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Questions to Ask When Choosing a
REALTOR®
- 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.)
- What designations do you hold?
(Designations, such as GRI and CRS®,
which require that real estate professionals 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 practitioner’s
obligations lie. A good practitioner will explain the agency
relationship to you and describe the rights of each party. It’s also
possible to insist that the practitioner 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
real estate professionals 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 a real estate
professional 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 real estate
practitioner—fast sales, service, etc.—and determine how closely the
practitioner’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
that one 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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