How many years have you been a licensed Realtor?

This question is one that cannot be missed.  Experience in the real estate industry is important.  The longer a real estate agent has been selling real estate, the more transactions they have likely completed. Statistics show that 10% of the Realtors do 90% of the sales. There are 40,000 Realtors in the Phoenix Metro area and the overwhelming majority of them sell an average of 3.5 homes per year.

Here are HRG, we have sold hundreds of homes for both buyers and sellers and have a combined 15+ years in the industry.  Ron Hollingsworth is in the top 1% of all Realtors in Arizona.

Is real estate your full-time career or a part time job?

When buying a home, it can be a time consuming process.  As a buyer you have a job, family, and other responsibilities.  It’s important that your buyers agent is available when it’s convenient for you.  A part-time real estate agent may not be able to offer enough availability to do so.  If the best time to view potential homes is at 1:00PM on weekdays then that is when your buyers agent should setup the appointments.  A part-timer may not be able to due to another job or responsibility.

We work as a team at HRG and we are available 7 days a week to assist with your home purchase.

How many homes have you sold in the last 12 months?  In your career?

As a real estate agent, representing buyers is different than representing sellers, period.  There are different “tasks” that a buyers agent is responsible for during the transaction and the same for the sellers agent.  It’s important to know how many homes a potential buyers agent sold last year while representing buyers.

We have sold on average 42 buyers per year the last 3 years.

On average, how many buyers are you actively working with?

One thing that is important to understand when working with a buyers agent is that they are human beings, like yourself. Buyers agents have families, lives, and schedules and this is one thing that buyers forget sometimes and it drives real estate agents crazy. It’s not a smart decision to seek out a buyers agent who only works with one buyer at a time. This likely means they don’t have a strong history of sales.

This being said, knowing how many buyers they actively work with is an important question. A great buyers agent should be able to make you feel like you are their only client. A great buyers agent will be able to juggle several buyers at a time due to their organization and efficiency.

We have over 10 years of experience working with multiple buyers at any given time.

Do you require your buyers to sign any contracts or agreements?

Many buyers aren’t aware that contracts even exist for buyers. They do, however, they are not enforced or practiced that frequently. Many of the top producing buyers agents will choose not to utilize a contract with their client because they know they will provide great service and not have to worry about losing their client.

Another primary reason why buyers agents don’t utilize contracts is because they are very difficult to enforce, should a buyer break an agreement. Often a real estate agent will spend thousands of dollars in legal fees trying to recoup their commission, thus not making it worth their time or money.

At HRG we do not ask our buyer clients to sign a a contract. Ever! Our work stands on it’s own!

Do you have a personal assistant or are you part of a team?  If so are you the team leader?

Are you working with a single agent or an agent that is on a team? An agent that is on a team or even the Team Leader will provide significantly better service than just a single agent. Agents on a team have the support from admin and Team Leaders that have the knowledge required to navigate the waters of a real estate transaction.

Ron and Renee Hollingsworth are the Team Leaders for Hollingsworth Realty Group. We have two administrative staff members. Additionally, We have between 6-8 buyer agents that work on our team that we mentor and train at any given time

Can you provide me multiple recent references?

Every buyers agent should be able to provide a handful of testimonials to you, period.  As for contact information of past clients, this is not always possible.  It still is a good question to ask a potential buyers agent though when interviewing!  If you are able to obtain contact information of a past client of the buyers agent, make sure you do not waste the opportunity to pick up the phone or e-mail that person for their opinion of the potential agent.

Contact us any time by Emailing us and request a list of our buyer references.

Do you have your own personal website?

You maybe asking yourself, Why is a website important for a buyers agent to have?  Simple.  A website is hopefully a great place to learn about not only the potential buyers agent but also about the local neighborhoods, schools, and also find some helpful testimonials. Additionally, you will be able to search homes for sale on your agents website.

We do have our own personal website…. Home Search Website.

Where can I see online reviews of your performance?

Testimonials from past clients are a great way of knowing that you are working with an experience but also a well qualified agent. Ask for a link to your agents testimonials.

You can find testimonials for us located here and here.

Do you have other trustworthy professionals you can recommend to me?

A great buyers agent will have several contacts in the mortgage industry whom they can recommend to you. Just like all real estate agents are not created equally, all mortgage companies and consultants are not created equally. It can greatly improve the probability of a smooth real estate purchase when utilizing a great buyers agents recommendation, as they know how one another work and what quality of service is to be expected.

In addition to recommendations for mortgage lenders, another thing to consider asking a potential buyers agent is about different professionals they can recommend. When buying a home you will likely need a home inspector, insurance carrier, and other professionals, in addition to the mortgage lender. Ask the potential buyers agent if they have a list of professionals they can provide to you.

We have a list of vendors that we have vetted over the years. Call or email us to discuss whom we recommend.

What methods of communication do you utilize?

One of the biggest complaints that buyers have when it comes to their real estate agent, refers to communication. Whether it is lack of communication or the method, this is an important question to ask. If you prefer to have your buyers agent text message you, it is critical to find out if the potential buyers agent text messages or not. The same can be said for e-mailing as well.

If your desired communication method is not one that is mentioned by the buyers agent, it could potentially lead to issues down the road.

We can communicate in any manner that you prefer. Email, text, phone call, Skype, or FaceTime. To reach us by phone, text, or FaceTime call 480-766-8873 or 520-705-7442

How do you negotiate our requests from inspections?

Many real estate transactions do not make it past the inspection stage. This is for a variety of reasons. You should expect that in addition to recommending quality home inspectors, the agent should be able to present the inspection report and requests in a way the seller understands the validity of the requests.

We have successfully negotiated hundreds of repair request from buyer’s inspection.

Hiring a great buyers agent is critical when buying a home. The process of buying a home can seem like a monumental task, but it isn’t, with the right representation! The above questions are some very good questions to think about asking. By doing so, you should be on your way to successfully selecting a great buyers agent for your home buying needs!