What Questions Should You Be Asking A Realtor and Them Asking You?

Once you feel you have found a Realtor whose perosnality will work best with you; what do you do next? Ask questions and lots of them. One thing you want to be sure of when you hire a Realtor is that they understand exactly what it is you are looking for and what your needs are. To many times I hear from prospective clients that the other Realtor did not understand what I wanted or the Realtor was never availble for me when I called them. Was that becasue you did not tell them, or did they not ask you probing enough questions to get to what it is you desire in a home. Is the Realtor spread a little to thin with multiple clients at the same time? Are they working a second job to supplement their income in this economy? These are important questions you should be asking and they should be asking you.

When you are talking with a Realtor you are in essence interviewing them for your business. But ,they should be asking you questions as well. In essence you should both be interviewing each other. Whenever iI meet a client my first question usually catches them off guard slightly (not intentional). I ask what they are trying to accomplish out of this meeting today. From there I answer their questions.

Some of the common questions I receive or should be receiving are: I am looking in X area or certain neighborhood. How well do you know the area? What can you tell me about the area? We all sell homes pretty much in a certain area. Within that area there are probably pockets we are more comfortable with than others. You want to make sure you have an agent who is comfortable with that area and knows the area well. For one, they will be able to tell you right away if a home you are looking at is a good deal or not. They will be able to provide you with material facts about the area that soemone who does not know it as well might not be able to. Those facts can be a deciding factor if you are looking to purchase there or not.

Other questions I hear or tell people when i am talking with them are; This is my full time profession. I do not hold another part time job and am available to answer your call between this time and this time this many days a week. If I am on another call or with soemone I will return your call within a few hours. You want to be sure the agent you hire is availble for you on your scheudle (Now this is not going to always happen) but it should not be because they are working a second job.

How much experince do you have? A good question that sometimes can go either way. if you get soemone with little experince they may be a little more aggressive because they do not have many clients to work and want to prove themselves. On the otehr hand, their lack of experince can eb a hinderence if they do not know the area. Someone with a lot of experince can be to overwhelmed with other clients to service you as you need or want. Or their experience can help you find that perfect home at the right price.

As an agent, I ask every potential client what they expect out of me. If I feel their expectations to what I know I can deliver are unrealistic I let them know. Sometimes, I have lost clients because of that. But, am a beleiver in the adage under promise and over deliver. There have been clients that expected more out of me than I was able to give at a certain time. I gracefully told them so becuase I do not want to have any misunderstandings.

There are probaly hundreds more questions you can ask a Realtor and a Realtor should be asking you. But a lot of it depends on how the converasation is going. A good Realtor will not only answer your questions for you but will probe and interview you as well. You both need to be a good match for one another to make the realtionship work.

Dave diCecco
Realtor/Broker
www.davedicecco.com