Folsom Realtors®

Questions to Ask Your Agent

OK, we're prejudiced -- biased, even. We like to think we do a great job helping buyers, and that all agents should provide the full range of buyer services we provide. In fact, we're so confident in this claim that we invite you to ask any other agents you may interview to see if they measure up. All we ask is that you please let us know if you feel they offer you better services than we do, because if so we'd like to try to do a better job for the next buyer! Also, please let us know if there are other questions we haven't answered here.

Question	Our Answer	Other Agent
Will you show us all the homes that are available in MLS, or just your own listings?	We show them all. We make them all available on our web site, and we also will be happy to take you out to see them. Whether they're listed by us, our office, or a competitor's office makes no difference from your point of view -- we'll be happy to show them to you.
Are you a full time agent?	Yes.
How long have you been an agent?	John: 2 years. Vicki: 23 years.
Will you recommend a lender?	Yes! Our lender offers great rates, and most importantly, unlike many, many other lenders we've worked with, she almost invariably closes escrow on time. (Most refreshing!)
Do you have references?	Yes! We do need to get some posted up here on our web site however -- good point. But we'd be happy to provide you names and phone numbers of happy clients that you can call. Just ask us.
Are you a Realtor®, or just a real estate agent? I've heard that Realtors® follow a Code of Ethics, so generally that's better.	Vicki and John are both full-time Realtors®. Here is the Code of Ethics we follow. (PDF format)
How many homes will you show me?	Really there's no upper limit. We usually think 5-8 homes makes a good-sized tour for one day, but we'd be happy to take you out again if we don't find it the first time out. We certainly DON'T pressure you to make a decision on the first trip, or the second, or even the third. We work with you until we find the home that's right for YOU.
How will I know what to offer?	When you're ready to put together an offer, we'll provide you with a written printout of the recent "comparables" so you'll have a good idea of what such homes have really sold for. We'll also discuss how the market is going "in general" (i.e., what the average sales price is a percentage of listing price). The amount you offer is up to YOU, not us, but we'll provide you as much information as we can to help you with the decision.
What's your main goal?	To get your referral business because you're so happy with our work.
What do you do during the offer?	We help you put together an offer that has a combination of price and terms that will help you get the home you want, while saving you the most money possible. Also, we explain to you the terms of the offer, what they mean, what time frames we have to meet, our inspection periods, etc.
What do you do after the offer, and before close of escrow?	During this time, we act as your main "goto person" for the whole transaction. We get you the disclosures you need to sign, order your inspections, work with the other agent and with the title company and your lender, help you research issues at the city and county level and many other tasks to make sure the transaction runs smoothly, and that you know what your options are at every step of the way.
What do you do after close of escrow?	After close of escrow, we'd be happy to try to answer any questions you may have about your home, the neighborhood, etc. We love to hear from past clients and to help out in any way we can.
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Copyright (c) 2011, Lockwood Real Estate DRE License #01768758 Information in this web site is based on multiple sources and is believed accurate but has not been verified.