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How to Interview a Realtor When Selling Your Home

How to Interview A Realtor When Selling Your Home

When selling your home, choosing theRealtor who will represent your bestinterests is one of the most importantand one of the first steps in the process. Unfortunately, many sellers do notunderstand how important this is orbelieve that to be the case. There arespecific things that you should expectfrom your real estate agent when sellingyour home.

A piece of advice if you are thinkingabout selling your home, do not hire aRealtor because they are justyour friend or because they are acolleagues spouse. Every Realtor isdifferent, period. There are manyconsumers who believe every Realtor isthe same and they all do the same thingsto sell homes, which is the farthest fromthe truth! Each Realtor runs theirbusiness differently, advertises indifferent places, and utilizes differentsales techniques.

It is very easy to obtain a real estatelicense, however, being a top producingRealtor is not easy. In many real estatemarkets, the 80/20 theory is accurateand in others it is not! The 80/20 theoryis simply put that 80 percent of the localreal estate business is done by 20percent of the local real estate agents. This may seem shocking, but in somecommunities, the ratio can actually becloser to 95/5, 95 percent of the realestate sales being done by 5 percent ofthe local real estate agents!

So how do you avoid getting stuck with one of the agents who doesn’t fall within that 5-20 percent? Interview,Interview, Interview! Knowing how to interview prospective Realtors correctly can eliminate a problem down the road!

Follow these tips and common questions when interviewing a Realtor to sell your home and you will be on your wayto a smooth and relatively stress-free sale!

How Long Have You Been Selling Real Estate

How long have you been Selling Real Estate?

This is an interview question that you cannot miss! Experience in real estate is extremely important. Generallyspeaking, the more years of experience a Realtor has, the more sales they have had, and the probability they willhave encountered many different situations. This is not always the case though as there are new Realtors who arenatural superstars and can sell your home better than an agent with 30+ years experience.

Are you a full time Realtor or part time Realtor?

There are many consumers who believe being a real estate agent is easy money and doesn’t take a ton of effort ortime. This is also the furthest from the truth. In order to be a top producing Realtor, it’s a must to be a full-timeRealtor. It’s highly likely that a Part-time real estate agent won’t have the time or availability to field calls for showingrequests from other agents or follow-up on inquiries on your property, due to their full-time position. Hiring a part-timeRealtor is not suggested when selling your home and do not forget to ask this question during the interview.

What Proven Results Do You Have

How many homes last year did you sell while representing a seller?

Don’t let a Realtor who works primarily with buyers trick you! There is a difference between helping a buyer find ahome and representing a seller with the sale of their home. By asking the prospective Realtor during the interviewhow many homes they sold last year, while representing a seller, should clear up whether they primarily work withbuyers or sellers. Top producing sellers agents should have a minimum ratio of 60/40. 60 percent or greater of theirsales are representing sellers and 40 percent or less of their sales are representing buyers.

What was the average time from listing date to contract date of these sales?

When selling your home, one of the worst nightmares is the thought of your home sitting on the market for monthsand months. When you interview Realtors, ask them how long on average it takes for their listings to obtain anacceptable contract.

What was the average list price to sale price ratio?

To no ones surprise, a seller wants top dollar for their home. An important interview question is asking theprospective Realtor about their average list price to sale price ratio. There are many sellers who make the mistake ofhiring a Realtor who “buys a listing.” An agent who “buys listings” will suggest listing a home much higher than thecurrent market value, just to secure the contract, only later to continually “beat up” a seller to reduce the price. Byasking this question during the interview, you greatly reduce the chance of this happening, as a top producing Realtorshould have an average list price to sale price ratio of 95% or greater!

How many pending transactions do you currently have?

This interview question is a good indication of a Realtors success level. If a Realtor tells you they have one pendingtransaction when you interview them, it’s very likely they are not a top producing agent. A top producing Realtorshould always have 10+ transactions that are sale pending.

Which Marketing and Advertising “Vehicles” Do You Use

Do you utilize the internet for marketing your homes for sale?

The internet has a huge impact on the real estate industry. Any Realtor or individual who says the internet is not animportant part of real estate sales, either doesn’t understand the power of the internet or hasn’t adapted and is notbeing honest. Before your interview with a prospective Realtor, “Google” search their name. The Realtor shouldshow up EVERYWHERE! Since 90% of home buyers begin their search on the internet, it’s important to ask a

The Realtor Selling Your Home Must Have a Killer Online Presence!

Realtor during the interview how they market their homes for sale on the internet and here are several things toconsider asking.

Do you have your own websitethat shows up in search results?

The number of real estate agents who donot have their own real estate website isway to high. Finding out if a Realtor hastheir own website is a very importantquestion to ask during the interview. It’snot only important that the Realtor youchoose to sell your home has their ownwebsite, but also that it ranks high in thesearch results.

For example, if a potential buyer or selleris looking for information on the local realestate market in Penfield NY, it’s highlyprobable they are going to search“Penfield NY Real Estate Market” orsimilar terms. It’s critical the Realtorswebsite ranks on the first page, and inthe worst case scenario, first couplepages.

Do you have a real estate blog?

Blogs are very popular in manyindustries and the real estate industry isno different. A blog gives a Realtor theopportunity to write about frequentlyasked questions by buyers and sellers,current real estate topics, and mostimportantly to you, a home they areselling. Don’t forget to ask theprospective Realtor if they have a blogduring your interview.

Do you utilize social media?

I’m sure you have heard of Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram, right? Of course you have! During theinterview, be sure to ask the Realtor if they are using social media and which sites they are using. A Realtors jobwhen selling a home is to give their clients home the most exposure possible. By utilizing certain social mediawebsites, a Realtor is able to give their clients additional exposure that Realtors who aren’t active on Social Mediacannot.

What quality of camera do you use when taking photos of the homes you sell?

Have you ever looked at a property online and asked yourself, “how could someone take such awful photos?” Yup,I’m sure you have. Taking great real estate photos is not a trait every Realtor has. Some Realtors have the trait, butdo not have the proper equipment to ensure the photos are of high quality. Ask prospective Realtors what quality ofcamera they use when taking photos of the homes they sell. It should be a high quality camera with high quality

Communication Methods & Frequency are important to ask Realtors about during an interview

lenses, not a $50 digital camera.

How Do You Determine the Price of the Homes You Sell

What methods do you use to determine the listing price of the homes you sell?

Pricing a home is not as simple as throwing a dart at a board and whatever price it lands on is what the list price willbe. There are different methods a Realtor may use to price a home. Two common pricing methods include acomparative market analysis (CMA) and price per square foot. In most cases, the comparative market analysistechnique is going to be the best method for determining a listing price of a home. During the interview, anyprospective Realtor should have an example of a comparative market analysis for you to look at. Pay close attentionthe amount of detail the Realtor uses in their analysis as the more detailed the analysis, the more time and effort theyspend on pricing their homes.

What is the Level of Satisfaction from Past Clients

Can you provide testimonials from past sellers whose home you sold?

Ask prospective Realtors for testimonials from past seller clients. This should be a very easy request, as most topproducing Realtors will have testimonials in their possession or on their website.

Can you provide contact information from past sellers whose home you sold and can I contact them?

Having the opportunity to speak with a past client of the prospective Realtor is not always possible. During theinterview, ask the Realtor if they have contact information from past seller clients who would be willing to talk withthem about their experience. If this is possible, be sure to take advantage and contact this past client, it’s a greatopportunity to “hear from the horses mouth” about their experience of working with the prospective Realtor.

How Frequent and By Which MethodsDo You Communicate andProvide Feedback

How often do you reach out toyour sellers?

The biggest complaint from sellers andbuyers is lack of communication fromtheir Realtor. Another importantinterview question is relating to thefrequency of communication. Find outhow often they communicate with theirsellers so that your expectations aren’tlet down in the future.

Who is in charge of coordinatingshowings of your listings?

Every Realtor handles the coordinatingof showings of their listings differently. Some agents have showing services,administrative assistants, or even otherRealtors who handle the showings. Askduring the interview who handles thecoordinating of showings.

How do you obtain feedback?

Feedback is crucial in the home sellingprocess. Another interview question toask refers to the method the Realtoruses to obtain feedback. Do they utilizean automated e-mail for feedback? Dothey follow up directly with the otherRealtors? Feedback from showings isimportant as there maybe things within ahome that can be corrected for a smallamount of money that another Realtormay provide in their feedback.

Additionally, a great Realtor should beable to handle objections to negativefeedback from other Realtors. If anotherRealtor said their client didn’t like yourhome because the carpet was dirty inthe living room, the agent can push theother Realtor to write an offer with acondition that new carpet would beinstalled prior to closing in the livingroom.

Which methods ofcommunication do you use withyour sellers?

Asking a Realtor the methods in whichthey communicate is important duringthe interview. If you prefer e-mail thenask the Realtor if they e-mail. Samegoes for text messaging and any othercommunication method. It’s importantthat you are comfortable with the way theRealtor is able to communicate with you.

What Additional Services Can You Provide

Can you recommend any tips to make my home more salable?

A great Realtor should have the ability to make recommendations before a home is listed to help make it moresalable. Ask during the interview if they have any staging experience. A great Realtor will be able to make simplestaging recommendations to help make your home more salable.

One word of advice, do not hire an agent just because they have staging designations. Anyone can obtain a stagingdesignation, if they are willing to pay for the designation. This, however, does not ensure they are a top producingagent.

Do you have a list of vendors that you can recommend?

Over the years, real estate has become a full-service industry. It isn’t simply buying and selling homes anymore. Askprospective Realtors during the interview if they have a list of vendors in different trades. Do they have attorneysthey can recommend? Do they have movers? A great Realtor should be able to provide a long list of services.

Other Miscellaneous Interview Questions

How much do you charge?

First and foremost, commission is negotiable. It’s important to ask a prospective Realtor what the commissionpercentage or fee is. If you interview several Realtors, don’t believe because one agent offers less than another youare getting a special deal. In reality, you could actually be costing yourself lots of money, as a top producing agentshould be able to justify what their commission percentage or fee is.

In most real estate markets, there are real estate agents or companies who make it a habit of cutting theircommission percentage just to secure a listing. What they don’t tell you as a seller is that they do not plan onspending any money on selling your home and also that they cannot provide what a top producing agent can.

Are there penalties for cancelling a contract?

In most contracts, there are penalties for cancelling a contract early. An important question to ask during aninterview, is if the Realtor will enforce the penalty. A top producing agent should have confidence in themselves to getyour home sold, therefore a penalty for an early termination would be a non-issue!

Realtors are a dime a dozen. This does not mean they are all Realtors you want selling your home! It’s extremelyimportant that you interview prospective Realtors before selecting them to sell your home. By asking the abovequestions, you have a greater probability of selecting a top producing Realtor!

Other Resources For Hiring a Great Realtor

5 Tips to Selecting the “Right” Real Estate Agent to Sell Your Home

How to Interview a Realtor | Real Estate Interview Questions by Bill Gassett

Home Sellers: Expect More From Your Realtor by Karen Highland

7 Tricks to Expect From Your Realtor by Lynn Pineda

Are you thinking of selling your home in Rochester, NY? If so, we’d love the opportunity to interview for the job! We would be happy to explain why we can get your Rochester, NY home sold for the most amount of money in theshortest period of time!

About the authors: The above article “How to Interview a Realtor When Selling Your Home” was provided by theKeith Hiscock Sold Team (Keith & Kyle Hiscock). With over 30 years combined experience, if you’re thinkingof selling or buying, we’d love to share our knowledge and expertise.

We service the following Greater Rochester NY areas: Irondequoit, Webster, Penfield, Pittsford, Fairport, Brighton,Greece, Gates, Hilton, Brockport, Mendon, Henrietta, Perinton, Churchville, Scottsville, East Rochester, Rush,Honeoye Falls, Chili, and Victor NY.

Visit our website at www.HiscockHomes.com.