should ask how long your agent has been in the business is to get a clear picture of who you are hiring; Time spent in the industry will play a part in how much time they have had to develop relationships with other agents in the city, build a national network that could help sell your home, as well as to develop their marketing and sales process.

9

How many clients are you currently working with?

This is a question that many sellers or buyers may ask, however they may be looking for the wrong answer. Again, many might equate a lot of free time in an agent’s day as a good thing; naturally they will be able to devote more time to you, right? If the agent you are interviewing seems to have too

much free time, then there is probably a reason why. In the words of Lucille Ball, “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.” Shouldn’t you want to work with an agent that other buyers and sellers want to work with? Great agents are typically referred by their clients and will always be working with quite a few clients at any given time. Even when an agent is working with many sellers or buyers at one time, you should always feel as if your agent does have time for you, and you are just as important to that agent, regardless of the price point of your home.

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10

What are the drawbacks of my home?

When asked this question, your agent should be strong enough to be honest with you and give you any of the real obstacles you may face when selling your home. If your agents tells you that “your house is perfect” or that “there is nothing to do or change”, chances are you are hiring an agent that

may have a difficult time being up front or honest with you. They may fear that they will lose your business if they are too honest. The fact of the matter is, in this business, you need to rely on your agent to have difficult conversations along the way. That process starts during the initial walk thru of your home. A great agent will offer suggestions as to what you can do to help prepare your home for sale.

11

How will you keep in touch with me and how often will I hear from you?

The agent you hire should be able to communicate with you in the way and thru the media that you choose. That could be by phone, email, text or print. Make sure to communicate to your agent the way that you communicate best. One of the most critical points in selecting the right agent is

understanding what their standard is for communication. Communication is probably the number one reason client and agent relationships fail. Keeping the lines of communication open is important, especially the longer it might take to sell your home. Agents will have some automated communication tools to keep you up to date with any market changes and provide feedback after almost every showing. A great agent will also be connecting on a regular basis with updates regarding what is being done to market and increase exposure of your home. In most cases, you should be contacted at least weekly, if you’d like, with an update on the market and your home.

12

What price do you think my house will sell at in this market and why?

Typically in any industry involving professionals, you hire that professional for their opinion. As you look for a real estate agent, you are hiring them for their professional opinion on your home, and often times you will interview multiple agents to get their “opinion”. When asking an agent what they

believe your home will sell for in any given market, they should have a very strong and confident opinion of value. They should also be able to provide data and background information that justifies their opinion. Find an agent that is confident in the value analysis that they have put together for you and make sure you are confident in their ability to assess value and demonstrate that value to other agents and buyers in the market place.

13

How long do I need to list my house with you?

Gone are the days when you should be stuck in a long-term contract with an agent without the ability to get out or terminate the listing contract if you aren’t getting the result you are looking for. Having said that said, with higher end luxury homes, which typically average a longer time on the

market and require more investment up front by the broker, you may expect to sign a longer listing contract. The length of time for a listing agreement should reflect the current market and average time on the market in your neighborhood and price range. Ask the agent you are interviewing if they are willing to sign an open-ended listing agreement, which keeps you in control of the listing period and keeps them working hard on your behalf. Typically a 6 month listing period should be enough for the agent to either get your home sold, or prove to you that you have hired the right agent for the job. Some agents may require you to pay a termination fee if you opt to get out of the contract early, or some percentage of a reimbursement fee for some of the marketing fees invested or spent up front. Avoid these if possible.

14

Why should I hire you over your competition?

What you are looking for here is for them to have a 2 or 3-minute pitch as to why they are the best agent for the job of selling your home. Steer away from an agent that when asked this question focuses on negativity towards other agents. Instead, the best agents will focus on what separates

them from their competition by talking about their skill set or their personal benefits. This could relate to their experience in your particular neighborhood, their communication level with the client, what the agent views as their biggest value or competitive edge, or perhaps any guarantees they may offer their clients.

Remember, if commission comes up in this conversation, and an agent is willing to reduce their commission in order to give themselves an edge over their competition, be concerned about what that could mean for their negotiation strength.

15

Can you tell me about our current market? What has happened in the past year? What will happen in the coming year?

Nobody can guarantee what the market will bring. With that said, anyone serious about the industry they work in should be students of their industry.

An agent should have a clear opinion on what is going on in the current market and what has recently happened in the market, as well as a strong opinion on what the coming year will bring in your market area. Remember, opinions should be based on research. Push your agent to provide market data, reports, and statistics that they review on a regular basis. Ask them their opinion of the latest S&P Case Schiller Index, the latest Core Logic Home Price Index, and any other sources they look to in order to give you advice.

Bonus Question: What haven’t I asked you that I need to know?

This question is designed for the agent to have an opportunity to share with you anything unique to their team that perhaps has not come up in the discussion.

This could be questions regarding what they do with their online media, questions as to their history in the business or production levels, or questions as to the benefit of working with their company.

If you have any additional questions, or if you would like to talk to a professional, give us a call at (956) 648-6831 or shoot us an email at info@sellingmcallen.com. You can also visit our website at www.sellingmcallen.com.