Many of the same questions, hesitations and strategies connected with seeking out professional assistance in any field whether you're looking for a doctor, dentist, lawyer or accountant all come into play when you're selecting a real estate agent.

Help in chosing Your Realtor Your Broker

This page is for the Seller but also has great information for the Buyer.
1. Information to help you decide what services you need.
2. Show you how to choose which Agent(s) to interview.
3. How to interview, what to ask, and why to ask it, and what to look for as answers.
4. An easy "Check List" to help Score the answers during the interview.

Note: Realtors have many rules that govern them. Here is an example of just one, the of the National Association Of Realtors Code Of Ethics.

First we need to figure out "who" to interview.

If you've never sold a home before, the real estate world can seem intimidating... especially if you don't know where to start. Perhaps you're hoping that the real estate fairy will come and whisk you through the home selling process. Unfortunately, he or she overbooked and will not be available to help you. Instead, you're going to have to get out there and find a suitable agent. Don't hire your Professional by way of "Chance". You're probably full of questions. Don't panic yet. We have the answers.

Second What "kind" of service do I need? Read: Beware: There's a huge Difference Between Discount Brokerage, Unbundled Fees-For-Services, and Full-Service Broker Services

A Full Service Broker is always recommended. It's just to important when selling your home to depend on a Discount Service. But beware of people saying they provide full service while in reality they really do not. If they discount their commission, then they probably discount their service and this may lead to a discounted selling price and a liability for you and your family.

Where do I look for potential Agents or Canidates?
It's almost scary how there are Realtors all over the place. From bus benches to shopping carts, home mailings, bill boards, newspapers, magazines, television, radio, and the list goes on and on. In fact, this makes it that much tougher to figure it out. Everyone is a "Top Producer" and everyone is the "best". Here's where real homework is going to pay off in real money made, lowest liability, and piece of mind.

Do you consider a Friend or a Friend of a Friend as your Broker? "Remember the old saying, A way to loose a Friend is to "Hire" a Friend" and this also goes for a "Friend of a Friend". You may consider them but they must earn the opportunity through your interview process.

Some people find an agent through a family member or friend. This may seem as a reliable approach. But you might not always find the most compatible assistance this way. The "stress" when buying or selling your home is extremely high! And in a transaction as important and intensive as selling and buying a home, relationships including a Friend of a Friend can turn into a court case!! A "Professional" environment is always recommended.

A referral from a family member or friend doesn't guarantee a perfect match. Just think of something as simple as a movie or restaurant recommendation. Your close friends rave about a new Chinese food place downtown so you check it out. Could this possibly be the same restaurant they were describing? Mediocre service. No chopsticks. Bland flavors. It's the same restaurant. Same cook. Same waiters. Just different perceptions.

Regardless of how you get an agent's name, it might be worth interviewing at least a couple more before you make a final decision or at least arming yourself with some criteria to go over with any agent who has been recommended to you.

Looking for an edgea better way? It's kinda simple. Aren't you looking for a Buyer? So, find an Agent that has a "Quality System" that generates "Buyers".

About 60% of your possible buyers come from Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The Fact Is, that most realtors depend on this percentage to sell your home and they depend on the efforts of other Buyer Agents to bring in the offer. However, the balance of 40% of possible buyers that are out there are a very important exposure, and Exposure Sells Real Estate! Find an Agent that has a "System" that pulls from these sources and you have found "The Edge" and that's the "Magical Difference" of finding the best Agent for the job. Remember Exposure Sells Real Estate and the results will sell your home quicker and sell for more!!

If you know an agent, or one of your friends raved about theirs you should think about contacting them first. Remember, this must be NOT be a Friend or a Friend of a Friend. It must be Referral based on past performance and past satisfaction.

Go out to Open Homes and see who is working. These Agents are working where the Buyers are. These are the Agents you want to definitely consider. If they do open houses every week as a normal business plan, they will already have a large database of Buyer clients! Exactly what you are looking for...Buyers!

You can also use a search engine through your web browser such as Google. Select your city, state, and ask for Realtors. take a look and compare. Look for not the "templated" web site. Anyone can "buy" a web site. You are looking for the web site that reflects the Agent. A web site where he or she had really participated in it's construction and layout.

Over 96% of all Buyers look at the Web for Listings. Your Listing Agent Candidate "MUST" have a Buyer oriented web site with an enabled system that can automatically e-mail Buyers of new listings. Some Agents may have as many as 50 buyers (not just "hits") using their web site every day! Maybe looking for your home?

Do you want a Realtor or a Broker Realtor Check what license your Candidates have here and if there is any bad notices about them.
There is a real difference.

A High - Tech Agent is another important edge.
Have Another Edge - Local Market Share - More Exposure?

Should I look for someone with a local (small) company or a big franchise? The answer again is very simple. "Exposure sells Real Estate". You must choose Candidates that work locally but have National and even World-Wide Access and Exposure and especially, Sign Recognition!

Here is a story

There was a family traveling and they were not familiar with the area they were in. The kids got hungry, and ask their Dad if they could now have lunch. The Children wanted hamburgers. As driving down the main road of town, they see two hamburger places. One was called "McDonalds" and one was called "The best hamburgers in the world". The family voted to go to McDonalds. Why?? They were familiar with McDonalds, lunch was important, and this made the family comfortable to know what they were going to do, what to expect, and how they were going to be treated. To the Buyer, the same can be said with "Sign Recognition." This is the same when considering a small local company to a big franchise company. On top of this the larger company has a much larger advertising budget including television and radio. Remember the rule, "Exposure Sells Real Estate".

After all, everyone else does it! A Listing Practice Called "Buying Your Listing!!

Becareful. It's the oldest "TRICK" in the book. Have you  just met an agent engaging in a questionable sales practice called "buying a listing."  He "bought" the listing by suggesting you might be able to get a higher sales price than the other agents recommended. Most likely, he is quite doubtful that your home will actually sell at that price. The intention from the beginning is to eventually talk you into lowering the price.


Relocation is a major part of the 40% exposure rule I spoke about above. Relocation companies prefer to work with World-Wide companies for obvious reasons. Buyers and Sellers prefer franchises because of their large networking capabilities and advertising budgets (Television, Radio & etc.). For example, Re/Max Realtors put all their listings on the Internet, matches the criteria to buyer's requests, and then emails them when homes are listed meeting their criteria. They have over 150,000 Agents around the world! It's hard to beat that kind of "Market Share"!!(See more about Relocation)

Once you've interviewed all of the potential agents, narrow the list down to about three. Then ask these three agents to put together a formal presentation for you. "This presentation should include a comparable marketing analysis (CMA). The analysis lists the selling prices of houses similar to yours and is used as a guide for you and your agent to determine how to price your place. The presentation should also include an overall marketing plan for the house."

The Interview - How do I choose "the one" My Listing Broker? Here are some questions to ask. Please take a look at my Grade your Realtor Check List ...It's a great way to test and "score" the Agent's responses and help in knowing who is the best Real Estate Broker. I would suggest printing this "Check List 2" and using it during the interview process. However, remember many Agents will say what they think you want to hear. Be careful, "how" you ask the question. Try not to lead them to what you are looking for. If you have a problem in printing, please call or e-mail me and I would be happy to mail or fax a copy to you. Contact Riley

Here are a few more things to think about.
When you're looking for an agent to list your home, be wary of anyone who suggests they can get an unreasonably high sales price or says what you want to hear. An agent might use a high listing price to secure a contract, only to seek a lower price later, after little traffic is generated at the initial price level. Meanwhile, you've lost what can be the most critical time period in selling a home the first 2 weeks immediately after it's listed. You can never have that "New" market feeling again...It's gone.

Again, check on experience, education and productivity. How many years have you been in the business? Just because someone's been in the business for a long time doesn't necessarily mean that they're good. You don't want an agent that's just been skimming by for the past 15 years. Did you know that 83% of all Realtors that started out in their careers three years ago, are gone today! The turn over is unbelievable! This is according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It's no wonder why sometimes the industry has serious problems and is always having lawsuits. A word of caution is advisable.

What professional designations do you hold? This is where all those letters at the end of a name (John Doe, GRI, CRS, ABR) come into play. These are designations that indicate an area of expertise. It means that the agent has put in extra time to learn their trade and has earned the designations through experience and passing tests. The letters, however, are only significant to you if they mean the agent is more qualified in the areas you need. An ABR, for example, is great if you are looking for a buyer's agent, but as a seller, you will be more interested in a GRI, or a CRS. Ask what the letters mean and how the designation benefits you as a seller.

How many sellers do you currently represent and more importantly, how many buyers are you working with? Normally a busy Realtor is who you are looking for. You don't want an agent who has 50 bajillion clients because then they're going to have less time to spend on you. Find out what kind of staff they have to support the number of listings they have. However, someone with only one client is not necessarily a good thing.

How many properties have you sold in the last year? What type of properties were they? Whatever they answer this question with will really help you compare them to other agents. Ask how long, on average, it took the agent to close these deals. You probably want your home to be sold quickly. Just as you found out what types of homes the agent specializes in, find out the price range of homes they generally sell. If they specialize in selling million dollar homes... your condo will probably very low on this agent's totem pole and priority list.

If you're a buyer does the agent offer buyer agency? More and more buyers are deciding they want full contractual representation on the same level as the seller. Be sure to discuss buyer agency with any agent you're thinking about working with. For a buyer this piece of mind but for the seller...it shows the Agent takes his job seriously.

Can you provide me a list of references? Check with the agent's former clients and see if they were satisfied.

Do you work on your own or are you part of a real estate team? If the agent is a part of a team, this can work to your advantage but who do you "contact". Are you going to be "handed off" to people you do not know? Communication is critical in marketing your home and in closing the escrow it becomes even tougher. Your contact person should always be your Broker!

If you are "handed off" to another person, say an assistantFind out who you would contact for all phases of marketing and closing. A good agent will make sure that she or he is always available to you, so that you aren't left hanging for answers, or getting response calls from people you don't know. If you find you are always talking to an assistant and never to the Agent you hired, you may be understandably frustrated and receiving service in an inadequate manner that may cause a multitude of problems . Remember you deserve working with the Broker you hired, not his or her assistants.

Is the agent part of a national network? This can be especially important if you're selling in one city in preparation of moving to another. Your selling agent can refer you to a professional, compatible agent in your destination city and keep in close contact with that agent so both your selling and buying efforts are closely coordinated.

Does the agent seem primarily interested in sharing expertise and market knowledge in an honest and straightforward manner? Or does the agent seem more interested in telling you what you want to hear or spend a lot of effort trying to market additional products and services? The worst time to secure the services of a "yes-man/woman" or an agent who seems to have a bit too many irons in the fire is when you're entering a transaction involving something as important as your home. You need straightforward, reliable information even if it's not necessarily flattering regarding the home you're selling or very encouraging regarding a home you think you might want to sell or buy.

At the end of the interview, ask the Candidate if there anything else you'd like to tell me about yourself, your company, or your career? This is where you give the agent an opportunity to get all warm and fuzzy with you. A "bonding" moment, if you will. You want your agent to be someone you can trust, and feel comfortable working with. Really examine their personality.

Based on the answers the agents gave at the interview, and the way their presentation looks, you should be able to confidently choose an agent. It's a bit of work, but in the end, it will ensure your happiness with the chosen agent.

If you have any questions, please feel free to call me direct at 925-200-3908 or contact me via e-mail Contact Me.

Obviously I'd like to have the opportunity to be your Real Estate Broker. Please consider my unique services and give me a chance, you will not be disappointed.

Seller's Home Preparation Guide