{"id":3628,"date":"2019-04-01T15:25:33","date_gmt":"2019-04-01T22:25:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/?p=3628"},"modified":"2019-04-01T15:25:33","modified_gmt":"2019-04-01T22:25:33","slug":"hard-hitting-questions-ask-real-estate-agent","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/hard-hitting-questions-ask-real-estate-agent","title":{"rendered":"Hard-hitting Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/practical-advice-to-achieveyour-saving-and-investing-goals-picture-id639142732.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-3631\" src=\"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/practical-advice-to-achieveyour-saving-and-investing-goals-picture-id639142732.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Far too many buyers and sellers hire the very first real estate agent they contact. But real estate transactions are a big deal, and you deserve the best possible representation. Before you choose your real estate agent, invest some time in researching multiple agents and finding the agent that best suits you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First, do your homework! You should be able to learn a lot about your agent candidates online. Including things like:<\/span><\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Online presence: Having a professional website and social media presence indicates that the agents are keeping current. \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sales records: Make sure the list of recently sold properties includes properties in your neighborhood.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Testimonials: What do the agents\u2019 clients have to say about them?<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">With your own research complete, it\u2019s time to interview the agents and ask the hard-hitting questions.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How soon will you reply to my emails\/calls\/texts?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can\u2019t expect your real estate agent to be available to you 24\/7. But you deserve a prompt reply when you reach out to your agent. Just asking this question forces the agent to make a mental note of their explicit commitment to replying to you within a specified time frame. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generally speaking, the shorter the promised response time, the better. Most agents should be able to commit to replying to all messages within 12 hours.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>What is your average list-price-to-sale-price ratio?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The list-price-to-sale-price ratio is an indicator of a savvy agent. It shows how close your agent gets the final sale price to the original listing price.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re selling, you want this number to be as close to 100% as possible to show that the agent knows how to price homes and knows how to negotiate to get full value. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019re buying, you want this number to be as low as possible to show that your agent knows how to negotiate a lower price and get you a good deal. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your agent should be tracking their seller\u2019s agent average and buyer\u2019s agent average separately so that they can show you how well they perform for each group. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Is your commission negotiable?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In fact, all real estate agent commissions are negotiable. However, a good agent will explain to you that they are <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">not <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">willing to reduce their commission.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember, your agent will be negotiating on your behalf. How can you expect them to navigate tough negotiations on your behalf if they are unable to stand firm on their own commission? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Where\u2019s the best [&#8230;] in this neighborhood?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your real estate agent should know your neighborhood inside and out! Asking where the best pizza, hardware store, or hotel is will give the agent a chance to show how well they know your neighborhood. \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Their actual answer doesn\u2019t matter as much as <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">how <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">they answer. Do they know places off the top of their heads? Or do they hem and haw and eventually tell you about a place in another neighborhood?<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>How can I get in touch with your references?<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your agent should have at least three references ready for you to contact. Make sure the references include at least two former clients (one buyer and one seller). \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reach out to those references before you make your decision. Ask questions like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">what was your experience like with this agent? <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> would you hire this agent again?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t make the mistake of hiring the first agent you come across or assuming that the agent in your extended family is the best person for the job. Do your homework, ask the hard questions and find an agent you trust to represent you and your best interests.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i>This post is intended for informational purposes only and should not be taken as professional advice. This post was written by Michelle Clardie.\u00a0Michelle is a professional real estate blogger, specializing in ghostwriting Realtor\u00ae blogs. Her engaging content helps real estate agents become more visible online, generate more qualified leads, and increase their revenues. You can learn more at\u00a0www.michelleclardie.com.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Far too many buyers and sellers hire the very first real estate agent they contact. But real estate transactions are a big deal, and you deserve the best possible representation. Before you choose your real estate agent, invest some time in researching multiple agents and finding the agent that best suits you. First, do your &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/hard-hitting-questions-ask-real-estate-agent\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Hard-hitting Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent<\/span> <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[835,829],"tags":[771,765,661,846,212],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3628"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3628"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3628\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3632,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3628\/revisions\/3632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3628"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3628"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3628"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.realtyexecutives.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3628"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}