How to Interview an Agent: 5 Questions to Ask

Bonita Springs – Estero – Naples Real Estate

By D. Michael Burke

Did you know that your choice of a real estate agent could severely impact the fate of your home sale or purchase? The wrong selling agent could actually cost you money, and the wrong buying agent might result in you NOT getting the house of your dreams. Yet it is clear that many buyers and sellers don’t understand what is at stake: The National Association of Realtors has found that the vast majority choose their agent after interviewing only one or two.

My point is, any buyer or seller needs to think a little more like an employer when looking for a real estate agent. Technically, you are hiring this person to help you in the biggest purchase or sale of your life. If you take the time to interview a variety of agents, and choose the best one based on how they answer your questions, you will set yourself up for greater success in buying or selling your home.

This all goes back to a conversation my team leader, Mary Cassidy, and I were having r ecently about the best questions we have been asked by clients. The best questions to ask a real estate agent in an interview are the ones that will tell you something about his or her experience and skill, so that you can make a more informed decision when choosing your agent. Boiling down our chat into the most important points, the following are the best questions we have been asked, and those that every buyer or seller ought to include when they interview an agent.

1) How will you market my property compared to other agents or companies?

Both Mary and I are always very impressed when a client asks about marketing, because it shows that they have a solid grasp of how a house gets sold. Marketing is one of the most important factors in how well your house sells, and therefore ought to be at the top of your list of questions to ask a prospective agent.

When you ask this question, you are looking for two different things in the agent’s answer. For one thing, since marketing is so important, you want to be sure the agent is going to give your home the best possible exposure through advertising, online listing features, etc. Don’t forget the importance of a strong network, however. A large company such as Keller Williams gives your listing the best possible national exposure, something that small or local companies cannot possibly offer. "If you think about it, where did you live before moving to Florida?" Mary asked me, and she has a good point. Many, many buyers in Southwest Florida come from another area of the country, drawn here by factors such as our weather, resort-like communities, and the desire to find a good place to retire.

This question isn’t just for sellers to ask, though. A marketing-savvy seller’s agent also makes a good buyer’s agent, because they have the experience and understanding of the market. Additionally, the benefits of a larger network applies to you, too, as an agent that is better tapped in will be able to show you a greater variety of homes, and have a greater understanding of pricing trends and negotiation. You can reword the question a little to suit your needs: "How do you market the properties you list, compared to other companies or agents?"

2) What is your online marketing strategy and how do you attract buyers?

This is another question that shows that a potential client really understands the nature of the beast. The National Association of Realtors has determined that a whopping 90 percent of buyers begin looking for a home online, rather than with an agent, so an Internet-savvy agent is a necessity — I can’t stress that enough. A seller should look for an agent who will promote their home to its maximum potential online, with MLS listings, listings on the major online real estate portals, and a fully-featured website of their own. A buyer should also look for an agent who offers a website with lots of tools you can use in the online portion of your home search, and who understands him- or herself how to make full use of the Internet’s benefits.

3) Can we list my home higher and then come down?

This is an excellent question because it tests the agent’s understanding of how prices drive sales. I’ve said before that a house needs to be competitively priced from the beginning — if the agent doesn’t tell you so in answer to this question, run as fast as you can in the other direction!

As you can see from the graph, a home gets the most activity in the first month or so of the listing. After that, interest in the home drops off substantially and remains flat. In other words, no one is looking to SEE that you have dropped the price. Any agent who is truly motivated to sell your home will suggest doing a comparative market analysis (CMA) and using that to determine a competitive price right from very beginning. So although it seems counterintuitive, if an agent says yes to a higher starting price, they have just failed your interview.

4) Will you cut your commission?

This question offers another surprising way to test an agent’s negotiation abilities. Whether you are selling or buying, you will get the best possible price if you have an agent who is a strong negotiator, who knows when to make a deal and when to hold fast. "If a real estate agent is too quick to give away his or her money, how quickly do you think they will give away yours?" Mary pointed out. Like the previous question, if the agent agrees too quickly, they have failed the interview and you should keep looking.

5) What is your experience in this specific neighborhood?

Another concept I talk about frequently is that an agent must have neighborhood-specific experience in order to do a good job of selling your home. Pricing trends can vary considerably between neighborhoods, so a seller’s agent who doesn’t know the neighborhood won’t have a solid understanding of how much homes are selling for. Even a buyer’s agent should have experience in the neighborhood where you are looking, as they will need to know the current market value of a home in order to set a reasonable offer and negotiate effectively.

When asking this question, look for quantitative facts that will demonstrate the agent’s experience in the neighborhood. For instance, ask how many years they have worked specifically in your neighborhood, how many homes they have sold in that neighborhood, how many days (on average) one of their listings spends on the market, and how many homes they have currently listed in your neighborhood. Stating that they have experience in your neighborhood doesn’t mean anything if they don’t have the numbers to back it up!

There are more questions you should ask a real estate agent before signing with them — these are some of the biggest, but they show how important it is to carefully screen an agent. Your choice of an agent can make or break a sale! To discuss interview techniques and other questions I recommend asking, please feel free to contact me at any time. My door is always open!

Contributed by D. Michael Burke, P.A. Keller Williams Elite Realty
Michael@CoconutPointRealEstate.com / www.CoconutPointRealEstate.com