When interviewing a real estate agent to sell a home, most people fall into the trap of asking these common questions. While not inherently bad, most home sellers could learn a lot more about their agents by asking these questions instead. Click here to watch the video.
Don’t ask these questions to a real estate agent:
- How long have you been in real estate?
- How many houses have you sold?
- Could you lower your commission?
Why these questions aren’t good:
- How long have you been in real estate? –> Length of time in the real estate doesn’t promise actual experience, sales, or skill. In order to maintain an active real estate license, a person only needs to pay their dues and complete their required continuing education coursework. That’s right! There’s no requirement to sell any homes. So it’s possible to be “30 years in the business” with zero sales!
- How many houses have you sold? –> Quantity of homes sold doesn’t translate into consistently good results. (Is the best burger place the one that sells the most burgers?) Obviously, you don’t want to work with someone who has NO idea what they’re doing, but if service matters, (and you want your agent to actually know your home) you also won’t be as happy as high-volume mega agent teams where you’ll primarily be dealing with an assistant rather than the agent.
- Could you lower your commission? –> If you don’t know what services are being offered for the commission, you’re essentially asking for a coupon before you’ve seen the menu. For most people, the net amount of money after the home sale matters more than the commission rate.
What you should ask instead:
- How would you characterize your real estate experience so far?
- What type of clients do you typically work with?
- What services do you offer that justify your commission?
Should you interview multiple agents? Ultimately, you need to work with someone you trust, someone who communicates well, someone whose phone calls you look forward to answering. If you have your doubts about an agent, interview a few! If you know you have someone you will work well with, you’re probably in good hands.