5 Questions You Should be Asking Your Real Estate Agent (But Aren't)
If you’ve ever bought or sold a house, you know that there are hundreds of realtors jumping to help you. However, not all realtors are created the same, and the road to buying or selling a new home can be tough. This makes it incredibly important to find a real estate agent that you not only trust, but that has the expertise to be able to help you through the challenges, and sometimes difficult decisions, that pop up in the world of real estate.
While you may have gotten your realtor’s information from a referral, online ad, or by simply combing through reviews, it’s incredibly important to know the ins and outs of how your real estate agent operates.
Of course there are some basic questions that you’d want to ask any realtor. But, there are also a few that you may not have thought of (or deemed unimportant) that you really should be asking before making any kind of commitment to work with them. Take note that a good real estate agent should be able to answer these types of questions with zero issues.
Before working with a realtor, you’ll want to make sure you’ve asked them the following to help you vet them as a potential partner:
Is this something you do full time?
With thousands and thousands of real estate agents across the United States, it would be silly to assume all of them are at the same knowledge and skill level. Remember, a real estate license isn’t something that’s only available to those who work as agents exclusively. There are many people who take on real estate as a part time gig, or as a temporary job to get them from one stepping stone to the next.
As a buyer or seller, you want to be sure that the person you’re working with is dedicated to real estate full time. This ensures that they’re immersed in your area’s real estate (after all, this is what they do day in and day out), have worked exclusively on being an agent and so, have more of an opportunity to sharpen their craft, and have stuck with it long enough to come across a variety of different situations.
Do you have referrals?
This should be a no-brainer for real estate agents, and they should easily be able to pull a number of happy clients to chat with you before going with them. A good realtor will not only be able to provide you with people to speak with, they’ll also be able to give you the details of their individual situations. For buyers, how was their communication? Were they able to negotiate effectively on their referral’s behalf? For sellers, how did the real estate agent handle offers? Were they adequately on top of the process from start to finish? These are things that you can get a truthful answer to, along with added color, by speaking with a referral directly.
Do you have a list of resources that you recommend?
While a real estate agent is there specifically to help you buy or sell a home, an outstanding one knows that if you’re happy with their work, you’ll not only refer them to your friends and family, you’ll use them for your future real estate purchases. With that in mind, a real estate agent should be there for you throughout the entire process of buying or selling a home, and long after.
Find an agent that’s gotten this down pat. And, as part of that, an agent should have a trusted list of resources that they can recommend to you in any number of situations. For example, a great painter, a solid handyman, someone to help you make a decision on solar, etc. By recommending their network, they’re not only showing their involvement with their community, they’re setting themselves up as the expert in all things related to real estate.
What is your availability?
When it comes to something as significant as buying or selling a home, no one wants to work with someone with extremely limited hours. Find someone that’s truly accessible, that you can call to ask questions to (even in off hours), and that’s willing to go the extra mile when it comes to working with your schedule. Why? Because, at the end of the day, you want to know that you’re working with someone that you’ll be able to get answers from and that can truly help walk you through the process of buying or selling or home, even if it’s not during the convenient hours of 9am-5pm.
How many other clients are you working with right now?
Do you want to work with someone who’s reputation makes them a desirable partner when it comes to buying or selling a home? Absolutely. But keep in mind, you’ll be working very closely with your agent to make decisions, and to act or react quickly as a team. If your agent has limited bandwidth, this might be an issue. Ensure you’re working with someone who is either on a team (and therefore, has other people that they can tap in to help you reach your goals), or that’s working with a reasonable amount of other clients.
There are a number of perks to making sure you have all of the information before committing to working with a real estate agent. Chief among them is that you’ll go into the process (and subsequent transaction) with open eyes and set expectations. Likewise, the goal is to work with an agent that you not only trust, but that you can see yourself working with in the future. And one of the best ways to take that leap is by working with someone that’s not only open about their process, but that’s willing to answer any and all questions you have to ensure you’re comfortable, and equipped to take the big leap into (or out of) a real estate investment.
