Selecting the right real estate agent to handle the sale of your property is an important decision.

After all, this is the professional who will use their expertise and market knowledge to guide you through one of the most financially and emotionally significant milestones in the journey of life.

Choose well, and the process should be stress-free, with the agent guiding you through all stages of the selling process to achieve a successful outcome.

Choose poorly and your property could spend longer on the market than it should and fail to achieve the outcome you hope for.

But what questions should you ask in order to select the right sales agent to suit your needs? Here’s a quick guide to the top 10 questions to ask real estate agents when selling…

Choosing the right agent is like a job interview

Choosing a real estate agent is a little like a job interview, where you’re in the role of an employer seeking the right person to suit your needs.

This person should be willing to listen to what you want to achieve, keen to work with you to attain the right outcome, and clear about what you can expect when you work with them.

The key attributes you’re looking for are experience, industry skills, a personality you can work with, and someone you feel you can trust.

With that in mind, here are the top 10 questions to ask to help you determine if you’ve found the right real estate agent to sell your property.

1. What recent sales have you had in this area?

This question is all about determining your real agent’s experience in your specific suburb and area.

Their answer should offer an insight into the sales they have achieved, the prices these properties attained, and the marketing strategies they used to create interest in the property.

The key things you’re looking for in their answer are local market knowledge, professional skill, experience, and success rate.

2. What do you believe my property is worth?

The price your property might sell for will obviously be a major question for any seller, but it’s important your real estate agent walks through exactly how they came to that figure.

That’s because pricing your property correctly is critical to a successful sale. If it’s priced too low, you will miss out on the full amount you might be entitled to, but if it’s priced too high it may deter potential buyers and fail to sell.

It’s important to bear this in mind when selecting an agent, because the promise of the highest possible price may not be all it’s cracked up to be.

Instead, ask your prospective real estate agent how they came to that price, the likelihood of achieving it, and how long they believe it will take to sell.

3. What sale method do you believe best suits my property?

There are numerous ways to sell any property, and some are better suited to particular properties than others.

Options include:

• Auction – where the sales campaign is short and culminates with prospective buyers publicly bidding for the property on auction day.
• Private treaty – where the property is advertised with a specific sale price.
• For sale by tender or expression of interest – where buyers put forward what they believe the property is worth in writing.

Each method of sale has both advantages and drawbacks, but it’s important to understand why an agent might be proposing selling your property in a particular way.

It’s also important that you feel comfortable with the method of sale they are proposing.

4. What type of buyers will you be marketing my property to?

Different properties are also suited to different types of buyers. Some are ideal for first home buyers, others might be better suited to downsizers, while others still will be attractive to upsizers looking for a little extra room for their family.

Any good agent should be able to quickly define the type of buyers who will be interested in your property, and there may be more than one type.

This then allows them to tailor the marketing to these buyers and advertise your property in a place and way that will pique their interest.

5. How and when will I hear from you?

If you’re entrusting your most valuable asset to someone, you want to know that they are committed to the job and will be in regular contact with you to let you know what’s going on.

This question helps sets the tone for how they will communicate with you, when, and how often.

6. How will you market my property?

Marketing a property is all about ensuring as many prospective buyers as possible are made aware of the property for sale and how it might suit them.

As it’s designed to draw initial interest in the property, it’s critical your agent is skilled in this area.

Asking how they intend to market your property helps you determine where your property will be advertised, the target type of buyer or buyers the agent will be marketing to, and what will be involved in showcasing your property to the right people in the right place.

7. What makes you different from other agents?

This question gets to the heart of how the agent sees themselves and also helps clarify the type of service they will offer.

The answer will help you determine whether the agent is the right professional for you.

8. Do you have a database of buyers?

Most agents will have worked with an array of people in the past and if they’re particularly good, they will have kept in contact with them.

This is known as their database of contacts and it’s an important element when it comes to selling a property.

If an agent has a solid database of buyers who have indicated what they want from a property, the agent will likely reach out to them first if your property suits their needs in a bid to secure a successful and swift sale.

In other words, they may well already have potential buyers lined up.

9. Please tell me about a challenging sale and how you achieved a successful outcome.

Again, this question gets to the heart of exactly how the agent operates and the type of service they provide.

The answer should indicate they can change tack when required and will take all possible measures to achieve the right outcome on your behalf.

10. What fees do you charge?

As we indicated earlier, selling a property is also a financial decision, which means you should be aware upfront exactly how much it will cost, including the cost of the agent’s commission, any marketing costs, and any additional expenses that might be required to bring your property up to par.

But make no mistake, it’s not about working out which real estate agent charges the lowest fees or costs the least. Instead, it’s about determining whether the value they provide as trusted professionals equate to the fees they charge.

Wondering how imsold can help?

If you’re looking for an agent who will consistently work with you to achieve your goals and who believes sales is about true service, you can reach out to Andrew Johnson and the imsold team here.