How to interview a Realtor®

Congratulations! You have decided how you want to sell your home. You have made a list of different people from different companies with whom you might want to work. Now what do we do?

Last time, we picked up the phone and actually talked to the people we selected. We gave them our name, our address and told them that we were thinking of selling our home. Then we listened. If we got a good feeling from the person on the other end of the line, we told him or her that we’d call back. Then we did the same thing with the next person on the list. When we were satisfied that we had two or three people we might like to work with, we called back and made an appointment to see them individually in our home. How do we prep for this interview?

Before we even started to look, we prepared our home and we prepared ourselves. We made the house squeaky clean and we de-cluttered as much as possible. We cleaned the basement and we cleaned the garage and shed. We got tax bills for the current and past year. We got heat and hydro bills for the current and past year. If we have a deed or a building location survey, we kept them handy. If we have warranties for any appliances we may want to leave behind, we dug them out. If we have information on the age of the roof, the furnace, the air conditioning system, the windows we’ve replaced, we keep that handy, too. If we live out in the country, well and septic papers would be helpful.

Before we start the interview process, we make up a list of questions for each Realtor®. To be fair, make sure that you ask each agent the same questions. A few sample questions might be: What is my home worth? Why? Is this a good time to sell my home? Why? What does it cost to sell my home? How long will it take to sell my home? Why should I choose to work with your company? Why should I choose to work with you? What is your plan to secure optimal dollar value for my home? What is the most common mistake people make when they sell their home?

Please be honest and tell these Realtors® that you will be speaking to other agents but do not give out their names. Every interview is different and can be quite tiring, so do not schedule more than one interview per day or evening. Be prepared to show them through your home and property. Sit with them at the kitchen or dining room table instead of the living room. Ask questions.

At the end of your interviews, you should feel confident about one of the people you’ve seen. Call him or her and tell them that you would like them to list your home. Then call the other Realtors® you interviewed, too. They’ll appreciate the courtesy.

NEXT time: THE LISTING APPOINTMENT

Thomas Dunne is a Broker with Royal LePage Performance Realty. He is a father, a martial arts student and a chess player. If you have questions, comments or suggestions, please feel 
free to e-mail Tom at [email protected].