Guarantees

This is the next installment in our series on how to choose a real estate agent.

One of the questions I believe you should ask any potential agent is "Do you guarantee satisfaction with your services in writing and if I'm not satisifed, will you release me from our agreement?"

All of my listings have an Easy Exit Guarantee. It says simply that if you're not satisfied with the work I'm doing in trying to sell your home, you can cancel the listing agreement at any time.

And, if you're a buyer working with me, the Exclusive Buyer Agency agreement can also be cancelled with written notice.

No agent with an ounce of sense should ever try to hold a buyer or a seller to an agreement when they're not happy. (For what it's worth, I've also terminated agreements with clients when I believed we were not a good fit!)

And while common sense will tell you that any agent should let a client go when they get such a request, it doesn't always happen. This is definitely a conversation that should happen up front. You don't want to ask the question for the first time when you're unhappy.

Any one running a small business is very dependent on personal referrals for their business. One very unhappy individual can do a huge amount of harm to your business. I simply don't understand why every agent wouldn't make it their policy to release a client when they ask. But I know from experience that not everyone has this policy!

So make sure it's one of the questions you ask when you interview an agent!