When looking for a real estate agent in New York City, there’s a lot of questions that we can be asking to ensure the smoothest and most enjoyable process in selling your house. Real Estate markets within even our focused neighborhoods in Queens can be completely different than anything outside of NYC. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed in the process, so we wanted to give you some clarifying questions to help you build a relationship with your agent and see a successful sale.

These nine highlighted questions can be helpful to ask your agent when first meeting them. They can help to gain valuable insight and benefit from your relationship with them. Asking focused questions when first meeting your potential agent will provide valuable insight into what they will bring to your sale. We can further sort these nine questions into three main focuses: who they are, how much will it cost, and how can you plan? 

About Them

1. What neighborhood do you specialize in? This question is important because you want an agent who understands your neighborhood. An agent who specializes locally will be a powerful tool in not only selling your house but also what makes where you house is a great area to live in. Our focus in neighborhoods local to Queens like Astoria, L.I.C., or Jackson Heights helps us with leverage and neighborhood location knowledge.

2. What are your credentials? Finding out whether or not your agent works with the local MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is key to a sale. If they do, it means they will have access to getting your listing in front of the most qualified buyers.

3. What brokerage do you work with? Chances are that in today’s market, most agents you find do work with a brokerage. But it is still good to know what brokerage they work for and the reputation of the brokerage.

Cost Involved

4. How did you arrive at the listing price? Don’t shy away from asking questions about the cost of your home! Understanding how your agent arrived at the listing price will help you understand the condition of your home, your neighborhood, and the market at large.

5. How much will selling my home cost? It’s always best to understand the cost of selling a home. This isn’t limited to just one percentage cut, this also can take into account necessary repairs to maximize your return. For further reading, check out this article by Rocket Mortgage.

Selling Plan

6. What is your sales plan? Understanding your agent’s general process will help encourage synergy between both parties. Additionally, setting up a system for open houses or tours of your house will help aid and speed up the process dramatically.

7. What should I do to get my house ready? Remember, your agent has done this before. They understand simple fixes you can do that will maximize the value of your home and help increase its appeal to potential buyers. Read more about how much even a simple coat of paint can affect the space.

8. How will we communicate? In the digital age we live in, we need to understand how people prefer to communicate. Maybe they like to email and you like a phone call. Or do prefer text when they want to schedule in person meetups? Coming to a common ground of preferred communication will help bring harmony to your relationship.

9. How long will the process take? Establish a timeline with your agent. Time to sell can vary significantly on the overall market performance, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be setting time-oriented goals to work towards.

This non-exhaustive list has enough questions to get you started on selling your home. If you are looking to sell, remember to come find us: your Queens specialists. With over 20 years of neighborhood knowledge, we have a team that’s ready to help you.