The Best Real Estate Interview Questions When Selling a House

Are you wondering how to interview a real estate agent and what questions you should ask?

Carefully interviewing a Realtor should be one of the most important things any home seller does when considering selling their home, yet many do not.

This is crucial to understand if you are a first-time home seller in Massachusetts.

Having been in this business for almost forty years, I have found this fascinating.

Many folks will contact a Realtor from any number of sources, including seeing a for-sale sign in their neighborhood, visiting an open house, getting a postcard in the mail, or maybe even a recommendation from a friend or relative.

One problem I have found is that many consumers think all Realtors do the same things to sell homes. This could not be further from the truth!

In most businesses, 80% of the work is done by 20% of the people—the old 80/20 rule. Real Estate’s ratio is mind-boggling: 94% to 6%! That is just a fantastic statistic. Given these figures, is it any wonder why consumers are so dissatisfied?

Picking a lousy agent Isn’t hard to do

It is easy to get stuck with a Realtor who does not do much business or has a great work ethic.

Unfortunately, getting into the Real Estate industry is very easy. Take and pass a Real Estate test, and you will have made it. It shouldn’t be that easy, but that’s how it works.

So, how do you avoid getting stuck with a poor Real Estate agent? Ask great Real Estate interview questions! Trust me when I tell you, these questions will make an unskilled Realtor very uncomfortable.

There is no better recommendation than a track record of success. As a home seller, you will pay a Realtor quite a bit to sell your home. Why not work with a top-producing agent? There is a reason most agents continue to be successful year after year.

In most circumstances, working with a terrific agent does not cost you more than working with someone who does very little Real Estate business. The interview questions below will help determine whether you are hiring a pro!

If you sell a Massachusetts home, you must ask the right questions to avoid getting caught with an underperforming Realtor. See these interview questions below and additional real estate interview questions here. Maximum Real Estate Exposure has some extra things you should ask.

What Questions Should I Ask a Real Estate Agent When Selling My Massachusetts Home?

Are You a Real Estate Agent or a Realtor?

Before getting into the meat of all the questions you should be asking when selling a home, it is crucial to understand the distinction between a real estate agent and a Realtor. They are not the same!

A Realtor is a member of the National Association of Realtors. Becoming a Realtor means taking an oath to follow the code of ethics, which is a strict guide to always doing the right thing. It is all about treating your clients and associations fairly and honestly.

Realtors are held to much higher standards than real estate agents. By keeping this title, they invest back into their business and clients. I have been a Realtor since I entered the industry thirty-eight years ago and am proud of it.

See these interview questions below and additional real estate interview questions here.

Understanding Local Market Trends

To stay ahead in the competitive real estate industry, Realtors must understand the latest market trends. This knowledge helps them make informed decisions and advise clients accurately, ensuring they get the best possible deal, whether buying or selling.

You will want your real estate agent to be confident in their local market knowledge. Without that skill, it will be easy to make mistakes.

For instance, being aware of the current demand for properties in specific locations or the average time homes stay on the market can significantly influence pricing strategies and marketing efforts.

If you are selling by owner, this is where an exceptional agent can come in handy.

Time in the Real Estate Business and Production Level

How long have you been selling real estate in Massachusetts?

Experience is essential but does not necessarily mean that a newer agent cannot be a rising superstar. Many of the other Real Estate interview questions below will help determine this.

However, as with most things, experience brings more expertise. Your experiences as a real estate agent can help you be a problem solver for your clients.

How many homes did you sell last year as a seller’s agent?

This is a critical question! Do you want to work with an agent who sells five homes a year or someone who sells 25? Don’t be fooled by the agent who does very little business telling you you will get better personal service.

That is a bunch of hogwash! There is a reason why they only sell five homes a year. There is nothing more valuable than a track record of consistent success.

When selling your Massachusetts home, you’ll want someone who does the job consistently without fail. It is essential to pick someone who specializes in listing homes, not a jack of all trades.

The difference in skills between a buyer and seller agent is substantial.

What was the average number of days from the original list price to the accepted offer?

Familiarity with various property appraisal methods allows Realtors to price homes accurately.

This is a very telling statistic because it shows how well the agent did their job from day one when they recommended a list price to you. The best agents know how to determine market value accurately.

Don’t get caught up with an agent who gives you an inflated value to get your business. “Buying a listing” is a prevalent thing agents do when competing with other Realtors.

What was the average ratio between the listing price and the selling price?

This question boils down to two things. Pricing the home correctly from day one and the Realtor’s negotiating skills. When selling, it is essential to have an agent who performs at the highest level.

The comparative market analysis the agent gives you should make sense. Does it? Ask how the Realtors you’re interviewing arrived at the value if they don’t explain it.

What kind of market share do you and your company have?

This is not highly critical, but you should at least be working with someone who has some general knowledge of the area and has sold other local homes.

Personal Service to the Seller and Testimonials

Testimonials From Other Massachusetts Home Sellers is Key.

Do you have a personal assistant?

Busy Real Estate agents have a hard time doing everything well on their own. When a Realtor invests the money to hire their staff members, you know they care about personal service.

A Realtor can’t be in two places at once. A helping hand and good teamwork say a lot about a skilled agent.

Can you provide me with at least three recent references?

A good Realtor should be able to provide references you can call. Of course, every Realtor will want to give you a hand-picked list of clients they know will say beautiful things.

Instead, ask them for the last three homes they sold, look up the owner’s names, and call them. This will give you a better picture of the client’s satisfaction level.

Do you have any community involvement?

Realtors who actively participate in their community contribute to its well-being and build a network of potential clients and referrals. Community involvement can range from sponsoring local sports teams to participating in charity events.

This engagement demonstrates a Realtor’s commitment to the community. It fosters trust and rapport with current and prospective clients.

While this isn’t a mandatory requirement, it is an excellent trait for an agent to care about what happens where they live and work.

Internet Marketing and Advertising

A firm grasp of digital marketing in real estate can significantly enhance a property’s reach.

In today’s digital age, an effective online presence is non-negotiable for any Realtor aiming for success. From leveraging social media platforms to optimizing property listings for search engines, digital marketing in real estate plays a crucial role in attracting potential buyers and sellers.

A Realtor with a robust digital marketing strategy can significantly increase a property’s visibility, reaching a wider audience and potentially speeding up the sale process.

How will you market my home online?

This may be one of the most important questions you ask the Realtor! You want to align yourself with a Realtor who understands online and social media marketing.

Over 90% of all buyers find their homes online, so the Realtor you choose should market your home EVERYWHERE!

Do you have a real estate website?

This is an essential consideration when hiring a Realtor. A great agent will invest in a great website that looks fantastic and, more importantly, attracts buyers for local Real Estate searches. Most consumers will type things like the city, state, and the words Real Estate or homes for sale.

You want your home in the spotlight, which can be achieved when the agent you hire understands search engine optimization (SEO) and gets their site on the 1st page of Google for keyword searches buyers most often use.

Do you have a real estate blog to showcase properties?

Like websites, real estate blogs are excellent vehicles for promoting properties. You can create entire blog articles about a single home that showcase its best attributes using multiple photos and descriptions.

Do you use social media sites to market Houses?

Sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter are becoming remarkable tools for Realtors to cast a wider net and reach potential buyers and sellers. With Facebook, you can have your business page to promote your business, including properties you may be marketing.

Do you use video and virtual tours to market your homes?

Video is another important medium that has caught on in recent years. Buyers love to see a video tour of a home they may be interested in viewing.

A video tour can benefit a relocation buyer. The tour used by the agent should be quick to download. Another consideration would be syndicating the video tour to YouTube, which would get much traffic.

Will my home be enhanced on sites Like Realtor.com and Zillow.com?

This is a critical interview question. Real estate marketing is about presenting yourself and standing out from the competition. Including it on the most visible real estate sites is not enough.

The agent should present your home with numerous photos, detailed descriptions highlighting your home’s best attributes, and an embeddable virtual tour. Survey after survey says that buyers looking online skip homes with a couple of photos and no descriptions.

This is a massive piece of marketing! Ensure the agent shows you precisely what your home will look like online. Many sellers do not check on their agents.

Trust me, folks. You would be astonished if you knew how poorly some Realtors market homes.

Do you provide professional photography?

Few things are more essential when selling a home than creating an excellent first impression. Exceptional photography is vital when marketing homes.

It is the first thing a buyer will see when looking at properties. Professional photography makes a significant difference. Looking at houses online makes distinguishing fabulous from lousy photos easy, and buyers pay close attention to this.

Preparing and Staging a Home for Sale

Can you show me how to make my home more marketable?

A Realtor should be able to give you some simple advice on how best to prepare your home for the market. This includes whether or not it would be worthwhile to make an improvement or adequately stage a home for sale.

The general rule on enhancements is to make them when they enhance the saleability or give a significant return on investment. Selling a house as-is is not a good idea. Even minor improvements like decluttering and deep cleaning can help you sell.

AD Whitehurst, a condo specialist with PCBeach.com, offers advice on making a home or condo more marketable.

“In today’s real estate market, enhancing the appeal of your home to attract buyers involves making investments rather than just focusing on surface-level enhancements. When advising sellers, I always emphasize the significance of targeted upgrades that increase the value and desirability of their property without stretching their budget.

Identifying which renovations will resonate with buyers and provide a return on investment is essential. For example, improving the kitchen and bathroom can impact how marketable your home is and its selling price. However, it’s crucial to assess the return on investment for these projects before moving. My role is to assist sellers in navigating this process, ensuring they make informed choices that improve their home’s marketability and financial outcomes.”

Communication and Feedback Throughout the Home Sale Process

Massachusetts Real Estate Agent Communication Skills Are Vital When Selling Houses!

When a buyer calls on my home, will you always be the one they speak with?

It makes sense that the Realtor you hire is the one who speaks with the buyer when an inquiry is made. At many Real Estate offices, this is not always the case.

Often, there is an agent who answers the phone, and they get the lead. This is not ideal if the agent has never seen the home before and the buyer asks specific questions about the property.

How will you communicate with me regarding your efforts?

One of the biggest complaints against Realtors is a lack of communication. You will want to nail down how the Realtor will contact you. Is it by phone, email, or text?

A Realtor should be flexible and work however the client desires. Above all else, there should be regular communication. See Realtor communication skills.

Do you have a feedback system, and if so, how does it work?

Anyone who has ever sold a home wants to know how the showings go. The Realtor you hire should be prepared to call the buyer’s agent after the showing to gauge interest and learn the buyer’s general thoughts.

Most professional agents will use a service like Showing Time to automate the process of showing feedback.

How readily accessible will you be? Do you have a cell phone I can reach you on when I need to?

Real estate is a business in which people should be able to reach the person they hired to sell their home. A Realtor with a phone that can receive email is a real plus.

You want to ensure your agent will take your calls as they come in. For some reason, many agents never answer their phones. This is not a good sign!

Once the offer is accepted, will you attend all the inspections on my home?

A full-service realtor should be present at home inspections, bank appraisals, etc. You are paying this person a lot of money. Make sure they earn it! They are your fiduciaries.

How will you verify that the buyer is qualified to buy my home?

The Realtor should verify the buyer’s qualifications by ensuring a legitimate mortgage pre-approval letter accompanying the offer and speaking with the buyer’s lender.

Without preapproval, you have no idea if the buyer will make it to the closing.

What are your fee structures and why?

Another essential part of interviewing a Realtor is knowing how the commission will be divided.

The Realtor should explain how they get paid and what they do with the money earned. How will the commission be split with the buyer’s agent? The buyer’s agent must be compensated fairly and per local competition.

If I called the owner of your company, would they tell me you were one of the top-producing agents or a middle-of-the-road agent?

In life, you get what you pay for. Why not hire the best if it costs you the same?

Will you allow me to terminate our contract if I am unsatisfied?

This is an important question because a Realtor who is confident they will get the job done should have no problem with a termination clause.

There are some genuinely great Real Estate agents out there. It just takes a little bit of time and effort to find them. Don’t settle for any Realtor who walks through your door, or you will end up disappointed.

Conclusion

Asking a Realtor the right interview questions can make all the difference in making the best selection. When selling your Massachusetts home, you should strive for the best representation.

You may research how to fire a real estate agent when you don’t.