The kids have finished school, the pools are open and it’s the perfect time to sell your home! Summer is typically the ideal time to sell homes because people are generally feeling “warm” and have a better desire to move before school starts again. So as you interview various agent, make sure to ask these questions to find the best agent:
Are you full time or part-time?
I’ve met some great part-time agents that have excellent marketing skills but I find that most of them can’t be as responsive as full time agents due to other priorities. Find out why they’re doing real estate part-time as this will set insight to see if you will be getting the best representation. Anyone doing it for some “extra cash” may not be the best choice. Whether you hire a full-time or part-time agent, they must do real estate to help you get the best deal possible.
What percentage of your listings did you sell last year?
This is important. The agent with the most listings may not always be the best one to use to sell your home. Anyone can list a home but the important part is to see if they can sell it so ask the agent for MLS records to show the number of homes they listed and sold.
How accessible are you?
Communication is an important part in real estate so make sure to find out the schedule for your agent. Buyers have a tendency to call/email/email at random hours so you must have an agent that will respond in a timely manner. Agents do have personal lives so don’t be offended if the agent doesn’t pick up his phone at 10 p.m. but you want to know how quickly he or she will call back the next morning.
How many transactions have you done so far?
Most people make the mistake to ask “how long you’ve been doing real estate?” The length of time someone has done real estate has no relevance to the the number transactions they’ve closed. I know of agents that have been licensed for 10+ years and have only done a handful of transaction. A good agent will produce sales irregardless of the length of time they’ve been licensed.
What awards do you have?
This is important to know. Most good agents have received some sort of award such as “Million Dollar Club”, “Top Producer”, “Realtor of the Year”, etc. Find out what award they received and what it means.
AND THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF ALL!!
How much is my home worth?
NEVER tell the agent what you think your home is worth before finding out what they have to say. Any real estate agent should be able to tell you how much your house is worth without being influenced by your answer. If the value that you had in mind is different from what the agent says, ask how they arrived to that conclusion.
