So you’re thinking about hiring a REALTOR, and you’ve probably decided to interview a few before listing your home. Just what should you be asking during these interviews? A lot of home owners base their decision on the evaluation that the REALTOR provides, choosing whoever gives them the highest price. That’s what we call buying the listing. You have to remember that you decide what price you are going to ask for your home, and there are many other factors to consider when selecting a Realtor.

Marketing Plan

Next to pricing, marketing will have the biggest impact on the sale of your home. As Sheldon often says:

Even if you were to offer your home for sale for $1, if no one knows about it your home won’t sell.

Every Realtor will tell you that the MLS is the most powerful marketing tool available to home sellers, but there is a lot more to it than just putting your home on the MLS. When you’re selecting a Realtor, be sure to ask exactly what their marketing plan for your home would be, and most importantly ask to see examples of their advertising. Then compare the marketing plans and sample ads from the different Realtors you’ve interviewed and determine what you think will work best for your home. The most common complaint we hear from home sellers is that their Realtor isn’t marketing their home the way they expected them to, but if you don’t ask for the details how do you know what to expect?

Services

Did you know that different brokerages offer different services? There are full-service brokerages, fee-for-service brokerages and “discount” brokerages and among each group there are wide variations in the services offered. You may already have certain expectations of the Realtor you select, or you may be uncertain what services are important to you. 

Before you inteview Realtors try and compile a list of what is important to you to make it easier to determine which Realtor meets your requirements. Examples may include: scheduling appointments for showings, obtaining a real property report or condo documents on your behalf, showing the property, following up on showings, obtaining feedback, providing statistics, monitoring changes in your marketplace, monitoring the transaction, identifying and dealing with potential problems…. I could go on and on as the list is quite extensive! The important point is, be sure that the service you excpect is in line with the service being offered, and make sure it’s in writing.

Support

You should also ask what support the Realtor has – some Realtors work on their own, others have assistants and still others have a team. If a Realtor is working on their own, when they are dealing with offers, or out of town clients, all their other clients take a back seat while he or she deals with the top priority (just as you’d expect them to do if you were the client with the offer). When you hire us you get the benefit of our team – Sheldon with 20 years experience, Ken with over 40 years as well as full time dedicated buyer’s agents, and a full time marketing director. When one person has been assigned to a task or client there are always others ready to assist with our clients’ needs.

Don’t get caught in the “Top Producer” trap.

Many people seek out the #1 agent in their area, because they feel that person will have a proven track record. Ask yourself this question – what makes them #1? Are they #1 in their office? #1 in the area? #1 for listings? #1 for sales? #1 for attendance at golf tournaments? If an agent has 30, or 40 or 100 listings, are you going to get the same level of service as you would from an agent with 10 listings, but just as many sales? Will you ever even meet that agent? The important answer to have, is what percentage of their listings actually sell? Who will actually be working with you to sell your home?

Experience, Reputation, Knowledge, Education, Negotiating Abilities

The more experience the Realtor has the lower the risk for complications and mistakes. There is a little more to it than that though…. A Realtor may have been in the business for 5 years, but may have only done a few transactions, while one in the business 6 months may have been extremely well trained, done a dozen transactions and have the back up of an experienced team member or mentor.  Some Realtors have experience in other industries that may be relevant to you, or involvement in the industry (such as professional standards), or extensive education and training. The best way to get to the bottom of this is to ask to see their resume.

Remember, a REALTOR has no control over the market, only marketing.

Our Marketing and Services

At Coldwell Banker Johnston, we offer a range of marketing and service options and a range of fees depending on the options you select. We’d be happy to explain these options to you in person, or through an online meeting. Call 780-486-8655, email us, or fill out the form below to arrange a time to discuss our marketing and service options and fees.

–>Next…Preparing Your Home for Sale