Buyer Beware: Insider Secrets You Must Know Before Buying a Home, author Carla Cross lists the sixteen questions all buyers should ask to qualify agents. Here's this excerpt from her book, published in the spring of 1998 by Dearborn Financial Publishing, Inc., Chicago. Agents, as you read these questions, ask yourself how you would answer these. In this atmosphere of buyer sophistication, it's in your best interests to assure your answers put you in a competitive position. It's a trend: Buyers will be increasingly tough qualifiers. Start now to hone your skills so you win the buyers you deserve.
Now, the excerpt. Cross is speaking to buyers here:
“Besides helping you choose a good agent, using this questionnaire lets the agent know you're serious about your choice, and you're a buyer who expects a high level of service. Now, let's look at the questions. I'll point out what to look for in each answer.
1. "Is this your full-time career?" You obviously want someone who treats real estate sales as a career, not an avocation. I don't recommend you work with a part-timer. What is a part-timer? In my opinion, anyone who devotes less than forty hours a week to selling real estate. 2. "What percent of your income is derived from residential real estate sales?" You are looking for someone who derives most of his income from residential sales, not commercial sales, property management, or some other source of real estate income. Why? You want an agent who specializes in selling homes. 3. "How much time, on average, do you spend a week on residential sales?" The average agent spends 50 hours a week at work. You want someone dedicated to the business, ready to work with you when you have time. You don't want to fit your schedule into a part-time agent's availability. 4. "How many buyers do you work with at once?" Be wary of the high-producing agent who may not have time for you. If the agent tells you he works with as many agents as he can find, you'll know he's not choosing his buyers carefully. On average, good agents work with no more than six to eight buyers who will buy in the next one to three months from them. 5. "How much time will you have for us?" Although you want an agent who's available when you want to look at homes, you also want a successful agent. Finding the balance between the two is your job. A reasonable amount of time would be availability to tour homes once to twice a week. 6. "What percent of your transactions come from listings? (That means the agent represents sellers, marketing their homes to other agents and to the public). From sales?" (That means, the agent is selling homes to buyers like you). You want someone who sells enough real estate in a year to be well practiced. In my opinion, anything less than eight sales to buyers (not listings sold) in a year isn't enough to qualify to be my agent. (Some agents' business is heavily slanted toward listing homes. They're not as interested in you as a buyer). 7. "What areas do you specialize in? What price ranges? What kind of buyers?" Get a sense whether this agent knows enough about your needs to really provide service. If he says he'll show you homes in the entire state, run the other way. You want an agent who has sold homes to other buyers like you, so that agent has identified with your needs, and is interested in helping buyers like you. Some agents, for example, won't work with first- time buyers, while other agents specialize in helping first- time buyers. 8. "Will you work with other buyers in the same price range at the same time you're working with us?" Some agents who represent buyers will not do this, because it puts their buyers in competition with each other. To avoid this situation, a good buyer's agent will refer you to another buyer's agent. 9. "What are your sales strengths? Have you taken courses in negotiation? How do you hone your sales skills?" Listen to determine whether this agent is learning new communication and negotiation skills continually by taking courses such as the Dale Carnegie Sales Course. Or, whether he believes that one sales course taken five years ago prepared him for the competitive world of real estate sales today. 10. "Are you a member of the Realtor association?" About half of all real estate licensees nationally are Realtors. That means they join the professional organization for real estate salespeople, the National Association of Realtors, and pay their $300 dues annually. Realtor members abide by the Realtor Code of Ethics, take more educational courses than licensees, earn more money than licensees who are not Realtors, and, generally exhibit a higher level of professionalism. I recommend you work with a Realtor. 11. "Who would you represent in a transaction? Why?" Is the agent going to represent you? If not, why? Listen to see how the agent explains agency choices. In the next chapter, we'll explain your agency representation options. 12. "How will you assist us with research, financing, negotiations, and follow-up before and after closing?" Listen as the agent explains how she works. Does it sound organized and well-thought out? The agent should describe how she will search out homes for you, how she will tour with you, and how she will strategize with you prior to your making an offer on a property. If the plan doesn't sound well-thought out, keep going to the next candidate. 13. "Tell us about your company and office. Do you have part-timers? Do you have minimum performance standards? Is it tough to get hired? Do you have on-going education? What's important to your company and office?" Your agent should be stating solid business practices, and, through his actions, should reflect the business values of his office. Also, you may have to work with another agent in the office, or the broker. Do you sense this would be an entirely different experience from working with this agent? In other words, you may be talking to the only competent agent in the office! One of the biggest surprises you could get is when you have a complaint with the agent or company. Now's the time to find out how complaints are handled. Ask the agent about procedure. Does the office and company have a process for handling buyer complaints? Ask the agent how that works. Many offices and companies have no planned, formalized process. So, if you have a complaint, you have a challenge even in getting someone's attention! 14. "Do you expect loyalty, or do you work with anyone?" Does the agent take enough pride in his work that he refuses to work with buyers who commit to him? Good agents work only with buyers who they trust. Loyalty is the foundation of that trust. 15. "Do you use criteria to choose buyers you work with?" How choosy is the agent? Good agents are careful who they work with, for they're working for long-term referrals, not one sale. A competent agent works only with those they've qualified financially, and those they feel are motivated to purchase. In addition, they work with people with whom they want to have a long-term business relationship. 16. "Will you expect us to look at homes on our own? If so, why?" Good agents don't just give buyers a list of homes to see, and then write the offer after the buyer has found the home of his choice. Instead, they stay with the buyers every step of the way, to assure buyers get the information they need and see properties right for them. Only in a very fast market would a good agent give you a list of homes to see on your own. After all, you should be relying on the judgment and the comments of the agent as you both tour together, to give you information to make good property choices. Evidence You Should Get From The Agent To Make A Good Decision. In addition to asking the questions above, I recommend you gather other evidence of an agent's qualifications: A Word To Agents: Don't just tell buyers about your qualifications. Show them. After all, we believe what we see, not what we hear. Buyers are wary, and they should be, of empty claims and hot air. Step into the age of non-manipulative, consultative sales with a fully-prepared visual presentation stating your qualifications to be of excellent service to buyers. You'll cement your career for the next decade.
