Buying your first home can be very exciting, but also a little bit overwhelming and scary! In the Richmond Virginia area, we have a lot of Realtors to choose from, so how do you know who you want to work with to help you with what could probably be your biggest financial decision?? You could ask friends and family for a name, you could drive through neighborhoods and get the names of the Realtors who have homes for sale in those neighborhoods, you could go to an open house, or you could go on the internet and try to find someone!
However you choose to find the Realtor you will be using, once you do sit down and meet with them for the first time, you will probably want to ask them a lot of questions! But what questions do you ask? Here is my list of 25 questions to ask the Realtor you are interviewing!
- How long have you been a Realtor?
- How many homes do you close each year?
- Are you a Full time or Part Time Realtor?
- Do you work with buyers AND sellers, or do you specialize in buyers OR sellers?
- Will I work with you or a team?
- What happens if you go out of town or are unavailable?
- How do you help buyers compete in this market?
- Can you explain to me the homebuying process from start to finish?
- What is your availability during the day? During the week?
- How are you going to help me determine an offer price and other concessions to ask for?
- How do you help me with inspection findings? Low Appraisals? Other issues?
- What are closing costs?Who pays them?
- Should I talk to a bank before looking at homes?Why?
- Do I REALLY need a Realtor to help me buy a home – there is a lot of information online?
- Do you have designations?If so, how do these help me?
- What’s your process to help me find the right property?
- What 3 things separate you from other Realtors?
- What if I want to buy the home of a seller you’re representing?
- What if I want to buy the same home as one of your other buyers is interested in?
- How do you resolve conflicts in general?
- What is the first step I should take?
- Are there any grant programs available to me or other down payment assistance programs?
- How does your brokerage assist me with my home search?
- How will you communicate with me?
- Do you have any other advice to give me?
As you can see, there are a lot of questions to ask your Realtor! After all, the Realtor you choose to assist you with your house hunt is part of your team and you need to feel confident that they will help you! Buying a home in 2020 is tough – homes are going under contract quickly and many times with multiple offers!
I am sure that these 25 questions will lead to other questions! But the answers to these questions will go a long way towards making you feel comfortable with the Realtor you choose to help you find your new home!
If you do have any questions, feel free to let me know. I am happy to help!
