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I have limited experience with selling a home and need advice on what I should look for and ask when interviewing a Realtor. I would love suggestions. As per my previous post I DO have a friend that is a Real Estate Agent but as I am not sure hiring her would be a good situation I thought we would interview at least two other agents.
First you have to decide which real estate agents to interview.
1) Go to a major portal (Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, etc) and search for homes that are in your price range in your city. Start flipping through photos and make a list of agents that use professional photographers/take good photos. The photos should look realistic and not surreal. If rooms look like bowling alleys then they are using a photographer that is using too wide of an angle lens. The homes look should look clean and decluttered. You want an agent that knows how to help you prep your home for sale. It makes a difference in the number of showings you will get.
2) Once you have a list of like 5-10 agents or so, click on them and look at all of their listings. Read the descriptions. You want agents that consistently write good descriptions and have good photos. You want an agent that cares about their marketing. When I think of the really good agents in my area, they take the time to do good marketing on cheaper properties. They care about doing a good, quality job regardless of price point.
You should just have a few agents at this point. Google a few of the addresses for listings and see what kind of online presence they have for their marketing. Do they do any videos? Floorplans? Property websites, etc.
Remember you should hire an agent that already demonstrates quality marketing online. Don't rely on a listing presentation that tells you what they will do. You want to see it live and in action. Forget about big or small brokerage, years in the business etc. There are some exceptional newer agents, and grossly incompetent long time agents. Real time marketing doesn't lie. Go with that.
Google their name and see if there is anything negative online about them. I know my state must make licensing sanctions public, but you might have to be specific. Here you would have to google "agent name oregon administrative actions REA" or something like that to pull it up. They don't make it easy for consumers to find.
Once you have 3-4 to interview, ask them if they work full-time, how they communicate (texts, emails, etc). I can personally tell you that there are long time agents that do not text or respond to emails. If I don't call them, they won't contact me back. You need to decide if you want to hire someone that doesn't communicate in modern ways. Text them and see what they do if that is the best way for you to communicate.
Ask how many transactions they do per year. While I agree with several agents on here that volume doesn't always equate to quality, I do believe that there is a certain amount an agent needs to do in order to stay on top of market events. That, in my area, is about 10-12 a year. If they aren't doing that, in my area, they won't have enough money to properly market a home.
Time on the market, list to close ratios aren't as clear cut statistically as consumers might think they are. I personally, as an agent, would never ask another agent those questions because I know the data behind them is fraught with issues rendering them meaningless statistics in terms of quality.
First you have to decide which real estate agents to interview.
1) Go to a major portal (Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, etc) and search for homes that are in your price range in your city. Start flipping through photos and make a list of agents that use professional photographers/take good photos. The photos should look realistic and not surreal. If rooms look like bowling alleys then they are using a photographer that is using too wide of an angle lens. The homes look should look clean and decluttered. You want an agent that knows how to help you prep your home for sale. It makes a difference in the number of showings you will get.
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Great post! Could you post the equivalent for hiring a Buyer's agent? TIA.
First you have to decide which real estate agents to interview.
1) Go to a major portal (Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, etc) and search for homes that are in your price range in your city. Start flipping through photos and make a list of agents that use professional photographers/take good photos. The photos should look realistic and not surreal. If rooms look like bowling alleys then they are using a photographer that is using too wide of an angle lens. The homes look should look clean and decluttered. You want an agent that knows how to help you prep your home for sale. It makes a difference in the number of showings you will get.
2) Once you have a list of like 5-10 agents or so, click on them and look at all of their listings. Read the descriptions. You want agents that consistently write good descriptions and have good photos. You want an agent that cares about their marketing. When I think of the really good agents in my area, they take the time to do good marketing on cheaper properties. They care about doing a good, quality job regardless of price point.
You should just have a few agents at this point. Google a few of the addresses for listings and see what kind of online presence they have for their marketing. Do they do any videos? Floorplans? Property websites, etc.
Remember you should hire an agent that already demonstrates quality marketing online. Don't rely on a listing presentation that tells you what they will do. You want to see it live and in action. Forget about big or small brokerage, years in the business etc. There are some exceptional newer agents, and grossly incompetent long time agents. Real time marketing doesn't lie. Go with that.
Google their name and see if there is anything negative online about them. I know my state must make licensing sanctions public, but you might have to be specific. Here you would have to google "agent name oregon administrative actions REA" or something like that to pull it up. They don't make it easy for consumers to find.
Once you have 3-4 to interview, ask them if they work full-time, how they communicate (texts, emails, etc). I can personally tell you that there are long time agents that do not text or respond to emails. If I don't call them, they won't contact me back. You need to decide if you want to hire someone that doesn't communicate in modern ways. Text them and see what they do if that is the best way for you to communicate.
Ask how many transactions they do per year. While I agree with several agents on here that volume doesn't always equate to quality, I do believe that there is a certain amount an agent needs to do in order to stay on top of market events. That, in my area, is about 10-12 a year. If they aren't doing that, in my area, they won't have enough money to properly market a home.
Time on the market, list to close ratios aren't as clear cut statistically as consumers might think they are. I personally, as an agent, would never ask another agent those questions because I know the data behind them is fraught with issues rendering them meaningless statistics in terms of quality.
Great post! This should be a sticky at the top of the forum.
First you have to decide which real estate agents to interview.
1) Go to a major portal (Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, etc) and search for homes that are in your price range in your city..
Be careful with some of the websites as they advertise another agent that isn't actually the list agent. Sometimes it's in the fine print at the bottom with something to the effect of "Listing courtesy of..."
Be careful with some of the websites as they advertise another agent that isn't actually the list agent. Sometimes it's in the fine print at the bottom with something to the effect of "Listing courtesy of..."
Yes. Good point. Make sure you are looking at the listing agent, not the advertised agents at the side.
Yes. Good point. Make sure you are looking at the listing agent, not the advertised agents at the side.
And Zillow, Trulia, ect are full of erroneous data so don't depend on their facts or reviews too much. I've sold 58 homes last year but according to Z I've only sold like 6.
@Silverfall gave you awesome advice to which I would add...
Regarding communication - find out how the agent will be conducting negotiations.
I'm all for whatever works in terms of communication - however....and this is a BIG however -
Substantive negotiations should always be conducted either on the phone or in person. There is far too much room for misinterpretation via email/text. People in general pay attention to the first two or three sentences or they scan for info. Agents are imperfect people too, depsite what they may try to get you to believe!
You'll do far better if the agent is willing to actually speak on your behalf. I interpret any unwillingness to conduct verbal negotiations as insecurity with their ability to negotiate.
Also check that their marketing functions properly on mobile devices.
Most importantly don't necessarily go with the agent who recommends the highest price. Too many agents try to "buy" listings that way. This is another reason its important to speak to at least 3 agents. And, I wouldn't share this info with them as it might influence what they recommend.
Oh, and one last thing to consider and is location dependent - find agents who list and sell homes somewhat close to yours. If your MLS area is smaller it might not matter. My MLS area is huge. I find that "out of town" agents rarely have a sense of accurate market values. While you have no control over who represents buyers, you'll need someone with a good understanding of your area so that they can "school" any uniformed agents who may bring you an offer - which brings me back to my first point about verbal negotiations!! It's incredibly hard to inform someone who only reads whatever portion of an email displays on their cellphone sans scrolling.
Yes, I've seen it happen. More than once.
Don't give too much weight to Zillow/Trulia etc reviews. I can show you where to buy those a few bucks each. Meet face to face and pay attention to your gut. If they inundate you with objection handling sales scripts rather than addressing your concerns directly, run. Run fast.
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