CHOOSING A REAL ESTATE AGENT

RED FLAGS TO WATCH FOR BEFORE CHOOSING A REAL ESTATE AGENT

• The agent does not know much about the infrastructure of a house (ask pointed questions) (ie: types of furnaces, suggest alternatives to fix a cracked basement)
• The agent immediately charges a lower commission than the standard commission rate (this may impact how motivated the agent will be when selling your home versus other listings)
• The agent works part-time (part time effort may impact part time results)
• The agent does not keep up to date with courses or education or regulatory requirements
• The agent is not trained in negotiation for purposes of maximizing your return on the property
• Check with the Broker of Record of the Employed Realty Brokerage Office and ask if this agent has had any violations, fines, penalties and sanctions imposed by RECO -regulatory body
• The agent does not address all of your questions during the listing appointment to your standards and is more concerned with future appointments
• The marketing strategy of the agent is basic and therefore the exposure that your property receives may be limited
• Check other listings of the real estate agent to make sure the listing is presented professionally and the agent has used spell check, correct grammar and punctuation (sometimes spelling mistakes can cause a real estate deal to fall through)
• The agent agrees with a high listing price that you suggest without doing their own due diligence using a comparable market assessment (comparable properties)