1
What makes you different from the other Realtors? Why should I list my home with you?
Today's market is far tougher than it was a decade ago, so a generic answer is a warning sign. A strong agent points to specific marketing systems and programs that make your property stand out against every competing listing. Ask exactly what this broker offers that others do not, and how those tools help you sell in the least amount of time, with the least hassle, for the most money. In my case, the answer is the Video Narrated VR Animated Online Showing, a system my marketing team builds for every seller so buyers can tour your property in full before they ever pick up the phone.
2
What is your track record and how does it stack up against other Realtors?
Many agents boast about being number one for this or that without ever quoting how many homes they have actually sold. Success in real estate is selling properties, so ask every agent you interview for their real numbers. You may be surprised to learn that most Realtors sell fewer than three homes a year, and that low volume makes full-impact marketing impossible. An agent who cannot fund proper advertising cannot give your home a high level of exposure, and they certainly cannot afford to hire an assistant or a marketing team. That leaves them running around trying to do everything alone.
3
What are your overall marketing plans for my home?
When a home does not sell, the reason is almost always price or marketing. Weak marketing forces you to drop the price or accept an offer for less, so the quality of the plan and the exposure it creates is critical. Ask how much money and effort each agent spends marketing the homes they list compared to the others you are interviewing. Before you sign anything, you should know everything the real estate professional will do for you, and just as importantly, everything they are not prepared to do.
4
How many buyers are you currently working with?
In a high-tech industry, a serious agent should know how many buyers they are working with and, within reason, how many potential buyers exist for your property. That answer comes only from advanced online data mining, machine learning, and predictive analytics that track buyer activity across the market. Ask to see the list of likely buyers and the data behind it. Be cautious of any agent who claims they already have a buyer for your home, because it is often just a tactic to win the listing first. It is exposure to all the buyers, not one, that earns you top dollar. Even a genuine buyer can still purchase your home when it is listed elsewhere with a strong plan.
5
Do you provide floor plans that give the square footage and show where measurements are taken?
Agents often quote a vague size range, such as 1,500 to 2,000 square feet, instead of the actual measurements. Buyers want to know the true size of the home they are considering, and they want to see where each measurement was taken so they can plan furniture placement. That level of accuracy is only possible with professional, detailed floor plans. Kevin Flaherty includes precise floor plans on every listing so buyers can picture their own life in the space.
6
Do you offer an online showing that is narrated?
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Even a buyer standing inside a home can miss the features that add real value, and questions still go unanswered. Being in the house does not reveal the age of the shingles or whether the water heater is owned or rented, for example. A buyer's understanding of a home drops dramatically without narration. Narration combined with full multimedia is the only way to make sure every feature and benefit, including location advantages, is highlighted to buyers online. Skip this step and your listing risks looking overpriced and getting discounted.
7
What in your marketing plan gives the online buyer a clear understanding of a listing's colours, composition, layout, and feel for the size of the rooms?
Not every buyer can read a floor plan and picture what it is truly like to stand in the home. For a listing's presentation to count as a real online showing, it has to make the buyer feel as if they have already been there and been told the whole story. The only way to create that feeling online is a virtual environment blended with real footage of the house. The finished product should require no special equipment or skill from the viewer, and it is called the Video Narrated VR Animated Online Showing.
8
What kind of reporting do you provide me with respect to activity on my listing?
Typical agent feedback is nearly useless, things like "too many stairs" or "they didn't like the colours." What you really want is data on levels of interest. When a listing has its own custom web page, statistical tracking shows how buyers behave: the first thing an interested buyer does is linger on the page, and the second is return for another look. A strong real estate professional gives you a weekly report showing how many people visited the page, how long they stayed on average, and how many came back a second time. That same insight becomes invaluable when an offer arrives and you need to decide how to handle it. Kevin Flaherty reviews these reports with sellers every week so pricing and negotiation decisions are driven by real interest, not guesswork.
9
What happens when you're busy and a buyer wants to see my home?
A one-person operation has plenty to juggle and simply cannot be in two places at once. When a serious buyer asks to view your property and the agent is tied up, that showing can slip away. With a team sharing the workload and the clients, showings happen at the buyer's convenience, which means they are far more likely to actually take place. Kevin Flaherty runs a full team specifically so no qualified buyer is ever turned away because someone was unavailable.
10
How many different places online will my listing appear?
Many agents want you to believe the MLS is the whole market, but listing in only one place mostly reduces the agent's own workload and cost. The more relevant places your home appears online, the more exposure it gets, and faster. More exposure means more money in your pocket. Ask any agent to prove exactly where your listing will appear, because placement matters as much as the number of locations. The best teams employ a dedicated syndication and search engine optimization expert to make sure it is all done properly.
The bottom line. Evaluate every agent's answers to these ten questions honestly. The professional who gives your home the most exposure, fastest, is the one who will get you top dollar with the least inconvenience. With over $500M sold across the Orangeville and Caledon area, that is the standard I hold my own team to every day.
