How to Interview a Real Estate Agent - Heidi Stenson

If you’re putting your home on the market, you will soon be sitting down with a few local real estate agents to hear their listing presentations (interview at least three before deciding who to work with).

While the word “presentation” denotes a one-way communication, this should really be a two-way process in order to choose the right agent to work with. Here are a few key questions to ask, which will help you gain insight into an agent’s strategies, professionalism and enthusiasm.

1. What did the last home you sold in this area go for? Not only will this give you a good idea of the going rate in your neighborhood, it will shed some light on how familiar the agent is with your neighborhood and its home values.

2. How will you market my home? A standard part of any good listing presentation will highlight the various ways in which the agent will promote your home online through their own website as well as various real estate portals. Be sure to ask the agent how they follow up with leads that come in through these portals – what is their system for responding quickly and what type of information do they provide?

3. Will you host an open house and if so, how will it generate leads? Not all agents are big proponents of open houses, so ask the agent if they intend to host one for your home and, if so, what will they do to make it creative and worthwhile? Ask them how they will collect attendees’ information and how they will follow up afterwards.

4. What can I do to help my home sell for a higher price? A good agent will be able to tell you what renovations will be worth spending money on in order to sell your home for a higher price and which ones won’t. He or she will also be able to tell you what simple things you can do to improve your sales price, like painting or staging.

5. What factors will detract from my home’s value? If your home is not going to list at the price you had hoped for, ask the prospective agent why. If there’s some pet damage or a swimming pool that’s going to detract from the selling price, a good agent should let you know that up front.