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“12 Questions You Should Ask
Before
Hiring ANY Realtor”
Here Are 12 Powerful and
Insightful Questions You Should Ask
A Real Estate Agent
BEFORE You Sign Anything!
If you’re in the market
to sell your home, OR purchase a home, there’s something
you should know…
All Realtors Are NOT The Same!
Your decision to place
your home for sale involves more than simply running an
ad, holding a few open houses, and waiting for the sales
proceeds check. And your decision to buy a home clearly
involves more than looking at 2 or 3 homes, making an
offer, and moving in.
Hiring the wrong
Realtor can mean the difference between making or losing
money, selling or buying quickly or taking a long time,
a trouble-free transaction or a living nightmare.
Unless you have
experience interviewing people, and Realtors in
particular, you won’t always know what questions to
ask. Further, you won’t always know what answer will
best suit your needs for buying or selling. So here’s a
list of 12 important and insightful questions you should
ask ANY Realtor BEFORE you sign anything…
Question #1: How Long Have You Been Practicing Real
Estate?
This question will
reveal more than just years practicing. You want to
delve down into the number of transactions, average
price range, specialized areas and types of homes
they’ve purchased or sold. You also want to know how
productive they’ve been in each year in practice.
Some agents in business less than 5 years may have more
experience than other agents in business 10 years or
more! You want to know how many brokers they’ve worked
for, and what kind of experience they have that will
apply directly to your real estate situation.
Question #2: What Qualifications Do You Have To Sell
Real Estate?
This question looks for
their overall commitment and dedication to building
their personal skills. If they’re not willing to commit
to improving themselves, they may not commit to your
needs and satisfaction either.
First, look for their
overall education. Did they go to college? Do they
have any Realtor or professional designations? How
often to they invest in improving their skills and
keeping up with technology and other industry trends?
Experience should also
carry over to negotiating and financial skills. And
don’t forget the ancillary experience required for real
estate.
Question #3: Tell Me About Your Personal Real Estate
Operation?
This is an open-ended
question designed to get your Realtor talking about
their business. You want to know how much they’ve
invested into their business as relates to giving you
competent and quality service. For example, do they
have an assistant to take home inquiries when they’re
not in the office? Do they have a pager, cellular
phone, email, and other methods of reaching them? Do
they have a private office either with the broker or on
their own (a tell-tale sign of a top producing agent)?
Here’s what you’re
looking for: The more an agent invests into their
own success, office, and systems, the more they’ll be
able to commit to you.
Question #4: Can You Give Me A List Of Client References
To Call?
An agent who doesn’t
accumulate a list of satisfied references either doesn’t
do much business, or isn’t providing the kind of service
or follow-through you need. References don’t always
need to be past clients. Get professional references as
well: Bankers, mortgage lenders, appraisers, attorneys,
etc.
Question #5: Do You Have A Formal And Written Marketing
Plan For Selling Homes?
This question applies
more to sellers than buyers, but both should ask. Your
agent’s marketing plan needs to be deep – not just
holding open houses, entering your home on MLS, or
running classified ads.
The key to selling a
home is CONSISTENCY. Your home must be consistently
marketed to those people capable of buying. This cannot
be accomplished if an agent doesn’t have a diversified
arsenal of marketing strategies. Look for special
ideas, consistency, and persistence in their marketing
plan.
Question #6: What Systems Do You Have For Tracking The
Home Market (buyers)/ or Tracking My Home Listing
(sellers) On A Regular Basis?
This is a very
important question. If you’re a buyer, you want to know
their competence in understanding values of certain
areas. They also need systems to keep you continually
up to date with opportunities in the market. You want
them to have more than “access to Multiple Listing
Service.” How much do they actually preview homes
in your price range or desired area. How much do they
talk to neighbors, or participate with other activities
in those areas.
If you’re a seller, you
want to price your home correctly, and be regularly
updated with important buyer activity. How many calls
did you get on your home this week? What marketing
strategies did you use? How many home visits from other
agents did you have (and what were their comments)? How
many people visited your open house?
If an agent does not
have specific systems for measuring and reporting these
items, perhaps you should consider someone else.
Question #7: Do You Guarantee Your Performance?
Some agents will give
you a blank stare at this question. If they do, you
might want to consider taking your business elsewhere.
Why? Because you need to know if your interests are
aligned. Is your agent willing to stake their
successful outcome with yours?
Why shouldn’t your
agent also guarantee their performance?
Smart Realtors
guarantee their services for 2 reasons: 1) They’re
confident they can perform for you because of their
experience, commitment, and work ethic, and 2) It’s
smart marketing for a Realtor to guarantee their
services. If you buy a television, it’s guaranteed. If
you buy a car, it’s guaranteed. These days, nearly
everyone must offer a guarantee to help stimulate a
sale. Agents on the cutting edge of marketing guarantee
their services.
Question #8: Can You Refer Me To A Reputable Mortgage
Lender, Banker, Appraiser, or real estate Lawyer?
This question reveals
how active the agent is, and how well connected they are
professionally. At some point in the buying or selling
process, you will need the services of a reputable,
competent lender, appraiser, title company, etc. If your
agent is active, committed, and diligent with their
practice, they’ll be able to give you a few names of
each right on the spot.
Question #9: What Percentage Of Your Business Comes By
Referral?
Here’s the “$64
thousand dollar question.” Competent, well-known
agents get a large part of their business from satisfied
past clients and members of their sphere of influence.
If your
agent gets less than 25% of new business through
referrals, it may be because 1) The quality of service
they offer is not up to standard (hence, people don’t
feel compelled to refer to them after a transaction), 2)
They lack the marketing experience or skills required to
market for referrals (which means they may not bring
strong skills to your transaction), or 3) They don’t
cultivate contacts in their business (which means they
won’t have many people to speak with about your home).
Clearly,
the best way past clients show their gratitude for
outstanding service is by referring their family,
friends and associates.
Question #10: How Many People Do You Speak With Each
Day About Real Estate?
This question will tell
you how connected an agent is, and how active they’ll “talk-up”
your home to buyers, or finding a home for you by
talking to other agents. Hopefully your agent talks to
at least 40 people a day about real estate. If not,
they may not be very active.
Question #11: Do You Personally Spend Money Advertising
Your Services Or Homes For Sale?
This question pertains
more to listings, but it’s also a question a buyer
should ask to determine an agent’s commitment to invest
in the successful outcome of their client. There are 2
situations to identify here: 1) Agents who are very
busy, and who produce a lot of income for their broker
will frequently receive advertising allowances from
their broker. If your agent receives allowances, that’s
generally a good sign.
2)
However, if an agent is not as busy, OR if their broker
does not have an ad allowance for top producers, you
want to learn their commitment to “put their money
where their mouth is” when it comes to marketing
your home.
You should
also ask to see samples of ads they write for homes they
list, and for their own services. Do the ads appeal to
you? Would they make you act? If not, don’t expect
their marketing of your home to be any better.
Question 12: Will You Personally Handle Contract
Negotiations For Us?
Surprisingly, many
agents simply submit or receive offers, and act as a
conduit between you and the buyer (or seller). That’s
not good enough. You want an agent who has reasonable
negotiation skills. You want an agent who’s committed
to your interests.
They’ll
need to represent you to other agents and
buyers/sellers. It’s a good idea to follow-up the above
question by investigating specifically HOW their
negotiation skills saved other clients money, hassles,
or help a deal come together.
There Are “Real
Estate Agents”…
And Then There Are
Committed Professionals.
Which One Do YOU
Want Representing Your Interests?
The
answers to the above questions should give you a good
feel for the commitment and competency of the Realtor
you’re thinking about using. Remember, all Realtors are
not the same!
Over the years, I have
recognized this fact, which is why I wrote this special
report, and structured my practice around giving the
most competent service possible.
Our Company will
guarantee everything we do in writing. This places the
burden of risk and performance on us, not you. We also
have references to reputable people in mortgage lending,
appraisals, title and escrow companies, tax specialists,
and attorneys. These are people we have used in other
transactions.
Each day, we speak with
hundreds of people directly related to buying or selling
real estate. And we receive over 80% of my new clients
through referrals and repeat business. Our personal
marketing involves such outstanding and continued
service to our existing clients and personal network,
they are inclined to share our services with family and
friends.
I’m Not Saying These
Things To Impress You,
But Impress UPON
You The Difference Between A Realtor
And A Competent,
Dedicated Professional
Buying and selling real
estate can be tricky business. And selecting the wrong
Realtor or Agency can cost you a lot of money,
headaches, and wasted time.
By Not Acting Now,
You Could Open Yourself To
Losing Thousands Of
Dollars
So call
now and we will immediately arrange a convenient time to
meet, and share with you our exclusive seller marketing
programs.
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