Choosing the best agent to sell your property is the second most important decision in real estate, after choosing the right property to buy!

The number one mistake when choosing an agent is being too casual in your choice - just ringing a couple of agents won't be enough to make an informed decision. Choosing by the highest valuation or lowest commission might sound like a smart move, but how do you know their valuations are achievable? Why are their commissions so cheap?

Top 15 questions to ask agents

  1. What do you think my property is worth? How have you come up with that figure?
  2. How does my house present? What can I do to maximise the sale price?
  3. What’s the best method for selling my property? Offers over, fixed price, auction? Why?
  4. What’s an approximate time frame?
  5. What’s it going to cost me?
  6. Why should I hire you?
  7. How long have you been working in this area?
  8. What comparable homes have you (not your whole office) sold in this area lately?
  9. What’s the state of the market?
  10. How long is it taking you to sell well priced listings at the moment?
  11. What marketing strategy do you suggest? Why?
  12. How much will be spent on marketing? Why?
  13. How much traffic does your website get?
  14. What will you do to introduce buyers to my property?
  15. Do you have a list of recent vendors I can speak to?

And lastly, (I know I said 15, but this one is important)… how do you manage enquiries?

If your agent is prominent, they will have many buyer showings and listing appointments during the day. Will everyone in their office be equipped to answer basic questions about the property?

In our office we understand that people don’t want to wait to find out information. They want to know now. For us, it’s important that all sales staff can answer enquiry on any property. This could be your premium buyer.

10 Ways to Avoid Hiring a Dud Agent

  1. Ask someone you know who is looking to buy in your area – who provides the best service & follows them up consistently.
  2. Look at their listings and their sales record. Who are the agents active within the area? Look at quality of results, not just quantity. Make sure the sales they are quoting are their own sales (and not just those of the office pooled together!).
  3. Where are their listings? Local is always best– you want someone who knows the area and the buyer profile. Don’t sacrifice local knowledge for a small percentage of buyers from elsewhere – who are often dragged across and don’t really want to be there.
  4. Test their follow up. Call them after hours & if you don’t reach them see how long it takes for them to call you back (I encourage our agents to turn off their phones at family time but it’s vital to get back to people promptly). Also, send them a buyer inquiry through realestate.com.au and see how long it takes them to get back to you (if they do at all!).
  5. Likewise call into the office and see how you are assisted if your agent isn’t there.
  6. Visit their office & scope out their work environment – does it look how you want to be represented?
  7. Ask them if they will reduce their fees – those that cave in are poor negotiators with little confidence – good agents know their worth & protect their own fees (if they can’t protect their fees how they can protect your price).
  8. Ask them for the last 5 sales in the area like yours & quiz them on the detail – this knowledge is vital.
  9. Ask them what is their negotiation strategy to maximise price – isn’t that what you’re paying them for?
  10. Ask them for 3 improvements you can undertake or styling you can do to increase your price – can they value add?

Thinking of selling?

Contact our Sales Department now on 02 9807 8899 or email [email protected].

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