Ten Questions to Ask Before You Hire a Realtor

Before you make what may be the largest financial investment of your life, you must be absolutely certain that you have chosen the right person to represent you and your interests.

Whether you are selling or buying a home with the help of an agent, there are important questions you should ask before signing an agreement.

Working with an agent could save-or cost-you thousands of dollars.

A critical issue when buying or selling a home is making sure you pick the right agent. A sound decision could save you thousands of dollars. A careless decision might cost you thousands.

Below are specific questions to ask prospective agents. The answers will help you choose an agent who will best represent your needs and situation. If agents are reluctant to answer, it may be because they know honest answers could give you enough information to predict the outcome of their services-something they might prefer to avoid. Keep in mind that in real estate, as in real life, simply passing a test and receiving a license does not guarantee that all agents are equally good at their work.

When you hire a real estate agent, remember that you're the boss and that hiring an agent is no different from hiring any other employee to work in your business or your home. Since this could be the most important investment you ever make, it is essential that you make a thoughtful and intelligent decision in choosing an agent to help you.

1.  How are you different from other agents? How will I benefit from listing my home with you?

• It's a much tougher real estate market than it was a decade ago. What unique marketing plans and programs does this agent have in place to make sure that your home stands out favourably versus other competing homes? What does the agent offer that others don't to help you sell your home more quickly, with the fewest hassles, and for the best price?

2.  Tell me about your company, its reputation in the marketplace, and average time to sell similar homes in the area.

• Real estate agents like to boast that their company is #1 in the area in the number of homes sold. Since your main concern is how quickly and profitably this particular agent can sell your house, you can ignore the sales talk about the company and ask about the agent's own record: How many homes have you sold? Were you successful in getting the asking price for the seller? How quickly were you able to sell homes of comparable price?

• Successful marketing is expensive. Real estate agents with consistently high sales have earned more money, and they use part of it to market the homes they list. Many have assistants to take care of paperwork and details, leaving them free to locate potential buyers and show your home more often.

• Surprisingly, many agents sell ten or fewer homes a year. Agents with low annual sales may not be able to afford to aggressively market your home-or anyone else's. Try to determine from their interview answers what agents with high sales do that less successful agents don't do.

3.  How would you market my home?

• Ask how much agents spend to advertise homes they list, and compare the answers with those of other agents. Do they advertise in newspapers, magazines, on TV? What do they know about the effectiveness of advertising in one medium compared to another?

4.  How many homes has your company sold in this area?

• Ask for a complete list of homes sold in your area, including the agent's own sales and sales of comparable homes by other agents.

5.  Who controls your advertising? You or your broker?

• If the broker controls all the advertising, your home will have to compete with the listings of every agent in the brokerage, within a limited amount of advertising space.

6.  What percentage of homes you've listed have sold at or above the asking price?

• Agent performance statistics are available from the Real Estate Board and can show you whether an agent's performance is higher or lower than average. This information may help you predict how much your home might sell for.

7.  What is your average time between listing a home and selling it?

• Again, you can get this information from the Real Estate Board to determine whether the agent's listings sell faster or slower than average. It will give you an idea of how long your home may be on the market before it is sold.

8.  How many buyers are you currently working with?

• The more potential buyers the agent is working with, the more likely that your home will sell quickly. If several buyers are interested in purchasing, they may compete with each other. This competition can drive up the final price. Ask agents how they attract new buyers.

9.  Can you provide a list of clients I can contact?

• If the agent provides a list, use it to spot-check some of the names and verify information the agent provided.

10. What if I'm dissatisfied with your efforts to market and sell my house?

• Find out if you will be able to cancel your listing contract. Be careful, and be sure to read all the fine print: agents may try to lock you into a long-term listing contract that they can cancel (by ending effective marketing), but you can't.
• You should be aware that your interests may not be protected, although the agent's probably are. Penalties and broker protection periods safeguard only the agent's interests, not yours.
• Are you confident the agent will provide you with the services you need? Verify that you will be able to cancel the contract-without penalty-if the agent fails to provide services as promised!

Take careful notes during the interviews, then carefully and objectively compare each agent's answers to determine which agent will do the best job for you.

In this article, we alerted you to some of the pitfalls home sellers and buyers are subject to, and how to be sure you hire an agent will help you avoid them. The article covers only a few of the most important issues buyers or sellers need to be aware of, but we have many similar reports that are available to you at no cost.

Please call us to schedule a free consultation if we can help you or a friend understand the complexities of buying or selling a home. We'll sit down with you for fifteen-to-thirty  minutes and show you the latest home buying and selling strategies and technologies. No high pressure; just plain, honest talk about what it will take to buy your new home. Your consultation is completely free and does not obligate you in any way.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Warmest regards,

Neville & Damali Adomi