With a shift in market conditions, what used to be a tilted scale for buyers and sellers has now become a fair ground for negotiations. Homes that are priced right and marketed properly continue to sell and buyers have the opportunity to negotiate basic terms.
In a market where sellers need to make a greater effort in order to sell
their homes and buyers can get creative when constructing offers, it only makes sense that you hire a competent real estate agent to help you do so, but the question is how do you know who's competent and who's not?
When you hire a real estate professional that you decide to be loyal to, you can be certain that they will be loyal to you too and bear your best interest in mind, so before you go out and "tie the knot" with a real estate agent, ask some questions:
1. Are you a Realtor? Not every real estate agent is a Realtor. A real estate agent is a REALTOR® when he or she becomes a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, and voluntarily adheres to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice and pledges to maintain incomparable knowledge of the real estate processes, becoming the experts of residential and commercial property transactions.
2. Do you work as a full-time Realtor®? The felixibilty of schedules in the real estate field tempts a lot of agents to keep their full-time jobs and sell real estate "on the side". While this may work for some agents, others tend to keep real estate "on the side of their minds" as well, relegating the clients' needs.
3. Do you have an assistant or partner? When a Realtor has someone they can rely on to take care of the myriad of details that a real estate transaction requires, they can spend more time on what really matters, like finding a buyer for your home or a home for their buyers.
4. What area and in what aspect of the market do you specialize?
5. Do you have a written marketing plan specifically designed to sell my house or help me find the right home for my family?
6. How do you market properties to buyers?
7. How many properties have you sold in the last three (3) months?
8. What kind of marketing materials will you produce to market my home ?
9. Do you have a written business plan and mission statement?
10. How often will I get an update on the efforts to sell my home or find a home?
11.In what ways do you encourage other Realtors® to sell my property? How do you network?
12. What can I do to help sell my property? A Realtor should have a list of ideas to help you spruce up your home.
13. How many listings do you have? What percentage of them sell?
14. What is the market trend now?
15. Based upon what you know about my situation, should I sell/buy? Why?
16. If I give you the listing, what are the first seven (7) things you will do in the first week to sell my property?
17. What methods do you use to communicate?
Pager
Phone
E-mail
Direct mail
Personal visit
18. What kind of internet presence do you have?
19. What kind of tools on your website are available for buyers / sellers?
20.How soon will my property be featured on your site?
21. On how many different sites will my property be found?
22. Why are you worth the commission?
30. Do you have any buyers for this home now?
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