5 Questions to ask a prospective realtor to ensure a good working relationship
By Rachel Stark
CTW Features
No matter the size of the market in which a prospective buyer is looking, there will several choices when it comes to selecting a realtor. Just as no two buyers are exactly alike, realtors offer different skills, working styles and levels of commitment. Here’s what you need to know before you choose.
1. Why are you a real estate agent?
“I would find out what that person’s value system is,” says Kelly Marsh of Atlanta-based Keller Williams Realty. “You don’t want to work with someone who’s just doing it because they think they can make a lot of money; you want to hire someone who loves what they do.”
2. Will you be representing me, the buyer, exclusively?
For agents representing both the buyer and the seller, it can be difficult to get the optimal price for both parties. “Always understand who the agent is representing,” recommends Bob Larson, with First Weber Group in Milwaukee.
3. How many houses did you sell last year?
“The answer you’re looking for is not necessarily how many houses they sold, but what they say about how many houses they sold,” Marsh says. If their numbers are lower because they’re not a full-time agent, which could mean the buyer won’t get the time and attention he or she wants.
4. Those houses that you sold, where were they?
Especially in bigger cities, buyers will want an agent who is not just local, but hyper-local. They will benefit the most from a professional who has worked and sold homes in the specific area of the city in which the buyer is looking, Marsh says.
5. How will you keep me updated throughout this process?
Does the buyer want to be contacted once or twice a week? By phone or text message? Setting these expectations will keep both parties happy. “The number one thing we know to be important in any service industry is communication,” says Elizabeth Mendenhall of RE/MAX Boone Realty, Columbia, Missouri, and a past regional vice president of the National Association of Realtors. “It’s critical in a complex real estate transaction.”
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