Important Interview Questions to Ask Prospective Realtors
Interviewing a Realtor to Sell Your Investment Property
When it comes time to sell or exchange your investment property, the best real estate investment advice we can give you on the subject is to interview more than one Realtor as not all Realtors are created equal. It’s amazing to us how many Realtors know so little about Selling or Buying investment real estate. If you have a true “Investment” property – meaning a property that either would not appeal to a homeowner or, could only be classified as an investment property, you really need to scrutinize any prospective Realtors to list your property for sale. Selling an investment property requires knowledge of the world of investment real estate. Here is some solid real estate investment advice: consider the following topics and inquire of a Realtor during an interview process for your investment property:
- How many INVESTMENT PROPERTIES have they SOLD in the past, representing the Seller?
- Do they know the importance of a SCHEDULE E in helping to market a property?
- Do they understand the concepts behind an INVESTMENT PROPERTY CALCULATOR in determining net cash flows, capitalization rates, and more importantly, are they able to market a property based on these calculations?
- What ADVERTISING venues would they use to market your investment property?
These four questions will hopefully spark a good dialogue with a prospective list agent for your investment property. There is a big difference between marketing a property to a homeowner based on the property itself versus marketing a property to investors who require much more sophistication. Investors buy with their heads from a business standpoint as opposed to buying on emotions as in the case of a homeowner.
Also, if you are exchanging your property as opposed to just selling to cash out, be sure to ask some additional questions regarding the experience level of the Realtor on 1031 Exchanges. For example:
- How many 1031 tax exchanges have you been involved in during your real estate career?
- Can you recommend a qualified intermediary to handle the exchange?
