I have been in Real Estate for almost over 20 years and I am often surprised how little I am asked when being interviewed by a prospective seller. In most cases, people’s homes are their largest asset, so one can easily conclude that who they chose to sell this asset should be interviewed at length. In most cases, a seller receives a name of a realtor from a friend, or sees a sign on their street etc, and then ask that Realtor to list their home. By not asking the right questions, and interviewing more than one Realtor, the seller is potentially leaving thousands of the dollars on the table. Below I have outlined three questions every seller should ask before hiring a Realtor, but typically don’t.

What is your Marketing Strategy for my home?

There are a lot of moving parts when listing a home for sale, and not all homes are created equal. Every property requires a unique marketing plan when it comes to effectively getting you to the closing table. This includes what needs to happen to prep the home in regards to staging, yard, paint etc? What type of photography is best suited to highlight the property? How can we best expose the property on the internet and on social media outlets? What price will push the numbers as far as we can without out-pricing the market? A great Realtor will not only have a plan in place that is unique to your home, but they will have the right people in place to help you achieve the best outcome.

What is your list to sales price ratios and average days on market?

The key to getting the most amount of money for your home is to sell it quickly before it gets stale. Every year as a team we get together and look at what our average list to sales price ratios and our average days on market were for that selling season. This helps us look at where we can improve but also what has worked that we can continue to implement. A great Realtor will know this information when asked. This will immediately give you an idea of what you can expect, with some predictability. Our team, for example, list to sales price ratio is 101% and our average days on market are 14. This lets a prospective seller know, that not only do we sell our listings quickly, but we have a proven track record of getting above list price for our clients.

What will you be investing into my property to help sell it?

In the modern day of HGTV Realtors can no longer stick a sign in the yard and expect a house to sell. That is not a winning strategy. To maximize profit Realtors need to come along side their clients and have some skin in the game. We, on average, invest $2000 to $3000 of marketing dollars into every single listing. This includes photography, complimentary staging, social media, internet campaigns and more. Every seller should have confidence that whoever they hire is going to invest in their property to get the job done.

So now that you know what to ask, take the time to interview more than one Realtor. Compare the answers you receive and make an informed decision. Every seller deserves the most amount of money for their home, and a Realtor who has a strategy, a proven track record and budget to implement when selling your property.