Finding the right agent for you can feel overwhelming. When considering who you want to work with in, you have to think beyond just likability. Don’t get me wrong, feeling like you “click” with your agent is important since you may be spending A LOT of time together. However, what’s really more important is your agent’s experience and knowledge of the DC market. Here are seventeen questions to consider asking a real estate agent before you enter into an exclusive relationship.
- Could you tell us a little more about yourself? What is your background?
- What neighborhoods or parts of DC do you specialize in (if any)?
- Who is your average buyer? What is the price range of homes you normally help people sell/buy?
- What is your percentage breakdown of working with buyers or sellers?
- How do you provide customizable service to each of your clients that you are working with?
- Do you work alone or with a team?
- How many homes did you sell as a buyer’s agent in 2020?
- How many pocket listings/off-market/pre-market homes did you show/sell in 2020?
- How does your commission work? (How do you get paid? What are we responsible to pay you? Do you have an administration fee?)
- How would you describe the DC real estate market? What trends are you seeing over the past few years and over the past 12 months?
- What would you say to people that say DC is not a great place to buy a home in terms of an investment?
- What is your strategy for writing a winning contract? How will you make us stand out?
- Do you primarily work with specific lenders or have objections with us working with a specific lender?
- What is your position on pre-inspections and do you have an individual that you work with? How many of your buyers in 2020 did a pre-home inspection?
- How has your way of selling homes changed in the age of COVID?
- What would you past clients say are your strengths?
- What haven’t we asked that you think we should know about you?
