Before you buy or sell, ask these questions too……
Joyce Murphy who writes the North Kona Home Sales blog did an interesting blog (June 14th: Real Estate Agent Quiz – How do Hawaii Agents score?) on questions to ask prior to hiring your real estate agent. In summation they were: (Please see http://blogs.alohaliving.com/north-kona-home-sales/ for the full article)
1. How long have you been in the business?
2. Are you a Realtor?
3. What certifications do you hold?
4. What is your specialty?
5. Can I have a list of past customers?
6. Who is your Broker? Can I call him/her?
7. How many sales did you complete last year?
8. Is this your full-time job?
In addition to the questions she poses here are additional questions I would ask:
1) How long have you lived on Kauai? (or Hawaii or..) If you’ve spent any time at all in the Islands, you know this is a very transient place, compared to the mainland. I started out in Ohio and thought California was transient by comparison but Hawaii makes California look downright stable! People tend to come and go here, some from one Island to another but most come from the mainland to make Hawaii their new home. Find out if they’ve just arrived and know little more than you or if they’ve had time to become familiar with their area.
2) What professional designations do you have? Joyce mentioned this in her blog but I’d like to expand on it a bit. It may surprise you to learn that to be licensed in Hawaii, you need to successfully complete a 45-hour prelicensing education course and be 18 years of age by the examination date and a United States citizen or national or alien authorized to work in the United States. After passing the prelicensing course, you have two years to pass the State salesperson’s examination and then another two years in which to actually apply for the license. To receive an active license, you must be employed or associated with a licensed real estate broker. Once licensed all agents must attend ten hours of continuing education courses every two years before renewing their license.
When you get right down to it, that’s not much, which is why I am such a strong proponent of professional designations. Education abounds for the agent seeking it and is typically associated with a professional designation like GRI, (Graduate Realtor Institute) ABR (Accredited Buyers Representative) and CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) to name a few. I agree with Joyce when she said that education does not necessarily make you a good agent but it does show your degree of commitment to your chosen profession.
3) Do you have a website? Statistics from the National Associated of Realtors puts the percentage of buyers who first look online prior to purchasing at 70% +-. Statistics like that tell the whole story from my point of view. As a client, whether buyer or seller, you want exposure — look for an agent with a well placed website.
I’m still working on the final 3 questions I would ask and will present them in my next blog. Until then….
Aloha,
Elaine Schaefer
cell: 808 639 2935
email:soldonkauai@yahoo.com
website: www.kauairealestatenow.com
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