10 Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent Before Hiring Them

 

  1. Years of Experience – How long have you been a licensed agent?
    • Knowing the years of experience of your Real Estate Agent is important because it gives you an insight to their track record. Agents that have renewed their licenses multiple times usually have a higher and more consistent rate of closing deals.
  2. What’s your specialty? Is your specialty commercial or residential?
    • Knowing the difference between Real Estate Agent specialties can help you determine which agent is right for you. Residential Real Estate Agents focus on single family homes and one to four-unit rental residences. Commercial Real Estate Agents focus on business properties, anything with five or more units.
  3. Are you full time or part time?
    • Is your realtor part time or full time? If your realtor is part time, they may not have time to focus on your wants and needs. Your realtor needs to know the real estate market. The real estate market can be demanding and time consuming. A Real Estate Agent that is full time has more time to focus on your needs. Full time realtors also have more experience since their time allows them to work more hours. 
  4. Do you work alone or with a team?
    • Hiring a realtor that works with a team or works solo comes down to what you prefer. If you prefer working with one realtor, it could provide less stress and less people you have to communicate with. If you prefer working with a team of agents, you will have more people to communicate with. 
  5. How many homes did you close in the past year?
    • You should know how many homes your realtor has sold in the past year. Ask if you can see a listing from a past transaction. It can provide comfort to see if the realtor has a high closing rate. It also helps to know how many homes similar to your own they have sold. Experience plays a factor in the number of homes that your realtor has closed.
  6. How long does it typically take buyers you’ve worked with to find and purchase a home?
    • The time it takes to find and buy a house is different for each client. On average a home buyer can spend a few weeks or months to pick and close on a home.
  7. How do you determine what homes match my interest?
    • Your realtor should ask you what you are looking for. Your realtor should know what area you want to live in, the budget and specifics that you are looking for in a home. Knowing that information allows your realtor to find the right home for you.
  8. How will you keep in contact with me during the buying process?
    • There are many ways for a realtor to contact you during the buying process. It is important to have parameters set up with your realtor in terms of communication. Providing your primary contact information to help contacting you is easy.
  9. How often will you contact me during the buying process?
    • There are many ways for a realtor to contact you during the buying process. You can ask your realtor to provide weekly or daily updates. Communicating with your realtor in the beginning of the buying process and telling them how and when you want to be updated is important.
  10. What percentage of your business is home buyers?
    • Knowing the percentage of your realtor’s business is important because you want to know if they are working with home buyers like yourself. To find this information you can ask you realtor or search via internet for your realtor’s statistics.