Interview Your Real Estate Agent
Top 10 Questions to Ask a Realtor Before You List Your Troon Scottsdale Home
Not all real estate agents are the same. There is a huge difference in the professionalism and quality of service you will receive between agents.
An agent can cost or save you thousands of dollars
Picking an agent is one of those critical issues that can cost or save you thousands of dollars. There are specific questions you should be asking to select the best agent for the job. It’s critical that you make the right decision about who will handle what is probably the single largest financial investment you will ever make.
1. Are you full time Realtor?
It’s a much tougher real estate market than it was a decade ago. You need a true full time real estate professional – this is not the time to rely on a part-time amateur. The agent needs a professional background and a marketing program that will make your home shine against the competition. All of the members of our team are college educated full-time professionals. This includes sales agents, client coordinator and transaction coordinator. We are full time professionals with high standards of how we do business.
2. Do you specialize in Troon?
Don’t trust your biggest sale to someone who lives and works in the East or West valley but says they specialize in Scottsdale. That is hogwash. You need someone who lives and works in North Scottsdale. Is their office close to Troon? How many days per week are they in Troon? Where do they live? You need a true specialist that knows Troon real estate inside and out, with connections to get your home sold fast. We live and work in North Scottsdale. Frankly, we rarely leave Scottsdale. Our lives and our business are intertwined in North Scottsdale.
3. How many homes do you sell per year? What have you sold in Troon?
Most agents sell fewer than 5 homes a year. Agents with limited sales volume do not have the money and resources to adequately market your home. We are in the top 2% of all Agents in Scottsdale. We are proud of our track record and post our recent sales on our website.
4. Do you have a personal assistant?
Agents with limited sales volume also probably can’t afford to hire an assistant, which means they are running around trying to do administrative tasks rather than concentrating on selling your home.
5. Do you use professional photographers?
Great photos are the most important component of a mls listing. Poor photos will greatly reduce the number of people who are interested in viewing your home. Great photos can help you sell your home faster and for more money. We use only professional photographers who are practically “magicians” at making houses look bigger, brighter and overall fabulous. It is amazing to me how many multi-million dollar listings are on the mls with horrible photos and/or very few photos. The Arizona mls system recently changed to allow unlimited number of photos. We generally post 25-35 photos of a home. The typical realtor will post 6 photos that he took himself. What a pathetic effort these agents are making!
6. What are your online marketing plans for my home?
Online marketing is the single most powerful medium to get a home sold these days. When the market was hot, all you had to do was stick a sign in the yard to attract a buyer. There are far fewer buyers in the market today so it is critical to pick a Realtor who can create a wide net to attract buyers. 80% of all home searches begin online. This is even more important for Troon real estate with the vast majority of home buyers located out of state. You need a Realtor with a strong online presence including:
- Multiple websites for Troon and other North Scottsdale Communities
- High ranking organic and paid search result placement on Google, Yahoo and Bing (go ahead and search for Troon Scottsdale AZ on each search engine to check results for yourself)
- Enhanced Realtor.com listings
- Trulia.com upgraded profile
- Zillow.com upgraded profile
- Multiple Facebook pages for Troon and Scottsdale real estate
- Youtube channel
- Linkedin connections, and more.
If an agent is not concentrating on online marketing then he/she clearly doesn’t understand the effectiveness of this medium over the others. Most “older” Realtors don’t fully understand the capabilities of the internet and how to harness the power of online marketing to get your home sold quickly and for the highest price possible
7. What are the top 3 things that separate you from the competition?
Agents should be able to immediately give you a list of qualities that separates them from the competion
- Education
- Professionalism and Work Ethic
- Excellent Negotiator
- Qualified and professional Staff
- Marketing Abilities
- Connections and Resources
- Specialize in Troon
- Truthful and Honest
- Analytical
8. Do you have a Troon Scottsdale Real Estate Blog and how is it ranked by the major search engines?
Blogs are the single best way to get buyers to your website to see your listings. A good blog, updated regularly can help to sell your home faster. Our Troon blog ranks very high in the major search engines and generates lots of traffic to our website.
9. What happens if I’m not happy with the job you are doing to get my home sold? Can I cancel my listing contract?
Be wary of agents that lock you into a lengthy listing contract which you can’t get out of. You should be able to fire a Realtor if you are not satisfied with their efforts to get your home sold. Our clients are able to cancel their contracts with us if they are not satisfied with the service we provide. Not a single client has ever taken us up on this offer, but wouldn’t it be nice to know you could cancel your contract if need be?
10. Can you provide References?
Any agent worth his or her salt should have previous clients more than willing to give glowing recommendations.
We would be happy to meet with you to interview for the job as your agent. Please call Carmen Brodeur at 1-800-300-0263 to schedule an appointment.
