10 Questions to Ask Before You List Your Home

By Mark Callender

Hello, my name is Mark Callender and I am a licensed real estate agent with RE/MAX Results. Because I have been helping families buy and sell their homes for more than 18 years, I am now helping their children to buy their first homes and their parents to downsize. No matter the direction you’re moving, my goal is to make the process as calm and enjoyable as it can be.

Choosing the right real estate agent can have a major impact on the sale and the bottom line of your home. Yet when we go into listing appointments, we’re often asked only three out of the ten questions that really matter, and if a seller doesn’t ask, we make a point to cover them in our listing presentation anyway.

Here are the 10 questions to ask before listing your home. Whoever you’re interviewing, make sure you put these on the table:

1. How did you determine my home’s list price?
2. What is your average list-to-sale price ratio and average days on market in my area right now?
3. How many homes have you sold in my neighborhood or price range recently?
4. Will you personally handle showings and open houses?
5. What is included in your marketing plan?
6. How do you qualify buyers and negotiate offers?
7. What are your fees, commission structure, and contract terms?
8. Can you provide recent client references and reviews?
9. What preparation or staging advice do you recommend?
10. How will you keep me informed during the sale?

A quick note on the fee question. For many sellers, question seven is really question one, because the first thing people want to know is what it’s going to cost them. The trouble is, asking about fees before an agent has shown any value puts the conversation in the wrong order. The other nine questions give the agent a chance to demonstrate what they actually bring before the conversation turns to commission, so you can weigh the cost against the value rather than in a vacuum.

The bigger point is that the right agent should be able to answer all ten of these clearly and confidently. How an agent talks about pricing your home, their marketing, and their staging recommendations tells you a lot about how your sale will go. If you’d like guidance on what strong answers look like, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau offers a solid background on working with real estate professionals as you prepare to sell.

If you’d like the full list of these 10 questions to take into your interviews, we’re happy to send it over. Reach out, and we’ll get it to you. We’re glad to answer any of these ourselves. Call or text us at 612-961-9448, email us at mark@markcallenderhomes.com, or visit callenderhometeam.results.net. We’d love to help you make a confident, well-informed choice.