10 Questions To Ask Before Hiring A Listing Agent
Lorrie Ramseier sat down with Emily DeShon to discuss 10 questions to ask a listing agent before hiring them to sell your home. Lorrie has a little over 11 years of experience in real estate and has answered many real estate questions over the years.
Question #1: HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SELLING REAL ESTATE?
Why is this important? The agent’s experience is important because your home is one of your most valuable assets. Selling it quickly and for the most money, is your desired outcome. Experience isn't just how many years you've been in the business, but also how many homes you've actually sold during that time.
Question #2: HOW MANY HOMES HAVE YOU SOLD IN THE LAST YEAR?
Our team, Ramseier Real Estate, sold 121 homes from June 2023 to June 2024. Being a part of a team does make a difference in that total. An individual agent won't have that many transactions.
Question #3: IS THIS YOUR FULL-TIME JOB?
In addition to how long they've been in real estate and the number of transactions in the past year, another question: is this your full-time job? Real estate is really a 24/7, 365 days a year type of job. So doing it at a high level usually requires it to be a full-time job. Being on a team does change the dynamic a little, but it's still a good question to ask.
Question #4: ARE YOU AN INDIVIDUAL AGENT OR DO YOU WORK ON A TEAM?
As an individual agent, you're responsible for everything, from putting it in MLS, going on listing appointments, showing buyers, marketing the home, to handling finances. You are basically running a business, which can be difficult to do solo, but that is how many people start out. That is how I started and I quickly knew that I needed to build a team and bring in people who were gifted in different areas. Building a team has been incredibly beneficial for us. When you're interviewing the agent who's going to sell your home, you want to make sure they're a great fit for you, whether they are an individual agent or on a team. A team provides the full back-end administrative support, it’s not just a few agents collaborating.
Question #5: WILL THIS AGENT BE REPRESENTING ONLY YOU OR ARE THEY A TRANSACTION BROKER REPRESENTING BOTH THE SELLER AND THE BUYER?
It's important because if an agent is a transaction broker, they are not really representing either side, just facilitating the transaction. You want a designated agent who will be representing you and your best interest. Typically, on our team, Lorrie handles most of the listings, and then we have buyer's agents representing the buyer’s best interest. Each party has their own representation.
Question #6: DO THEY HAVE SOMEONE DEDICATED TO MARKETING YOUR HOME?
This is crucial as an individual agent might struggle to find time for all marketing activities, such as creating flyers, advertising on social media, google, contacting agents, prospecting and organizing open houses. There are only so many hours in the day. Having someone dedicated to marketing properties, like Heidi on our team, is a huge benefit.
Question #7: WHAT IS THEIR MARKETING STRATEGY?
Whether they have someone dedicated to marketing or not, how are they going to market your home? You don't want somebody who just does the 3 P’s, puts the property on MLS, puts a sign in the yard, and prays it sells. Not that we don’t do all those things, we do. You want an agent who is proactive. Are they reaching out to other agents, hosting open houses, having a realtor open house? Are they reaching out to neighbors who may know someone that wants to move to that area. We take many marketing actions to ensure your house sells as quickly as possible for the best price.
Question #8: DO YOU USE PROFESSIONAL PHOTOS ON YOUR LISTINGS?
There's a big difference between professional photos and cell phone pictures, and it can make a significant impact on how your house is presented. I am sure you have seen the upside down, blurry or people in the mirror photos on listings. It’s one of my pet peeves! You are paying someone to market your house and high quality photos is the first step. We invest in professional photography to ensure your house looks its best. We make sure to walk through the house and provide tips to enhance its appeal for selling prior to photos.
Question #9: DO YOU HAVE A COMPARATIVE HOME ANALYSIS TO DETERMINE THE CORRECT PRICE FOR MY HOME?
Pricing your home correctly is crucial for a quick sale and to get the best price. If your home stays on the market for too long, it’s like online dating, if you sit too long people may get the impression that there's something wrong. We want to avoid that by pricing it correctly and aiming for a sale within the first two weeks, unless it's a specialty property.
Question #10: DO THEY HAVE GOOGLE REVIEWS?
The last tip is to check the realtor's Google reviews before meeting with them. Reviews reflect the quality of their work, and it's essential to choose a realtor with a positive track record.
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