Comments on: 15 Questions to Ask When Hiring a Real Estate Agent

By: Choosing the right buyer’s agent | Real Central VA

Choosing the right buyer’s agent | Real Central VA — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 11:17:06 +0000

[...] Here are some questions to ask when hiring a Realtor, courtesy of Redfin. [...]

By: Hank

Hank — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 04:41:17 +0000

Personally I don’t respond well to potential clients with 15 or more questions regarding my qualifications, so right of the bat I’m a poor fit for your hypothetical client.
It is important to remember that we don’t choose our customers but we can and should, choose our clients.
I will however suggest another single question, that will often be very informative when answered; why do you sell real estate? There isn’t a correct answer, but I have heard a lot of wrong ones.

By: Online Real Estate Tools Mini-Hall of Fame + Home-Buying Class Powerpoint | Redfin Corporate Blog

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 22:30:24 +0000

[...] an agent:we talked about how to choose an agent, and why we publish a history of every deal each of our agents has [...]

By: Tom Vanderwell

Tom Vanderwell — Tue, 27 May 2008 01:09:57 +0000

Hey Chris,

I like your list. Any chance I could repost it as a “guest post” on my blog some time?

Check out http://www.straighttalkaboutmortgages.blogspot.com and let me know what you think.

Thanks!

Tom Vanderwell

By: Chris Glew

Chris Glew — Fri, 23 May 2008 13:19:32 +0000

Ardell-
It’s understandable you don’t want to give a list of all your past customers. But if you’re unwilling to provide references, how’s a home-buyer to know they can trust you?

By: ARDELL

ARDELL — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:07:55 +0000

“This is very similar to the Ultimate Question, about whether you would recommend a friend”

Not really Glenn. Asking someone if they would use the agent again, is not the same as whether they would recommend them to a friend. Most people don’t want to be responsible for their friends’s success or failure in a real estate transaction. Nor do they want to be blamed if the friend is unhappy.

That’s why blogging is so valuable to the public. Friends can refer Friends to their agent’s blog. Then the friend makes his own choice after having read the blog.

Many of my clients come to me this way. “Someone at work told me to read your blog.” vs. “Ganesh told me to call you.”

By: ARDELL

ARDELL — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:02:03 +0000

Chris,

#15 sucks. I would NEVER give people my clients phone numbers to call, so that I could get more business. I would not “use” them in that manner, nor do I respect any agent who does.

I turned a customer away last year sometime who had a big list of 15 Questions…one of which was a list of all my sales and the phone numbers of my clients. I never even met with those people. Why would I give a complete stranger my valued clients’ phone numbers? Most of those numbers are private numbers and cell phone numbers.

I told them if you find an agent who will hand you all of their client’s phone numbers…RUN!!! They obviously don’t understand the meaning of “fiduciary”.

By: Glenn Kelman

Glenn Kelman — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:48:32 +0000

This is very similar to the Ultimate Question, about whether you would recommend a friend… great advice Ardell, as always. Thanks for the feedback.

By: Chris Glew

Chris Glew — Thu, 22 May 2008 13:44:09 +0000

Ardell-
Thanks for your comments. Your three questions about trusting an agent are great. We’ll definitely work those into #15 in our list.

By: ARDELL

ARDELL — Thu, 22 May 2008 06:48:33 +0000

Oops. I guess that’s three questions

Did you trust your agent?
Do you still trust them now that it’s all over?
Would you use them again?