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Free Reports
The 5 Questions That Agents HOPE Sellers WON’T
Ask!
Thinking of selling your house?
You'll probably interview one
or more agents. You'll have them out to your house, receive their opinion of
value, and talk about market conditions. Among these agents may be your next
door neighbor, your sister's best friend, or some other family acquaintance, who
just happens to have a real estate license.
Before you sign a listing
contract with anyone, you should ask the following important questions. This
list grew out of an informal survey in which Sellers and Agents identified those
areas that caused the most friction or problems in their relationship. By having
the answers to these questions up front, you can avoid misunderstandings, save
yourself some grief and aggravation, and make certain that what you get from
your agent is the same as what you expected.
Warning: When first
asking these questions, you might encounter "the squirm." Some agents may not be
prepared to answer such straightforward inquiries. Don't be uncomfortable. As a
seller you have every right to know these things, and any professional agent
should be happy to provide you with the answers.
- Are you a full time professional, or do you have another job besides selling
real estate? Many, many people sell real estate "part time". While this is no
crime, it's no great virtue, either. In most cases, a family’s home represents a
substantial portion of their financial assets. Such an important matter deserves
to be entrusted to a full time agent.
- Do you have a specific marketing plan for my house, and will you commit to
it in writing? Find out, ahead of time, exactly what your agent will or will not
do to sell your house. Does the agent's plan include featuring your home on the
Internet, as well as aggressively marketing the property in your local area? The
real reason for asking this question is to make certain that your agent
definitely has a plan, and is not ‘shooting from the hip’.
- Who determines how much money will be spent on advertising my home, and what
is that figure? If seeing your house in print every week is important to you,
then ask - up front - if your agent makes those decisions. In many cases, the
owner/manager decides which properties are advertised. If this is so, then your
home may only be featured sporadically, if at all. While most experts agree that
the amount of time a house is on the market is not directly related to the
number of times the home appears in ads, you should still have a fair idea of
the type and number of ads you can expect.
- What financial resources or connections do you have for assisting marginal
or unusual buyers? While all sellers want buyers with whistle clean credit and a
20% down payment, experience shows that many viable buyers do not fall into that
category. Find out if your agent is knowledgeable, and prepared, to work with
all buyers, whether AAA or marginal. This is just one of the areas where sellers
will find experienced, full time agents much more knowledgeable than beginners
or part-timers.
- Do you have letters of recommendation from past clients, and may I call
them? Get the references and make the calls. One of the best ways to discover
how someone will perform in the future is to investigate how they have acted in
the past.
Including this short list of questions in your
initial interview with a real estate agent can be an eye-opener. The purpose of
raising these issues, however, is not to embarrass the real estate agent, but
rather is to make absolutely certain that you, as the seller, understand the
qualifications and strengths of the person you are retaining for the important
job of selling your home. Hopefully, the answers given will raise your comfort
level with the agent, and contribute to a profitable and enjoyable real estate
relationship.
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