When you put your home on the market, you want to align yourself with the best agent for the job.
Be thorough with your selection process, and take the time to interview a few candidates. Treat the process like a job interview—you are doing the hiring.
Here is a list of questions you will want to cover:
1) What is the current state of the market and how does that affect my property?
2) Are you seeing trends in the marketplace? What are they?
3) What is the current inventory like?
4) Is it a buyer’s or seller’s market? What does that mean for my home?
5) What is your opinion on the future market outlook? Is now a good time to sell?
6) How established is your firm? How does your firm differ from all the rest?
7) What is your background? What makes you different than your competitors?
8) When are you available to show my property? Do you work on the weekends? What do you do when you have a scheduling conflict?
9) What type of buyers do you plan on targeting for my home, and how do you foresee reaching them? (Please go over a marketing plan specific to my home.)
10) How will you price my home? May I see a comparable market analysis that justifies the pricing?
The right agent should be passionate about selling your home, possess a wealth of market knowledge, and be able to clearly justify his or her assessments.
Superior customer service should be at the forefront of the agent’s presentation, and you should ultimately feel fully confident in the agent’s ability to sell your home.
Also, don’t forget to seek out referrals from friends who have had positive experiences, and include those agents in the interview process.
Trust your instincts, listen carefully and don’t fall into a trap of choosing the agent who merely promises the highest price for you home.
Brad Malow is the founder of BuyingNYC.com and an agent with Rutenberg Realty. He has been helping buyers and sellers navigate NYC’s complex real estate market for over 10 years.
