I encourage consumers to be well-informed, to do research, ask lots of questions and be comfortable with their decisions. I have been formally interviewed by both potential listing and buyer clients a number of times over the years. I have heard quite a range of questions and always wonder how the interviewers are weighing my answers.
Where do those questions come from?
There are literally thousands of articles and blog posts on how to interview and choose a real estate agent. Just check Google, and you can arm yourself with hundreds of questions and interview strategies. There’s the statistical approach: homes sold in the last 12 months, average days on the market, list price to sales price ratio. There’s the area knowledge approach; experience approach; license and designation approach (how many groups of letters are after your name on your business card?).
What questions should you be asking?
In a recent interview I was asked what questions I would ask a Realtor I was considering hiring. I probably blew the answer with some some questions oriented toward making my strengths look stronger, but later, as I thought about that question more, I realized that I had not hired an agent to represent me in over 18 years. If I were a consumer moving to another city and didn’t know any agents other than their reputations online, my in-person interview would be based on these 6 questions:
1. Are you a full time real estate agent – is this how you make your living? How many hours do you work at real estate a week? Do you consider this your career? If an agent works another job, do they really have time to put everything they have into helping their real estate clients? Are they available when necessary, or are they at work at their “real job”. For me this is the most important question a consumer can ask.
2. Are you a specialist or generalist? Do you handle different types of properties – residential, commercial, investment, land, or do you concentrate on residential 100%? Do you specialize in specific neighborhoods or do you work a 50 mile radius from your office? If you, as a consumer, are buying or selling a residence, it just makes sense that you would work with an agent who has an intensely residential orientation. Neighborhood specialists have a much keener insight into the micro-markets that the home you are selling is situated in, and much more knowledge of the condition, value, and quirks of the neighborhoods where you may be interested in buying. Also there is the availability factor of an agent who is out of pocket (and possibly mobile range) showing properties in the woods somewhere when you need to reach them.
3. How will you communicate with me? The answer here can be quite revealing. Ask the question, and let the agent talk, because what they say IS the way they communicate. After they have done the speech ask about access hours, regularity of communication, and communication media. Answers to this question and the discussion that follows should give you the feeling of a comfortable communication connection.
4. Do you work alone or use assistants? There is not necessarily a right or wrong answer here, just a matter of YOUR preference. If you are comfortable signing up with an agent and immediately being assigned an assistant to work with you, this is a non-issue. If you want to work one-on-one with your agent, this is an important question that needs to be answered on the front end.
5. Is your negotiating approach Win-Win? Another revealing question, and totally subjective depending on your approach to negotiations and life in general. Let the agent talk – they will tell you how they negotiate. Listen. Does it fit your style and personality? This is a part of finding a good match. Maybe you think win-win is a little to warm and fuzzy, and you are into slash and burn negotiations – your choice.
6. What will you do to make the process as stress-free as possible? Yet another revealing question. Listen to the answer – this is a good way to tell if an agent has a plan or if she is just a BSer. You need to feel comfortable with the process and you want to know how the agent keeps the stress levels low.
These questions will help you penetrate the well-practiced scripts used to answer standard questions and overcome objections. Consider these as essay questions rather than short answer or multiple choice. There really aren’t any right or wrong answers here, but coupled with what you have already learned in your research, the agent’s answers to these open ended questions should give you a lot of insight into how they work and the quality of the relationship you can expect to have with them.
For more real estate news and information visit (and like) my Facebook Page.
- Historic Midtown Home for Sale - April 21, 2024
- FOR SALE – 5555 Quince Rd, Memphis, TN - April 18, 2024
- Memphis Real Estate– 2022 and Predictions for 2023 - January 7, 2023
Great questions Joe. Setting up the “why” to ask the questions draws in the interest of the reader. Well done! I’ll be sharing this with my students/new agents so they can learn from your experience. This is such important information for buyer and sellers to consider before they commit to any agent..