4 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Agent

Selling or buying a home can add some extra stress in your life, so why not hire a real estate agent to help you navigate the process? There are a lot of benefits with working with a qualified agent. They are equipped to answer all your questions, be your buffer and help negotiate the price, and will be there to show your home to potential home buyers. In addition, real estate agents have access to a Multiple Listings Service (MLS) which allows them to view homes that were just listed.

Real estate agents also have a great professional network of contractors, inspectors, landscapers, and other agents to assist with getting your home in sellable shape. If you are a person who enjoys buying fixer uppers, your agent can help you find qualified and reliable professionals to repair your home.

Did you know, in Utah, agents are required to take 120 hours of approved real estate classes along with a state exam? Before hiring an agent, here are 4 questions to ask them:

References. Request list of the homes they've listed and sold in the past year, along with contact information (references). You can call a few of the contacts and get a sense of what their experience was like.

Environment. Ask the agent if they work solo or part of a team. If they work with a team, find out what aspects of the job do they handle. If they work solo, what is their current workload like?

Strategy. Find out how the agent is planning on marketing your home. Will they be holding open houses? How many often are they planning on having them and how many do they plan on having?

Communication. Find out how accessible your agent will be because most likely you’ll have questions and concerns throughout the process. What hours does the agent work and can you call them outside the office? Will the agent be contacting you through email or by phone?

For a full list of questions to ask your agent, check out this website.