Advice
Posted in: Selling a home

Questions to ask a REALTOR® when selling your home

Questions to ask listing agent

When selling your home, you should prepare a list of interview questions to ask prospective REALTORS®. This will help ensure that you receive professional representation, but it will also help you find a good personality fit so that you can feel comfortable throughout the sometimes stressful experience.

If you're selling your home, one of the first questions you should ask a Realtor is how he or she will market your home. Realtors have access to a variety of marketing resources, including online home listings and other connections, which can aid sellers in finding possible buyers.

Understanding how a Realtor is paid as well as what they charge is also important. Though homeowners can sell their property by themselves, sources like The Learning Channel (TLC) recommend paying a Realtor for their expertise, real estate knowledge and market knowledge.

It can be useful to ask a Realtor how he or she will communicate with you as well. Do you prefer email, text, phone or Facebook? Your Realtor should be willing to keep in touch via the method you choose at the frequency you prefer. Also, find out whether the Realtor has an assistant and how many properties they currently represent so that you will know how much attention they can dedicate to you and your needs. There are many details to keep track of when buying or selling a home, so you should allow the Realtor to take care of the work, but make sure they keep in touch and meet your expectations.

Status Definitions

For sale: Properties which are available for showings and purchase

Active contingent: Properties which are available for showing but are under contract with another buyer

Pending: Properties which are under contract with a buyer and are no longer available for showings

Sold: Properties on which the sale has closed.

Coming soon: Properties which will be on the market soon and are not available for showings.

Contingent and Pending statuses may not be available for all listings