The best way to know what questions to ask your realtor when you’re selling is to simply ask any and all questions. You might think some questions aren’t good, or that you should already know the answers. But, the reason you should ask even those ‘not great’ questions is that you never know where the answers will lead.
In fact, you should even make it a point to ask questions that you know the answers to. It will help you to get the realtor’s point of view, and the answer that you know may have changed due to shifting markets.
5 Important Questions to Ask Your Realtor
If you would still like some advice, we’ve put together a few critical questions that you should know the answers to when selling your home.
1. What Experience Do You Have Selling Home in My Area?
The old real estate adage ‘location, location, location’ is true in many ways. One of them is that just about every location has its nuances and features that can make it a desirable place to live. The more your realtor knows about your location, right down to the street you live on, the better they will be able to make your home more desirable. One tip, make sure any experience they tell you about, or preferably show you, is fairly recent.
2. How Did You Determine the Selling Price You’re Suggesting?
Of course, most home sellers are very concerned about how much they will get for their house. But it’s not enough to only ask about the selling price. By finding out how your realtor decided on a selling price, you get them to reveal the amount of research they’ve put into making their decision. When they give you and answer, look for research into recent home sales in your neighbourhood, and a breakdown of how your house, and its features, compare to those homes.
3. How Will You Market My Home?
Competitive real estate markets, like those in Markham, Richmond Hill and Vaughan, mean you need to use every tool at your disposal to get the best price for your home. You’ll need the standard marketing tactics, including listing your home in different places, including online services; staging your home; creating photos and videos, and advertising.
But, again, you can ask questions that will give you more insightful answers. In this case, ask your realtor about the demographics of the buyers who are more likely to choose your home. For example, will they be young families, people looking to up- or downsize, investors, and or who? Then ask how the realtor is specifically targeting each of those demographics.
4. What Can I Do to Increase the Value of My Home?
Of course, just about anything you do to improve the look or functionality of your home will help it sell. But you only have so much time, and so much budget. Each home will benefit from a specific list of things that will pay off more than others when it comes to getting higher offers for your home. Focus on those first.
5. Do You Have a Moving List of Things to Do?
You might be the most organized person ever, but your realtor does this for a living. Again, even if you have your own list, it wouldn’t hurt to see if you’ve missed anything. Think of it this way: if selling your home and moving to a new one is as stressful people say it is, even a single valuable tip or suggestion can save you a lot of headache and/or heartache.
If you found this post helpful and want more tips for selling your home, check out our post Should You Renovate Before You Sell Your Home.