Real Estate News with Terri Taydus, AHWD, CNA, CRS, GRI

Do you ever feel like interviewing for a good listing agent is just a game of Smoke & Mirrors? 

It can be difficult for even the most seasoned sellers to decipher what is “real” and what is “smoke”.  The promises, oh the promises!  Some listing agents will tell you all the right things…everything you were hoping to hear actually…but is it real?

Here are a few tips to help you determine if the listing agent sitting in front of you is working to put your best interest first:

• · Remember it is not the number of listings a Realtor (or their team, or their office) has, it is the number that have actually sold! Some agents have an impressive number of listings. But ask yourself, is your goal to “list” your home, or is your goal to “sell” your home? Make sure you ask the agent in front of you who is bragging about the outrageous number of listings, the following questions:
  • How many of these listings are currently under contract?
  • How many of them have sold?
  • How many days have their listings been on the market?
  • How many price reductions were necessary in order to actually sell the property? (sometimes a price reduction is unavoidable, but if you see a pattern of price reductions you may be in the presence of a listing agent that inflates the list price just to secure the listing).
• Show me the numbers?!
  • o It’s easy to talk the talk, but ask to see the numbers. It is easy to pull the facts from the MLS – number of days on the market, number of withdrawn or expired listings, etc.
  • o Keep in mind that this may require a follow up appointment so the agent has time to pull the numbers together for you. Don’t let this discourage you. So long as they can produce something more official than a scratch pad with “their” numbers scribbled on it. Remember, as a licensed Realtor we have access to this information and can print it off and provide it for you.

DON’T BE SHY!

You are hiring your listing agent to do a job for you and you will be paying them handsomely.  You have a right to know exactly what your listing agent will do for you, as well as the right to peek behind the curtain and see the nitty-gritty of the facts they are promoting.