The Twin Cities real estate market has been difficult the past 5 years and statistics show that there are now approximately 20% fewer Realtors than there were during the up market.  That still leaves 15,000+ agents out there to choose from so a question that comes up often is “What should someone ask when interviewing a Realtor?”  Home sellers are entrusting a large financial transaction to whomever they choose so this choice shouldn’t be taken lightly.  The following 2 big questions should help you differentiate a large number of Realtors from each other.

Question 1 – Are You A Full-Time Realtor?

The National Association of Realtors estimates that more than 60% of Realtors are either part-time or hold a 2nd job and that number has been increasing with the slow down in the economy.  While there may be some legitimate reasons to hire a part-time agent the majority of those that aren’t full-time go out of their way to keep their status hidden from potential clients.  Reasons for hiring a full-time Realtor include:

• Availability – Marketing a home doesn’t fit neatly into a certain set number of hours.  Potential buyers and their agents can call any time of day for information about a property that might turn into an offer.  Being available and proactive to market a home is extremely hard to do if a person has priorities other than their clients.  In addition, an agent often needs to be available on short notice to address issues or negotiate on deals and that’s hard to do if they are busy running a cash register at Walmart or taking care of their young children.
• Education – When a Realtor isn’t working with clients they spend a lot of time improving both their skills and knowledge of the market.  In Minnesota, a Realtor needs to obtain just 15 hours/year of training to maintain their license.  An active, full-time Realtor spends countless hours each week getting smarter about using technology, honing their skills and most importantly, staying up to date with the current state of the housing market.  Knowing the market is critical when it comes time to set expectations with clients or negotiate on offers.
• Success & Track Record – Most sellers want to hire someone who gives them the highest chance of a successful transaction and one of the best ways to ensure that is to find a Realtor with a track record of success and a good list of recent clients to use as testimonials.  A full-time Realtor is much more likely to be able to provide that.  In fact, many agents are not full-time because they don’t have a track record of success to offer.

Question 2 – Do You Have A Full-Time Staff With Specialized Skills?

More and more agents seem to be cutting corners and trying to take on all aspects of selling a house instead of using specialists and administrative help.  While there may be some Realtors with all of these skill sets, each of these tasks require someone with very specific knowledge in order for a home to be marketed most effectively:

• Staging – HGTV has a very loyal viewer base with many TV shows dedicated to the importance of staging a property for sale.  A home that shows well gets a higher price and sells faster.  While it’s quite possible that some Realtors may possess staging skills at a certain level (they know what generally looks nice or can hand you a list of ideas) it takes a specialist who knows design, color and consumer psychology to really make a home show its best.  The condition of a home and its emotional connection with a buyer is critical to getting an offer.  Finding a Realtor who has these skills or brings them in by using a specialist means more money to a seller.
• Photographer – The current statistic is that 93% of all buyers use the internet to find a home.  You get 10 pictures on MLS to tell the story of your home and attract enough interest to get them to come see it in person.  Just go out to any home search site and you can see listings littered with bad pictures.  While everyone can take a picture with their spiffy, small digital camera it is imperative that someone have specialized equipment (like wide angle lenses & tripods) and a photographers eye to get the most out of your 10 pictures.  That’s why hiring a professional photographer will often mean better pictures and more showings.
• Marketing – Some may think that sales and marketing are the same thing but they are actually quite different.  Getting your property marketed in its best light on numerous websites, brochures, mailings and other new social media outlets takes both time and an eye for what looks good.  While many agents may be able to do this using some of the tools and templates that exist it is often best left to a specialist.  Many of the larger real estate teams will have a person to do this with a marketing background.
• Technology – The use of technology in real estate is becoming more and more important and knowing how to use it in order to better communicate with clients and market a property is a big differentiator.  There are still a lot of Realtors who don’t know how to use social media, promotional websites and the latest hardware gadgets (like a Smartphone).  Again, these are skills that can be hired as either a full-time assistant or outside resource to better serve clients.  Lack of communication is one of the biggest complaints that sellers have about their Realtors.

Conclusion

After you’ve made the big decision to sell your house there are 2 other primary decisions that must be made that can make all the difference.  One of those is hiring the right Realtor (and the other is setting your price).  By asking these “2 Big Questions” when interviewing Realtors you will go a long way toward helping yourself find an agent that gets you to a successful transaction.

Feel free to contact me 7 days a week to see how I'd answer these important questions - bill.wallace@results.net or 651-338-0355