The 8 Realtor Questions You Should Ask When Selling:
1. What is your level of experience: How long have you been licensed and are you full-time?
Jason has been licensed full-time since 2002, almost 15 years!
2. What is your level of experience: How many homes do you sell per year?
Most recently in 2016, Jason helped an average of more than 60 buyers and sellers make a move, while more than half of all licensed MN realtors were involved in fewer than 3 closings! That is correct – most Realtors are only involved in 2, 1 or zero closings per year!
On average, the homes Jason lists are on the market for half of the average market time and sell at or close to list price. Jason possesses the experience needed to effectively navigate the process of selling your home from start to finish. It’s important to know that some agents will say “I’ve been selling homes for 20 years…” but then perhaps they only sell 2 homes per year. Jason has both the time in the business and the annual sales volume to ensure that you can rely on his experience for the very best home selling experience.
3. What are your fees?
Jason goes beyond answering the question “What’s your commission?” and walks each client through an estimated net sheet, line by line, so you can see the complete breakdown of all costs associated with the sale of your home. It’s also worth mentioning that the KW broker fee of $399 is among the lowest in the industry and the closing fees from the title company that our team recommends are also among the lowest in the market. This immediately saves our clients hundreds of dollars before even discussing a brokerage commission, which is typically also much lower than other top agents like Jason.
4. How much is my current home worth?
The typical agent will give you their opinion supported with only a few comps and unfortunately many sellers will hire an agent based solely on that limited price opinion. However, agents know this and all too often an agent will “buy the listing” by offering up an artificially high price opinion. As you can imagine, when the home doesn’t sell, that agent will quickly tell the seller they need to reduce the price. However, because the home was overpriced, the cost to the seller is extra showings, too much market time, and an eventual lower net price.
In any event, the agent’s opinion is just that – an opinion. The market will determine your home’s value based mostly on condition and location. It’s Jason’s job to leverage and market the special features of your home and ensure the market is aware of how great your home is in order to maximize the sale price and deliver every nickel of equity you have in your home. Additionally, Jason is an expert negotiator, which means he is able to make each client make more money in the long run. Because of this, Jason prefers to sit down with the seller and work through the comparable homes together including active competition and recently sold homes so that everyone is on the same page and we can develop a pricing strategy that works for you.
5. How will you market my home?
This is a great question and this will be discussed at length during your initial meeting, but you should know that Jason goes far beyond what most agents will typically do.
The lazy agent’s marketing plan may include only “The 3 P’s” (Put a sign in the yard, Put it in the MLS, and Pray that it sells). The Kraemer Team’s 28 step Marketing Plan includes:- Prepare and stage the home at its best
- Hire a professional photographer to capture the best version of the home for an ever expanding online community of home buyers.
- Jason will work with Carly Nelson, Jason's Listing Coordinator and Social Media Specialist, to craft the very best marketing materials, features and benefits sheets, and special feature cards to ensure buyers are aware of all of your home's best features and to promote our client's homes online and on social media because that's where today's buyers are, and so we need to be there too!
- Focus on actually selling the home instead of fishing the home to acquire new buyer leads. The Kraemer Team focuses on selling your home quickly, easily, and for the highest possible price!
6. Do you work alone or are you a team? If so, will I be working with you directly, or will I be handed off to someone else?
The Kraemer Team consists of three talented individuals who are all passionate about real estate. You will work directly with Jason on the majority of the home selling process. At the same time,
Carly Nelson, Jason’s Listing Coordinator and Marketing Specialist, will assist during the pre-listing activities. These activities include, but are not limited to, scheduling photography, building a features and benefits list, marketing materials production and installation, etc. This allows Carly the opportunity to focus on creating the very best sales and marketing materials, and allows Jason to focus on the business of selling your home. Carly will also be the main contact in keeping you up-to-date with how you can be a part of the marketing efforts to sell your home faster. James Holmen is fully licensed and is on the team to assist in the efforts of gaining more traffic through your home by hosting open houses. You get a team for the same price of an individual agent. The Kraemer Team adds VALUE in every step of selling your home!
7. How many other homes do you currently have listed?
This is another great question, and obviously the answer varies at any given time, but what matters is that Jason does not focus on the number of active homes he has for sale; he focuses on the number of homes that are sold and heading to close. The Kraemer Team doesn’t like “Active” home listings, they like “Pending” and “Sold” home listings. In other words, the team is not focused on listing your home; they are focused on selling your home so you can make your move!
8. Can you provide me with referrals from past clients that have worked with you?
The vast majority of Realtors will be able to offer just a few testimonials at most, if any at all.
Jason has pages and pages of written referrals from his past clients – over 140 testimonials and counting! This is not surprising since the vast majority of Jason’s business comes from referrals and past clients. The Kraemer Team’s philosophy is this: “In order to continue to find success in this business, we need to exceed the expectations of our clients today in order to enjoy referral and repeat clients tomorrow.” The only way to make that happen is to do everything possible to add value and do the right things for our clients every chance we get!
Contact us today if you are thinking about selling!
