Every agent would love the opportunity to sell your house, but sometimes it may not be the right fit. Finding the right agent for your personality and style is important, just as important as finding one who will do a great job selling your home for the most money. Here’s a handy list to ask:
1. Are you a full-time Realtor(R)? Does this person have another full-time job, and therefore can only work on selling your house after 5pm or on weekends? You want someone who does this all day long and will devote their time to selling your home! A full-time Realtor(R) also likely has a better pulse on what’s going on in the market and new advances made in selling/exposing/marketing your property.
2. How Many Homes Did You Sell Last Year? Ask the number of transactions, that’s more telling than volume. In our area, someone could have sold $20M in real estate, but only 4 deals. Did they sell more than 10? More than 20? Is it just the person or is there a team behind them? Who actually does the selling?
3. What’s Your Marketing Plan? Many agents have a checklist they follow to market your property. The most important one these days is internet advertising. Where will it appear? How many sites will the listing syndicate to? There are 1,000s of places that your property can appear, but it only takes 1 set of eyes and 1 buyer to sell it.
4. How Many Properties Like This Have You Sold? Ask for a list of all of the homes they’ve sold. Do they sell mostly in Arlington? If you’re interviewing a Price Williams agent for an Arlington listing, you may be barking up the wrong tree.
5. How Long Have You Been in the Business? This is two-fold, I think you want an agent with experience, but you don’t want someone newly licensed or someone who is in their 80th year selling real estate. New agents aren’t experienced enough yet to handle the unknowns in a transaction, while some seasoned agents are used to the way things used to be. Real estate is a constantly evolving business and you need to be able to adapt to what buyers are looking for and ways they’re finding their new homes.
If you’re thinking selling, please contact me. I’m happy to answer these and any other questions you may have!