How to Choose a Realtor

The conversation, the questions to ask, and why they matter

You do not need a Realtor to sell your home.

Wait by the phone long enough and somebody will call asking whether you have a house to sell. You can sell to an iBuyer, a “we buy houses” company, or an investor who left a card at your door.

So if selling a house can be that easy, why use a Realtor at all?

I think there are two big reasons.

First, to help keep you out of trouble.

Real estate transactions involve contracts, disclosures, deadlines, inspections, financing, title issues and plenty of opportunities to make an expensive mistake. A Realtor is not an attorney and cannot guarantee that you will never have a legal problem. But having an experienced professional watching the transaction gives you another set of eyes on the process and helps identify problems before they become bigger ones.

Second, you need an advocate.

You need somebody on your side whose job is to help you navigate the process: pricing the home, marketing it, negotiating, explaining what's happening, dealing with inspection and appraisal issues, coordinating with the other people involved and laying out your options when something goes wrong.

And something almost always comes up.

I sometimes describe a real estate transaction as a hoop-jumping contest.

The interesting thing is that even after years in this business, occasionally a transaction gives me a hoop I've never seen before. The difference experience makes isn't that you've seen everything.

You haven't.

It's knowing when something doesn't look right, knowing where to start looking, knowing who to call and being willing to do the research necessary to figure it out.

Finding a Realtor is easy. Picking one isn't.

Florida has an enormous number of real estate licensees. You will have no trouble finding somebody who wants the job.

Your cousin.

The face on the bus bench.

The team you hear on the radio.

A referral from a friend.

Google.

Facebook.

The agent whose sign you keep seeing in the neighborhood.

Finding one is easy.

The hard part is figuring out whether they're actually good at real estate.

Because some of the traditional ways we choose Realtors can fool us.

Search online and you're likely to find people who are very good at internet marketing.

That doesn't necessarily mean they're good at real estate.

Interview several agents and you'll probably meet somebody who is an excellent salesperson: likable, polished, confident and a great communicator.

That's valuable.

But it still doesn't necessarily mean they're good at real estate.

You can ask how many years they've been in business, how many transactions they've completed, their sales volume and what company they work for.

Those are all fair questions.

But I think there's a better place to start.

And you can do it before you ever call them.

Look at their work

Pull up their current listings and some of their recent sales.

Don't just count them.

Study them.

Look at days on market

How long do their listings take to sell?

If everything sells almost immediately, I'd want to understand why. Maybe they're excellent at preparing and pricing properties. Maybe they're operating in an extremely hot price range. Or perhaps they're consistently pricing aggressively enough to generate immediate sales.

If everything sits for months, I'd want to understand that too.

Don't draw a conclusion from one listing.

Look for patterns.

Look at the photographs

This is one of my pet peeves.

Look at the first five photographs.

Do you see five different reasons to be interested in the house?

Or do you see three pictures of the front, followed by two slightly different pictures of the kitchen?

Buyers scroll.

They're making decisions incredibly quickly.

If the house has a gorgeous pool, waterfront view, remodeled kitchen or spectacular backyard, why is the buyer discovering it in photograph number 27?

Your first photographs should make somebody want to see the rest.

Photo order tells me something about whether an agent understands how buyers actually shop online.

Look at how they price

I still see homes priced at $299,900 or $349,900.

That made perfect sense when we were advertising houses in newspapers.

Today, buyers search databases.

Suppose somebody searches from $280,000 to $300,000.

Your $299,900 house appears near the top of their budget.

Now suppose another buyer searches from $300,000 to $320,000.

Your $299,900 house may miss that search entirely.

At $300,000, it potentially participates in both search ranges, depending on the search platform and filters being used.

Ten dollars or a hundred dollars isn't going to convince somebody to buy a house.

Visibility might.

Ask the agent why they price the way they do.

There should be a reason beyond, “That's how we've always done it.”

Look at the MLS details

This one drives me crazy.

Pet restrictions.

Lease restrictions.

Room sizes.

Flood information.

HOA information.

Features.

If important fields are blank or everything says “buyer to verify,” ask why.

Buyers don't only browse houses anymore.

They filter them.

Suppose somebody has a dog and searches for properties that allow pets.

If your listing doesn't contain the information the search system needs, the buyer may never see your house.

The seller never knows that buyer existed.

A listing isn't simply an advertisement anymore.

It's data.

And bad data can cost you exposure.

Now call the Realtor

Here's how I'd start the conversation:

“I am shopping for a Realtor and I'm going to talk to several before I choose. Would you mind if I interview you?”

A professional shouldn't have any problem with that.

Then ask:

“What areas do you specialize in?”

Real estate is local.

I want somebody who understands my area.

What's being built?

What roads are changing?

What's happening with flood insurance?

What neighborhoods have HOAs?

What communities have unusual restrictions?

What developments are coming?

What local issues could affect value?

A Realtor doesn't have to know every answer from memory.

But I want somebody who knows the area well enough to recognize which questions need to be asked.

Then I'd ask something extremely open-ended:

“Tell me about your real estate business.”

And stop talking.

Let them answer.

Don't tell them what answer you're looking for.

Listen to how they think.

What do they emphasize?

Marketing?

Negotiating?

Volume?

Customer service?

Local expertise?

Technology?

Their team?

Their experience?

Problems they've solved?

You're not just listening to what they say.

You're figuring out how they see the job.

And if it doesn't sound like a fit, that's okay.

“Thank you for your time. I don't think we're a match, and I have several more agents to speak with.”

That's it.

No guilt.

You're hiring somebody to participate in one of the largest financial transactions of your life.

You're allowed to interview them.

Then test them

If I like what I'm hearing, I'm going to ask questions that are harder to answer with a sales presentation.

“Tell me about a property that didn't appraise. What did you do?”

Not:

“Do you know how to handle a low appraisal?”

Everybody says yes.

Tell me about one.

What happened?

What did you do?

How did it turn out?

Then:

“Tell me about a bad inspection.”

Again, I want a story.

What was wrong?

What did you recommend?

What was negotiated?

Did the transaction close?

Did the buyer walk away?

What did you learn?

Then I'd ask:

“Tell me about a deal where you advised your client not to go forward.”

I love this question.

I want to know whether this person is willing to lose a commission when walking away is in the client's best interest.

Then try a local problem.

“If we had a zoning, permitting or code-enforcement problem, would you know where to start?”

Or here in Florida:

“How would you investigate whether there has been sinkhole activity near a property?”

I'm not necessarily testing whether they can recite the answer.

I'm testing whether they know how to find it.

Because after enough transactions, you learn something important:

Experience isn't knowing every answer. Experience is recognizing the problem and knowing how to get the answer.

Ask about communication

This may be one of the most important parts of the interview.

Ask:

“How quickly do you normally return calls and texts?”

Then pay attention to what actually happens when you contact them.

I don't expect somebody to answer every call instantly.

They may be with another client, showing a house, negotiating a contract or sitting at a closing.

But do they respond?

And how long does it take?

Communication matters tremendously in real estate.

A buyer can be sitting in front of your house right now.

An offer can have a deadline.

A lender may need something today.

An inspection problem can require a decision.

A Realtor who is consistently difficult to reach can become a real problem.

Don't just ask whether they're responsive.

Test it.

Ask who you're actually hiring

This matters particularly with teams.

Ask:

“Who will actually handle my transaction?”

Is it the person sitting at the listing appointment?

A buyer's agent?

A transaction coordinator?

An assistant?

A team member?

There's nothing wrong with a team. Some teams are excellent.

But know who you're hiring and who will be doing what.

Who negotiates?

Who answers questions?

Who deals with inspection issues?

Who follows up with the lender?

Who is my primary contact when something goes wrong?

You should know before you sign anything.

Ask how they get paid

Don't be embarrassed.

Ask.

“How are you compensated?”

“What exactly am I agreeing to?”

“What services am I receiving for that compensation?”

If you're a seller, I think there's an even better question:

“What are you going to do that affects my net at closing?”

Because the cheapest Realtor isn't necessarily the least expensive Realtor.

And the most expensive Realtor isn't necessarily the best.

You're trying to determine who is most likely to produce the best outcome for you.

And then ask my favorite question

At the end of the interview, ask:

“What haven't I asked you that I should have?”

Then be quiet.

That's the test.

You're hiring an expert partly because you don't know what you don't know.

A good Realtor should answer your questions.

A great Realtor should help you discover the questions you didn't know you needed to ask.

One last thing: Do they listen?

This doesn't show up on a résumé.

If you're a buyer and you tell the Realtor you don't want a flood-zone property, and twenty minutes later they're sending you flood-zone properties, they're not listening.

If you absolutely need a two-car garage and they keep sending houses with one-car garages, they're not listening.

If you're a seller and your biggest concern is timing, but all they want to discuss is price, they're not listening.

A good Realtor needs to understand the transaction.

A great Realtor needs to understand you.

Because the right strategy isn't the same for every client.

One seller needs every possible dollar.

Another needs certainty.

Another needs to close in thirty days.

Another needs enough time to find their next home.

One buyer wants the absolute best price.

Another has been searching for eight months and has finally found the house they want to raise their children in.

Those situations require different strategies.

So don't just pick the best salesperson.

Pick the best advocate.

Pick somebody who understands the market.

Pick somebody who understands your type of property.

Pick somebody who can explain complicated things in plain English.

Pick somebody who will tell you something you don't necessarily want to hear.

Pick somebody comfortable saying, “I don't know, but I'll find out.”

And pick somebody with enough experience to recognize when something doesn't look right.

Because here's the thing:

You're not really hiring a Realtor for the day everything goes right.

Almost everybody looks good on that day.

You're hiring a Realtor for the day something goes wrong.

Randal Jenkins
727-409-4663 | RJ409home@gmail.com