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We will be meeting with our listing agent tomorrow evening and I was wondering if anyone would be willing to share ideas regarding what exactly we should discuss with this person. Obviously we will discuss our listing price, the commission rate and how they intend to market our home, but what else would be a good idea to ask? I intend to be thorough, and after reading some of the posts here, I imagine that there are questions that could be asked that come from your experience. Thank you! The house goes on the market on Saturday! Arrrgghhhh! I'm already nervous!
Ask for some addresses for their current listings and then look at them online. Make sure the photos are good. Google the address and any internet ads will show up. This will give you an idea of who prolific their advertising is.
I posted the other day how it is that sellers often tend to focus on the wrong things when choosing a Realtor. So many want to hear the price and then go into a fog when and if the Realtor starts talking about marketing.
You are entitled to know exactly what the Realtor is going to do to market your home and with what frequency.
As Silverfall mentioned, you want to see what the Agent's work looks like.
What are they going ot do to make a showing memorable.
You also want to tell the Realtor how you prefer to communicate and with what frequency.
Give some upfront thought to how much , if any, lead time you want for a showing and showing protocol.
Find out if they will let you out of your contract if they are not doing what they promised to you while sitting at your kitchen table telling you how beautiful your house is.
Then get it in writing.
Sorry....not a great experience with our previous listing agent.
Sure ask them all about their marketing plans etc. etc. but how are you supposed to know whether all the things they do actually work or not? I could say I spend 10K/mo on magazine ads, newspaper ads, billboards, talking houses, text messaging houses, flyers etc, but what does that mean to selling your house? All of those things have very low success rates of actually selling your house but look great at a listing presentation.
What you should be asking is how many homes in my neighborhood or area have you sold in the past 6 months? Past results, I think, are the best way to predict future results. There is a service here in Central Florida that will look up this information for you, but I haven't seen it anywhere else yet.
Also ask to see if they have testimonials from past clients with phone numbers you can call.
1) How many homes have you sold in my area? __________________________________________________ _
Do you cover other towns / zip codes? YES NO
Explain: __________________________________________________ _________________________________
2) How much is your commission? __________________________________________________ ___________
3) What percentage do you give a buyers agent if you do not bring a buyer in? __________________________________________________ ________________________________________
4) Is it negotiable if you bring a buyer? __________________________________________________ _________________________________________
5) What if I bring in a buyer with advertising I do? __________________________________________________
6) How long is the contract going to be? 3 months ____________ 6 months__________
7) If I am not happy for any reason will I be able to break the contract? YES_____ NO_____
8) How long will it take for the contract to be voided? _______________________________________________
9) What is the proceedure that needs to be followed if I am not happy? ________________________________
10) Where do you rank on the MLS? __________________________________________________ _________
11) Where do you rank on the office team? __________________________________________________ ____
12) Do you work with the military?______ Yes _______ No ___________
13) Are you or your office listed at base housing? ________Yes _______No__________
14) How long have you been in the business? __________________________________________________ __
*Note - if the agent is new, ask about their background....
Do they have marketing knowledge / training? __________________________________________________ _
Do they have web site training? __________________________________________________ _____________
15) Are you full time, part time, do you work another job? ___________________________________________
16) How many houses a year do you sell__________how many do you list______________________________
17) Do you do OPEN HOUSEs or AGENTs OPEN HOUSES / LUNCHEONs? YES / NO
34) When an offer comes in, who does the negotiating, the agent or the assistant?
35) How much would you list our house for? __________________________________________________ _____
36) Who takes your photos? __________________________________________________ __________________
May I preview the photo / info before it goes on the MLS to check for accuracy and to make sure the photos show my house at it's best? ____________________________________________
How long will it take to fix things like removal of bad photos and/or spelling errors? __________________________________________________ _________
37) Would you consider using a profession photographer for photos? YES / NO
38) Do you use virtual Tours? YES / NO
39) Do you use a stager? YES / NO
40) Do you feel there is something we can do to make the house more desirable to sell?
To all that have responded so far to this thread... thanks so much! The information provided has been very helpful, and when we meet with our listing agent later tonight I feel I will be prepared to gather the appropriate information...
I will be posting again as the house goes on the market this Saturday! I'm sure I will need the support that you have all given one another.
Roslver has some good questions and some bad questions on her list. Some of her questions could actually prevent you picking a good agent or at least hinder you from getting the best agent. Secondly, I wouldn't just sit down and get subjected to that because I want to be in control of the presentation. Anything I don't cover, ask away.
Here are the ones that really matter (and it's a small list).
1-Google the Realtor and see how many hits you get. Look at the web listings to see if they are done well.
2-Show me your marketing plan.
3-How many properties did you list last year?
4-How many of your listings sold last year?
5-What % did they sell for compared to asking price and what is the market average?
6-What was your average days on market compared to the market average?
Roslver has some good questions and some bad questions on her list. Some of her questions could actually prevent you picking a good agent or at least hinder you from getting the best agent. Secondly, I wouldn't just sit down and get subjected to that because I want to be in control of the presentation. Anything I don't cover, ask away.
Normally I don't just paste the questions list in without posting something, but did last night.
Usually I sit down with the agent(s) & talk. Just from talking, most everything gets filled in & what ever isn't you actually ask if it applies. This was a list of questions I made up then added to with people posting additions at another place I go to. It is to be used as a guide because some people don't know what to ask.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brandon Hoffman
Here are the ones that really matter (and it's a small list).
1-Google the Realtor and see how many hits you get. Look at the web listings to see if they are done well.
2-Show me your marketing plan.
3-How many properties did you list last year?
4-How many of your listings sold last year?
5-What % did they sell for compared to asking price and what is the market average?
6-What was your average days on market compared to the market average?
I'll see about adding them into the list.
IMO, the most important questions for a seller are canceling the contract if you aren't happy, the advertising & photos. If you follow posts, most sellers are unhappy due to one of these things.
The googling would be how to find the agent to interview, I have tips for that in my head, never wrote them down. I only interviewed agents that had a big web presence, and after learning my lesson with a non local agent, made sure agent 2 was local.
Normally I don't just paste the questions list in without posting something, but did last night.
Usually I sit down with the agent(s) & talk. Just from talking, most everything gets filled in & what ever isn't you actually ask if it applies. This was a list of questions I made up then added to with people posting additions at another place I go to. It is to be used as a guide because some people don't know what to ask.
I'll see about adding them into the list.
IMO, the most important questions for a seller are canceling the contract if you aren't happy, the advertising & photos. If you follow posts, most sellers are unhappy due to one of these things.
The googling would be how to find the agent to interview, I have tips for that in my head, never wrote them down. I only interviewed agents that had a big web presence, and after learning my lesson with a non local agent, made sure agent 2 was local.
The questions that I posted tell you 1-how good the marketing is, 2-how good a negotiator the agent is 3-Local market knowledge 4-Agent productivity
The other thing that you have to find out after the fact is how good the agent is at follow up and communication. If you asked the right questions that shouldn't be as important because it's likely your home will sell.
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Many thanks!
