Last week’s blog was focused on questions to ask your realtor when buying your home, but what should you ask when interviewing a realtor when listing your home for sale? When it comes to selling a home, you want to enlist an expert who cares about your time and feelings. Here are a few questions to ask your realtor when selling your home to ensure you find the right match.
How Many Homes Have You Listed In The Past Six Months / Year?
While it is completely natural for real estate agents to have booms and slumps throughout the year, it is important to see what their record of listings look like. If they are fairly new to the game, do they have resources and systems in place to market the properties successfully? If they are very well-established how many of those homes that were listed have actually been sold? This will illustrate the real estate professional’s ability to negotiate and close deals.
How Long Do Your Listings Remain On The Market?
The instinctive thought when it comes to selling homes is that the shorter the length of time the property is on the market, the more likely it is to sell. What you also have to take into consideration is the average length of time a property in that neighbourhood is on the market. If your house sells in half the time of other homes in your neighbourhood, it could be that your realtor has priced your home well. Carefully determine your selling price with your real estate agent’s advice and gauge a solid idea of how long properties in your neighbourhood stay on the market before selling.
What Is Your Position On Open Houses?
Open houses are a point of contention in the real estate world, which makes it one of the most important questions to ask your realtor when selling your home. Some people believe that an open house is the best way to sell your home, while others believe it is a waste of time. If the real estate professional you are interviewing likes to hold open houses, ask them if they will be public, broker-only or by by-appointment? Look to see if your agent has a reason for the open house and a plan of action and that you are on board with it.
How Will Other Real Estate Professionals Be Advised Of My Home?
While realtors while use the MLS to advertise your home, their value as an agent really stems from their professional network. Anyone can list a home online and view it, but exposing your home to other professionals or buyers is key. If they have a solid network, they can very quickly find someone who is looking for a home just like yours.
How Will You Help Present My Home?
Some real estate professionals will help you stage your home, some will recommend professional stagers they respect or have worked with in the past. Some will leave staging entirely in your hands. Find a realtor who feels comfortable telling you the positive and negative parts of your home, so long as they provide constructive criticism for the negative areas. If they are not bringing up this information, it is possible that they do not have the expertise to effectively and confidently sell your home. You should always rely on a relator who has workable ideas on how to make your home more salable.
By no means are these questions to ask your realtor when selling your home an exhaustive list, but these are certainly important questions to gauge what the realtor’s selling style is like and if it is in line with your wants and needs. If you are looking to sell your home and would like to interview me, I would be more than delighted to meet you! Simply contact me here and I will get back to you as soon as I can.
