What to Ask a Real Estate Agent Before Hiring Them to sell Your Home

There are many great Boca Raton and Palm Beach County homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (561) 395-8418 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

What to Ask a Real Estate Agent Before Hiring Them to sell Your Home

 Thanks for joining us again. Welcome back to the Palm Beach Premier Real Estate video blog. This week's topic is 7 questions to ask when interviewing a real estate agent. These are 7 questions to ask when you are trying to decide the best agent for the job of selling your home for top dollar, which is ultimately what you want. 

Not all Realtors will have the skills and experience you're looking for, and what better way to identify which real estate agent to represent you than to ask some specific questions that can help you decide. Here are the questions:

1. Do you have a distinct, proven marketing plan to get a home sold?
 They should be sharing with you a delineated plan of action in writing and review it with you step-by-step.

2. Are you a full-time real estate agent or a part-time agent?
 Think of it this way: If you have surgery, would you want the surgeon who only operates 2-3 times a year or would you feel more comfortable with a physician who does this surgery every day of the week?

3. What kind of communication can I expect throughout the process?
 The key here is finding the agent that is going to give you weekly feedback so you can have peace of mind throughout the process.

4. Do you have people that I can call that you've done business with?
  All great agents should be able to provide you with references and testimonials that you can independently verify.

5. What types of online marketing will you do?
 Be sure to ask them what websites they will syndicate your listing to. Check to see if they have a strong online presence so you can be assured of strong online marketing. 90% of home buyers begin their search online before reaching out to work with an agent.

6. What steps will you take to secure a buyer for my home?
 For example, do they do what we do, which is prospecting every day. We talk to folks about buying and selling real estate all day. This is what you want and should expect your agent to do.

7. What differentiates you from other agents?
 You aren't looking for a passive agent who things they can simply take your listing and wait for it to sell. You are looking for an active agent who knows how to get homes sold and goes out every day looking for buyers and sellers.

So there you have it- 7 great questions to ask an agent when interviewing them to sell your home. In the meantime, if you are thinking of getting your home on the market, give us a call or e-mail. We look forward to speaking with you!

Know the Importance of Getting Pre-Approved

There are many great Boca Raton and Palm Beach County homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call us at (561) 395-8418 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Know the Importance of Getting Pre-Approved

The importance of getting pre-approved before beginning your home search cannot be underestimated. Today, Matt Weaver of PMAC Lending is with us to explain the difference between pre-qualification and pre-approval, as well as how you can get a leg up on the competition before beginning your home search. Here are some of the highlights:

• Pre-qualification is done verbally, over the phone. While credit information is pulled, the income documentation and asset information are typically not gathered.
• Pre-approval is also done over the phone but there are some huge differences. The application is given over the phone, and all the essential materials are gathered, validated in their entirety, and you are pre-approved based on all the items gathered.

You are probably wondering: what exactly are the essential materials? The paperwork you need to prepare depends on your employment situation. Here are the basics: 

• For a standard wage-earner: W-2 forms, tax returns, pay stubs, and bank statements are typically the documents needed.
• Depending on how your employment and income breakdown works, we may need to contact your employer for further verification of employment.

The difference between Matt Weaver's PMAC Lending and typical lenders is huge. A typical lender gets verification of employment well into the loan process, which is not the right way to go about it because issues that could have been solved from the beginning serve only to prolong the process. PMAC Lending has the most extensive pre-approval process in the industry, so you can be sure you have a leg up on other home buyers and are ready to go when it's time to shop for a home.

As always, if you are interested in refinancing your home or need a pre-approval before beginning your home search, give us call. We'd love to assist you with the process!