10 Questions to Ask Your Real Estate Agent

1. Are you a full-time professional real estate agent?

Yes, I am a full-time licensed real estate agent. I have been practicing real estate for 30 years, and have been a licensed agent in Ohio, living and working in Dublin, for the past 25.

2. Do you have an assistant, team or support staff to handle different parts of the transaction?

Yes, I am the lead agent of The Alfriend Group which consists of two personal assistants who provide administrative support; a marketing specialist who handles our print, video and social media marketing; and three buyer agents who are available to show homes every day of the week.

3. Do you have a website that will list my home?

Yes, our website is www.AlfriendGroup.com which provides all the listing information on your home as well as professional photographs and video slideshows. There is also a way for buyers to instantly schedule a showing through our showing service. Further, we market all of our listings on the Multiple Listing Service and all real estate sites like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com. We also utilize social media outlets in our marketing strategy for maximum online exposure.

4. How will you keep in contact with me during the selling process, and how often?

We will reach out to you utilizing your preferred method of contact. Whether you would like to receive calls, text, emails, or all three; I or a member of my team will be available for any questions, and will be proactive in reaching out to you with pertinent information and feedback. For our Buyers, we will email you any new listings that come available, the day they hit the market; and, we will follow up to set up showings on any homes you would like to see. For our Sellers, we provide a detailed listing activity report every week, and follow up with a call to discuss any alterations that may be needed.

5. What do you do that other agents don’t that ensures I am getting top dollar for my home.

My expertise and knowledge come from three decades of working in real estate. Through the years, I have developed close relationships with my fellow agents, area developers, lenders, and other real estate professionals. These relationships along with my extensive knowledge of the area, allow me provide an extremely high level of service and wealth of information that is valuable for any home buyer or seller. New agents flood the market daily offering discount services, and just as many leave the industry having failed to thrive in it. To obtain and, more importantly, maintain success in real estate for an extended period of time, requires ongoing education, an ability to adapt to changing market conditions, and superb customer service.

6. Will you give me names of past clients?

Interviewing an agent can be similar to interviewing someone to work in your office. Contacting references can be a reliable way for you to understand how I work and whether or not my style is compatible with yours. I have a list of former clients who have given me permission to share their contact information as a professional referral, and would be more than happy to share them with you.

7. Do you have a performance guarantee?

Yes, we will let anyone of our client’s out of a listing contract or buyer agent agreement if they are not satisfied with our performance. We would not force anyone to work with us that is uncomfortable doing so for whatever reason. Transitioning from one home into another should be an exciting time, yet it can be full of hard work and stress; so, we would never want to add any undo hardships to this process.

8. How would you develop pricing strategies for our home?

We provide an in-depth market analysis of your home and area, do a pre-listing walk-through to assess the conditions that may affect the ideal list price, and we set up showings on all the comparable homes listed in your area to do an in-person analysis of the true market value of the competition.

9. What will you do to sell my home?

I have an extremely strong team of dedicated specialists that will market your home using every venue available. We have professional photographers take exterior and interior pictures of your home for our print and online advertising. We have paid accounts with all the lead real estate websites like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com. Our marketing team promotes your home on all of our social media outlets, and I reach out directly to area professionals and my large list of buyer leads. Being a top agent in the area, I often find ready and willing buyers for homes before they make it to the market.

10. On average, how long does it take for you to sell your listings, and for how much money?

From 2014-2016 my listings sold in just 41 days on average! The average in Central Ohio for the same time period was 61 days. My average sale price was $332,502, which is about 99.2% of asking price. In comparison, the Central Ohio average was about $187,000, or 97% of asking price.