Most of us sell our homes only once every several years, so we are not really in touch with the procedures and realities of today’s market. Selling your home involves a variety of skills—and a lack in any area could mean that your house does not sell, or sells for less than it could. How does one go about looking for an agent to help? Whether from a friend’s recommendation or from contacting a local real estate office, you should interview prospective agents prior to making the final decision as to who is best suited for the job. When interviewing an agent to represent you in one of life’s most important financial transactions, asking and getting answers to the following questions should help you be as prepared as possible.
- Tell me about your experience and philosophy of doing business. Understanding how many years the agent has been in business will help you know whether the agent is capable of bringing an offer for your home. In most cases, another agent will be representing the buyer. Is the agent capable of seeing the process through to completion? How many escrows did the agent close last year? What percentage of buyers and/or sellers does the agent work with? Some agents only work with sellers, some agents only work with buyers and some agents work with both. Listen to the answers and decide which philosophy will work best in your situation.
- What resources does your company provide to help get my home sold and closed? When marketing one of the most expensive items you may ever sell, the greater the support brought to the table, the greater the likelihood more people will see your home. Many companies have websites to draw buyers to listings as well as technological tools that assist agents in mobilizing the real estate community and providing your home with maximum exposure. What sort of resources does the agent’s office have to help assure an escrow will get closed? Many companies have transaction coordinators to help with the paperwork. Who provides coverage if an agent is away from the office for a few days? Should an offer come in while an agent is away, how is it handled
- What is your marketing strategy? You are asking what the agent is going to do to get your home sold, to manage the escrow and make sure the escrow closes. The best agents know they need a plan to effectively market a home. Professional agents will be happy to share how they market listings. This should include advertising, networking, Internet strategy, public and industry viewing schedules as well as a variety of other activities to get your home exposed to the largest number of prospective buyers possible.
Next week, we will discuss some additional questions to ask a real estate professional before determining which one is best equipped to help you sell your home.
-Kathy Fox
(reprinted from The Sacramento Union with permission)