 8 questions to ask home listing agents
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 Dear
Real Estate Adviser,
I realize this is not the best time to sell a house but I have no choice. I have to relocate this summer. I'm told I should interview several agents. But what questions should I ask them?
-- Anna
 Dear
Anna,
Good question! In the current soft housing market, your choice of
agent could be the most important decision you make in realizing
your goal of getting out of Dodge in an orderly fashion.
With that in mind, below are a few of the most important
questions to ask of prospective agents. Read them over a few times
and think about the answers you'd most like to hear. Every time
you interview an agent -- and you should interview a minimum of
three -- keep a hard copy of these questions with you. Then as each
agent responds, rate his or her answers with a number from 1 to
10 and make a few notes. If you aren't fully happy with the results,
interview a couple more agents.
| Here are a few of the most important
questions to ask of prospective agents. |
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| 8 questions for
home listing agents: |
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1. Are you full-time
or part-time? Part-time agents can be skilled marketers,
but they have other commitments that can limit their responsiveness.
Some part-timers are just dabbling in the business to make a little
extra dough or because they aren't good enough at it yet to make
a living full-time. You'll want someone who lives, eats and breathes
real estate.
2. How long have you been practicing? In a soft market, you'll probably want someone who has been a licensed agent for at least five to seven years.
3. What percentage of the homes you listed in the past year has sold? It was much easier selling a home 15 months ago. But now, it requires extra effort to get results. A good agent still performs well in adversity.
4. How
will you find me buyers? This is a big one. Sure, there's
the MLS, for-sale signs, flier boxes and newspaper ads. But how
will the agent showcase your home to the biggest possible buyer
universe? Does the agent advertise on less conventional Internet
sites and real estate publications? Send out regular mailings? Conduct
a brokers' open house in addition to regular open houses?
5. How accessible
are you? You'll want to know what hours the agent can be
reached at home, as well as the office and cell phone, and how often
the agent checks messages, plus who you can contact if your agent
is out of town or unavailable. These issues are not only important
to you, they're important to potential buyers and their agents.
6. What
awards have you won? Most of the good ones have received
some notoriety such as the "Million Dollar Sales Club,"
"Realtor of the Year," "Top Agent/Producer,"
"Best Web Site," or other professional service awards.
7. What geographic areas do you cover? Some agents take listings all over a metro area. Ideally, you want someone who is an expert in a specific part of town and who can provide you with regular market updates, a wide array of comps and the latest in pricing strategies indigenous to that area.
8. What's your average market time? You'll want career numbers and "past 12 months" numbers. Also ask agents for their average time on the market per home sale as compared to other agents and to the market as a whole. The agent's "past 12 months" numbers will give you a more accurate picture. You might also ask how far below list price that their listings have sold for in the past year compared to the market as a whole.
A few other tips:
Do some Internet research to see who the top performers are before
you make your short list of agents to call. Verustar
offers an "Agent Analyzer" service. HomeGain, which connects
real estate agents with buyers and sellers, has a listing of top
regional performers. You can also look up the Web sites of local
brokerages to see who their top performers are.
Use a seller's agent -- also called a listing agent
-- because she is obligated to look out for your interests exclusively.
Don't waste your time calling agents off real estate signs unless
you see a certain agent has a lion's share of the listings in your
neighborhood. You should rely on a proven producer, not fate.
And remember that houses aren't selling themselves anymore and that a 60-day listing may not do the trick in some markets. You might have to go 90 days. But move quickly. You'll want to catch the earliest part of the spring selling season, which starts around March 1.
Good luck on your search and sale.
To ask a question of the Real Estate Adviser, go
to the "Ask the Experts"
page and select "buying, selling a home" as the topic.
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