Pat Leavy's Blog

Not everyone is an expert at the art of selling a home. While this is not a skill needed most of the time, a lack of market fluency will make selling your home in Petoskey or the surrounding area very complicated if you don't have a realtor.

Before you work with any real estate professional, you should do everything you can to make sure they are experienced and trustworthy.

Here are 9 questions you should ask a realtor when selling your house.

1. "How Many Clients Are You Currently Representing?"

You may think that the most popular realtor will be the best option for you. However, if they are popular, it may also mean that they have a lot of other clients at once, making it difficult to have you as their top priority.

If you know how many clients your agent is currently dealing with, it will help you to decide if this is the right realtor for you.

2. "Which Neighborhoods Do You Specialize in?"

The right agent should have a pretty good idea of the average home value in your area.

Make sure that your agent has a knowledge of the transactions that have recently happened in your neighborhood. This is so they can help you figure out what to expect from the market.

3. "What's Your Average Success Rate?"

Ask about their statistics in the home-selling business to better evaluate their service for you.

Keep in mind that there are many factors that go into selling a house. Just because the agent may not seem to have as high of a success rate as you'd hope doesn't mean they aren't the right fit.

Narrow this question down to "how long do your listings take to sell compared to median days on the market?"

4. "How Much Do You Charge?"

It's crucial that you ask how much the agent charges for their services up front; after all, you'll have to account for their percentage when you're deciding on your listing price.

5. "Can You Provide References?"

Your agent should be able to provide references that can attest to their abilities.

Simply ask your agent if they can give you the numbers of some references, so that you can see the quality of the service that they've provided for others.

6 "How Long Have You Been in This Field?"

It's important to ask your agent how long they've been working in the real estate field. Remember that number of years certified doesn't always equal a great agent. Check for evidence of satisfaction guarantee through testimonials, or word of mouth.

7. "What's Your Marketing Strategy?"

You also need to ask your agent what their strategy is for selling your home. Not only is this helpful to decide if the agent is going to be a good choice, but it also allows you to have a better understanding of their own process as they put your house on the market.

8. "How Will You Communicate with Me?"

Make sure that your agent knows that you want to be involved in this process every step of the way.

Ensure that your agent will call and text you anytime that your input is needed in the process and let you know when there is big news.

9. "Can You Help Me Find a New Home?"

With these 9 questions, you can easily make the hard job of home-selling a little bit simpler. If you find that you like their answers to all of these questions about real estate, and the agent does a great job selling your home, consider asking them to help you find your new home.