The expert you hire to represent you, in negotiating and purchasing or selling a home, can make a huge difference in the overall experience and the outcome you want.
Pro Chris Webb shares insider tips and questions you should ask before selecting a real estate agent to represent you, whether you are buying or selling.
These questions often reveal information that will confirm or invalidate your confidence in a real estate agent. Let’s be honest, more transactions equal more experience and more practice problem solving and managing the home buying and selling processes. Trust me, you don’t want to be part of an inexperienced agent’s learning curve – it can be expensive and frustrating!
What services do you offer? What exactly will you do for me as my agent? This will vary depending on if you’re buying or selling. It’s important to know what you are paying for and the agent’s responsibilities versus your own.
1. Can your explain the entire home buying or selling process before you sign any type of representation agreement?
They should be. This is the most important service they offer, so be sure to check with them to understand their process and what to expect.
2. If you are selling your home, the agent listing your home, are they going to:
- Help determine the best price to market your home?
- Advise the homeowner in preparing the home for listing and showing?
- Enter the home into the MLS database to gain maximum attention?
- Market the home to other agents and brokerage members of the MLS?
- Market the home to potential buyers using the best available methods?
- Supervise and/or schedule home showings?
- Report to the seller any interest and feedback from buyers?
- Present all offers and suggest negotiation strategies?
- Coordinate the process from signing the contract to closing the deal, including inspections, preparing documents and other items necessary to close?
3. For a buyer’s agent, at a minimum they should do the below. Will they:
- Help the home buyers to locate and view homes that meet their requirements?
- Advise them on neighborhoods, pricing and market conditions?
- Write and negotiate offers?
- Schedule and attend inspections?
South Carolina law allows real estate brokers to practice single agency (representing one party in the transaction), dual agency (representing both buyer and seller in a transaction) and designated agency (the agent representing the buyer and the agent representing the seller both work for the same broker). As a consumer you can express, through a written listing agreement or buyer agency agreement with your chosen broker, which form(s) of representation you will allow the broker to engage in to avoid misunderstandings and potential conflicts of interest.
4. If you aren’t doing a good job can I terminate our agency agreement? How?
The representation agreements most commonly used in South Carolina (maintained and distributed by South Carolina REALTORS(r) association) do not provide the consumer with the right to unilaterally terminate their listing or buyer agency agreement before the expiration date input on the form. Ask the agents you are interviewing if they would be willing to add a termination clause to your agreement (you might get an interesting reaction!).
5. How much do your services cost me?
This is important for both sellers and buyers, as commission rates and fees charged by brokers can vary widely. It’s typical for sellers to pay a commission to their listing broker, then have their broker share (co-op or co-broker) commissions with the buyer’s broker (so the buyer doesn’t pay their agent directly), but this isn’t always the case, so be sure to get a detailed explanation from your agent.