1) Are you a full-time or part-time agent? There are some great part-time agents, however, what happens if someone wants to show the home while your agent is at their other job? If that situation arises, what is their plan to handle that situation? Buyers want to look at homes on THEIR schedule not the work schedule of your agent at their other job.  Full time for 12 years

 2) What education do you have? The more education indicates that the agent is seeking a greater degree of professionalism. The more educated the agent the better your representation. The quality of your representation should not be dependent on the lack of education of your agent. Notice that the question is not, "How many years have you been in business?" What if your agent has been in the business for 15 years, but works part-time as an agent, has only done 6 transactions in the last 3 years? I think you get a better indication of their activity by looking at their production. Has your agent been in the business for 20+ years but does not have a website?  Bachelors of Science from the University of Nebraska. Real Estate Broker (less than 5% of agents ever achieve), with continuing education in Real Estate Law, Real Estate Finance, Real Estate Ethics, Residential & Commercial Real Estate, Fair Housing, Property Inspection, Real Estate Appraisal, etc...I was awarded with " Achievement in Professionalism" in 1999. I was also awarded the designation of Real Estate Innovator for my unique abilities to accomplish goals that others would simply give up on.

3) What is your cancellation policy if I am not satisfied with your marketing efforts? Are you stuck with that agent even if you are unhappy? If you are not happy, all I ask is you let me fix what is making you unhappy.  If I don't, can't, or won't, then you can cancel your listing at any time.

4) How long is the listing contract? Most sellers do not want to be in a long protracted listing contract. If the home is priced and marketed properly then it will sell. 64% of the homes sell within 60 days. If it has not sold in that time then there is a problem. You will need an agent that researchs the market and implements the changes needed to get your house sold. The best time to sell a home is in the first 8 weeks. An average listing period is 90 days. Another bonus for you here is I enter my own listings in the MLS and can get market time (Days on Market) to start over.

5) Do you have any testimonials feedback from past clients that I can see? at www.TLC-RealEstate.com or I can email you some.

6) Can I have a written copy of your marketing plan? They should have a plan! You should look at the marketing strategy, where are the efforts focused. Newspaper and print material were successful years ago, but not successful today. Will the home be advertised on www.Craigslist.org? If you get a blank stare from the agent, then hire another agent. The average age of last year's homebuyer is 34 years old. The average age of the newspaper reader is 52. Why advertise in a place where it is ineffective? Well, the average age of Realtors in our area - 55.

7) What commission do you charge AND more importantly what amount/percentage does the Buyers Broker receive? Commissions are NEGOTIABLE, and you should never hire an agent solely on the commission or the agent with the highest listing price. You dont pay a commission unless the house sells. Time is money, you want your house to sell preparing your house to be shown and making it available for showings is not a walk in the park you want results. How much will that agent cost you in the extra mortgage payments. You should know that the commission is X% and the buyer's agent will receive Y%. You should also ask if there is a "Broker Administrative Fee"? Even if they charge you X%, will they still tack on a another couple of hundred dollars for a broker administrative fee on TOP of the commission. Is it legal, yes. Is it right? Depends on when you find out about it. Is it buried in the listing agreement? It is not a bad idea to ask for a copy of the listing agreement before you interview the agent. 

8) Will my home have a virtual tour & a slide show? Newspaper and print magazines are on the way out. It is not enough to be on the web with a photo, the quality of many photos I see advertised are unprofessional and not selling YOUR house (they might be selling your competitors house) the pictures are under/overexposed, blurry, picture of the wall, pictures of the furniture, bad lighting, etc. A picture is worth a 1,000 words, your agent needs to know what sells houses, which pictures will actually sell YOUR house. It is difficult to take exceptional pictures of houses/rooms. You need a specialized camera and lighting equipment as well as a trained photographer to do this. These pictures should also be updated / retaken if improvements are made or the season changes.  Our pictures of your home will SELL your house, they are taken with a specific camera & special lens to capture rooms of a house and lighting equipment.  Pictures are retaken if improvements are made or the season changes.

9) Can I see an example of one of your current listings on the MLS? View the pictures, there should be 10 quality pictures on the MLS. Read the public remarks section, does the description make you want to see this house? Check the agent remarks, lots of agents simply copy & paste the public remarks here or leave this blank (how excited are they to sell it?) Did they list the square footage, room descriptions, etc there is a lot of information here and a lot of agents dont list relevant information (they are skipping a step a very important step). Whoever you hire, ask to see your listing on the MLS (you can view your listing at www.TLC-RealEstate.com, search for homes, address search).

10) Do they offer staging advice? Your agents experience and caring should be evident here. You do not need to hire someone else for this, your realtor should know what sells houses, he or she shows buyers houses constantly. The realtor should be listening to what sells houses, what are the buyers concerns? Why didnt they like that house? The only time you should hire a staging company is to sell a vacant house.

11) Do they do OPEN Houses? Open Houses are definitely not the best way to sell your house, but it can happen. You should just discuss this with your realtor to see if they will do them if you want them.  We do OPEN Houses, we do them when they make sense. Our goal is to SELL your house as fast as we can, the faster your house sells the better the sales price.  We look out for your best interests always, our clients love us which makes our job fun, and in return we get return business and referrals.

12) Do they provide directional signs? These are signs that direct buyers to your house, they should be large and professional looking. Do they have their number on the sign? should the potential buyers call, you want them talking to the realtor you hired, not the duty agent, your realtor should know the details of your house and create enough interest to get a qualified showing. Agents who do duty, are usually newer agents without much going on and they don't know your houseI have listened to numerous duty agents on the phone when I was an Associate Broker at Century 21. It is much better if potential buyers call the listing agent directly for many reasons...  All the signs have my cell number, I answer my phone!  On the rare occasion I do not answer, I call them back right away. 

13) Do they have a website on their sign? Most buyers do not want to talk to agents. Is it easy to find your listing and does it show the price? Most agents want the phone to ring so they leave off the price. No price irritates most potential buyers.

These are some direct questions. You are hiring someone to represent you. If you were going to court would you hire an attorney based on their refrigerator magnet or their cherry pie recipe? No, you would want to hire them based on their competence. Real estate is no different, you want to hire someone based on their competence to price it right, market it effectively, and to represent your best interests.

Sincerely,  Tari Lynn & Kent