There is no favorite listings!
Best Interview Questions to Ask a REALTOR®

8 Best Interview Questions to Ask a REALTOR® When Selling a Home

with:

Selling a home is one of the biggest financial decisions we face in life. There are so many facets to a home sale — from marketing and professional photography to understanding the laws, required disclosures, and rigid timelines. We work with many home sellers each day, and we’ve compiled the 8 best interview questions to ask a REALTOR® (or REALTOR® Team like The Power of 4/Team Excellence) in hopes that it will help you or someone you know when they’re considering a home sale. Let’s get started:

Best Interview Questions to Ask a REALTOR®

1) Are you a full-time professional real estate agent?
Why this is important: Knowing whether or not your REALTOR® markets and sells real estate full-time helps determine his or her commitment to your transaction. It also demonstrates the level of confidence she or he has in her/his abilities.

2) Do you have an administrative assistant, team or staff to handle different parts of the home sale?
Why this is important: It is not uncommon for agents who sell many houses each year to hire people to work with them. As their businesses grow, they must be able to meet and preferably exceed the expectations of their clients. The fact that they have a Team in place to help with various parts of the process of selling your home is a good indication that they are both talented and organized when it comes to selling real estate.

3) What is your marketing plan for my property?
Why this is important: Any REALTOR® you hire should be able to produce a multi-point marketing plan to market and sell your home. At a minimum, this should include services like professional photography, property video or virtual tour, social media marketing, networking with colleagues, promoting to their current database of buyers, and syndicating to real estate websites like REALTOR.com, Zillow, Trulia, and more. Request samples of their past marketing materials to get an understanding of what they plan to do for you.

4) How will you keep in contact with me during the selling process, and how often?
Why this is important: As with anything, it’s good to know and set proper expectations of how the process will look and feel. Many agents perform an “update call” either weekly or bi-monthly to keep their clients informed at all times. Great agents also stay up-to-date on the neighborhood competition and market trends and will often prepare updated comparative market analyses for you to review.

5) What is your list-to-sales price ratio, both over the last year and throughout your career? On average, how long do your listings stay on the market? How does that figure compare with other agents?
Why this is important: The proof is in the pudding. The list-to-sales-price ratio indicates what offer amount they were able to procure for their clients compared to the list price. A high list-to-sales-price ratio demonstrates negotiation savvy (the agent is able to keep the contract price close, at, or above the list price). The days on market figure shows how effectively they price and market homes. Both of these numbers are definitely among the best interview questions to ask a REALTOR®

6) Will you give me names of past clients and may I call them?
Why this is important: Interviewing an agent is similar to interviewing someone to work in your office. Contacting references is a reliable way for you to understand how she or he works, along with whether or not her/his style is compatible with your own.

7) How will you get paid? How are your fees structured?
Why this is important: In many areas, the seller pays all agent commissions. Sometimes, agents will have other small fees, such as administrative or special service fees, that are charged to clients, regardless of whether they are buying or selling. Be aware of the big picture before you sign any agreements. Ask for an estimate of costs from any agent you contemplate employing.

8) How would you develop pricing strategies for our home?
Why this is important: Although location and condition affect the selling process, the price is a primary factor in determining if a home sells quickly or at all. Access to current property information is essential, and sometimes an appraisal by a certified appraiser can help. Ask your agent how they created the market analysis they used to price your home, and whether your agent included For Sale by Owner homes, foreclosed homes and bank-owned sales in that list.

At The Power of 4/Team Excellence, we work with many home sellers each day, and we hope that these 8 best interview questions to ask a REALTOR® has been helpful to you or someone you know. If you’re considering putting your home on the market, we’d welcome the opportunity to share with you how we’re different from the rest.

Give us a call or email us anytime. We’re always here for you.

470 Comments

Why We Love Georgetown!

with:

We love our community of Georgetown! Now, we know most people love their community, but do they have to proof to back it up? Well, we do!

downtown-georgetown

 

Take a look at all the reasons why we love Georgetown:

Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas – That’s right! Georgetown was voted as having the Most Beautiful Town Square in Texas…now, we know we may be a little biased, but we agree! And, if you’ve seen it, chances are you will too! Rows of shops line the Williamson County Courthouse. From restaurants to shops to wineries and bars, you will find everything you need on our town square. Not only is the town square a great place to stroll on weeknights and weekends, but it is also home to many of the Georgetown community events throughout the year. Upcoming events include First Friday on the Square on November 3rd, Boo Bash on October 30th, Turkey Trot on November 24th, Lighting of the Square on November 25th and more! Take a look at the upcoming special events.

Parking – If you can’t stand circling the block to find a parking spot, Georgetown is the place for you. Our town square is lined with angled parking spaces that offer up to three hours of free parking. Tell us, where can you find free parking in downtown Austin? Nowhere!

Friendly Small Town Community Feel – Even though the Georgetown community is a little more than half an hour north of the hustle and bustle of downtown Austin, it still retains its small town friendly community atmosphere that we love. It is very seldom that people don’t say hello as you pass on the town square. And, since it is legal to carry alcohol around the town square, you will often see people strolling around the town square with a glass of wine from Grape Creek Winery or a beer from Roots.

History – It’s no wonder the town square was voted the most beautiful in Texas! The beautiful limestone buildings that line Georgetown’s town square date back to the 1800s and early 1900s. Also if you’re looking for some history, visit the 1910 Farmers State Bank Building at 716 S. Austin Street. This free Williamson Museum exhibits local artifacts that date back as far as the Civil War – and as a bonus, during several weekends in October, the museum offers ghost tours. Take a look here for more information on the ghost tours!

Dining – Georgetown is full of fantastic dining options. Here are a couple of our favorites near the town square:

  • Monument Café – 500 S. Austin Ave. – Offers delicious burgers, catfish and amazing homemade pies!
  • Hollow – 708 S. Austin Ave. – Upscale style restaurant with fantastic pork belly recipes!
  • Sweet Serendipity – countless dessert options! If you love truffles, this is the place for you!

Upcoming Events:

  • Boo Bash on October 30th – Town Square merchants open their stores for trick-or-treating to all in costume! Stores are open from 3 to 6 p.m. for trick-or-treating.
  • Turkey Trot on November 24th – Annual Thanksgiving Day run that starts and finishes on the town square. Features a 5-mile run/walk and a 1-mile walk – starting at 8 a.m.
  • Lighting of the Square on November 25th – The Georgetown Town Square illuminates with the annual lighting ceremony. Lighting held at 5:30 p.m.
  • For more events, click here!

We love our community!

We are located right on the wonderful Georgetown town square, and we love visitors! Come see us anytime if you have questions about the Georgetown community or real estate market.

683 Comments

New School Year – Georgetown ISD

with:

It’s just about that time of year again – it’s time to say goodbye to summer and hello to a new school year. Georgetown ISD’s teachers are hard at work getting ready for August 23rd, the first day of school for the 2016-2017 academic year. Are you and your children ready for the new school year?

For those new to the area, Georgetown ISD has 10 elementary schools, three middle schools and three high schools for more than 11,000 students! According to Niche.com, Georgetown ISD has been ranked the No. 44 school district in Texas.For those unsure of which school their children should attend, click here! This link has all the information you will need to determine which school your home is zoned for!

With the first day of school right around the corner, here are some helpful items to get you and your family ready:

New School Hours For the 2016-2017 Academic Year

 

IMPORTANT: For the 2016-2017 academic year, a new bell schedule will be implemented in order to comply with the new state law that was passed in January 2016. The new Texas law states that instructional time will now be based on minutes instead of days. This means that instead of 180 days all students now must receive 75,600 minutes of instructional time for the duration of the school year. In order to implement these new guidelines, the school day will be extended to 7.5 hours for each school within the school district. This will increase the instructional time for each level by the following: 20 minutes for elementary schools, 5 minutes for middle schools and 30 minutes for high schools.

Below is how the school hours have changed to implements these new requirements. Students and parents should be aware of this to avoid any confusion for drop-off and pick-up times.

New School Year

We hope this helps get your family ready for the start of a new school year! If you have any questions, we’re here to help anytime!

623 Comments

Real Estate Agent Benefits For You

with:

Choosing to buy a new home or sell your current home is a BIG decision. It is something that takes a lot of thought and consideration – and, for some, it can be intimidating to think about going through the whole time-consuming process alone. But, I’ve got some good news! It isn’t something you have to go through alone – real estate agents, just like me, are here to help you every step of the way! Why should I get a real estate agent? Why shouldn’t I just try and sell my home by myself? These questions often come up for many homebuyers and sellers. And, of course, you absolutely can sell your home and shop for your new home by yourself – but, should you? What benefits are there for you to use a real estate agent? Take a look at why using a real estate agent benefits you!

Why Working With A Real Estate Agent Benefits You

What do you think? Is using a real estate agent worth it? I think so!

Do you know anyone in the market to buy or sell a home? Give me a call I would love to help!

Comments Off on Real Estate Agent Benefits For You

WE WORK HARD AND WE PLAY HARD! WE KNOW HOW TO HAVE FUN…

with:

If you haven’t been to “Painting With a Twist” in Georgetown, Texas, you haven’t lived!

Even if you think you aren’t an artist…like you think youreally have NO art talent…you could be wrong. We joined with a group of friends to experience these “art classes”. Well, I don’t know if what we did is a true art class. They guide you through a specific formula on how to paint the same chosen picture. Hmmm. I’m not sure that pure talent is involved. But, maybe.

All I know is our husbands thought we were hiding some hidden talent they knew nothing about. Boy, did we fool them!

It really doesn’t matter that much because we ALL had so much fun. We had no idea we were capable of painting a really cool picture that we might be able to actually hang on our wall. I guess only some of us hung them on our wall. Ok…maybe one of us hung it up.

But, we don’t care if our paintings were “wall worthy” or not. Our instructor gave us very fun, specific instructions, turned us all into mini-artists, and sent us away having had an awesome time! We were all so pleased with our work and simply loved the group interactions. We will do it again. That is for sure. If you want to come with us next time, just email us or call us. We’ll put you on our list for next time!

Let us know if you’ve done this before and what painting you painted. Better yet, post your painting on our Facebook page! We’d love to see it!

245 Comments

THE POWER OF 4-TEAM EXCELLENCE WINS CENTURY 21 AWARDS FOR PRODUCTION & ULTIMATE CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR 2015

with:

For several years in a row, The Power of 4-Team Excellence has won awards for production and quality service. Each year, our awards are greater and greater. For this, we are ever so grateful…to you, our clients who believe in us and support us. Without you, these awards would not be possible.

Thank you for your testimonials about each of us individually and all of us collectively. Thank you for hiring us and believing in us to help you buy or sell a home…or both. Thank you for believing in us when things get stressful and thank you for trusting us to get it right and see you through to the end. See? It really does all come together!

2015 was a very good year for us. Our goal is to do learn more, be even better, and deliver the finest real estate service available. Nothing makes us happier than to make YOU happy!

Comments Off on THE POWER OF 4-TEAM EXCELLENCE WINS CENTURY 21 AWARDS FOR PRODUCTION & ULTIMATE CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR 2015

COME HOME TO SANTA RITA RANCH IN LIBERTY HILL, TEXAS

with:

In a constant effort to keep abreast of what is available in residential developments in our vicinity, we try to take field trips to visit new communities. One of our teammates, Angie Moore, recently sold a beautiful new inventory home in Santa Rita Ranch. So, with coffee cups in hand, off we went to get a better look at this amazing place to live.

We were most pleasantly surprised to visit with the people in charge of the development, visit the amenities, and get to know their event planner for the subdivision. You must take a moment to look through some of the photos we took while on-site. It was so exciting to know how many events they have and what a great effort they make to be sure their Buyers/Residents sustain a lifestyle of community…a place where people know each other and care about each other and are there for each other. This development makes every effort to assure that. In fact, they thrive on it. And it is working!

The amazing amenity center in Santa Rita Ranch provides a large party room, a large conference room, a lap pool, a pool with giant slides, and a kiddie pool with colorful fountains. There is also an outdoor fireplace with a stone patio area and comfy chairs. Sit by the fire in the winter, drink your wine, read a book. In the summer? The sky is the limit. Swim, slide, sit under the fountains, have a picnic, or watch the kids play on the play scape. The entire perimeter is fenced with 8 foot wrought iron fence to assure safety for the kiddos.

There are 5 reputable builders in this development who build homes from the $200s to the $700s. The builders are (in no particular order): Castlerock, David Weekly, Pulte, Grand Haven, Westin, Wilshire, Scott Felder, and Highland Homes. All of these builders are building great homes in Santa Rita Ranch.

This is a master planned community with homes in the prestigious Liberty Hill AND Georgetown School Districts. Grocery shopping, restaurants, and shopping are within minutes. You get the best of both worlds…live in the hill country and enjoy the views…and drive a short distance to great places to dine and shop.

We felt this development was a treat. We know you will, too. Check them out at www.santaritaranchaustin.com. Then, call us and we’ll happily give you a tour. We know everything we need to know to help you buy a great home here. And YES we do represent our Buyers with new construction. We negotiate for you and guide you through the entire process. For this professional representation, you pay us nothing. Our commission comes from the Seller’s proceeds….not yours!

626 Comments

SO…HAVE YOU BEEN TO HOPDODDY”S BURGER BAR in ROUND ROCK, TEXAS?

with:

Well…WE have. True to form, Hopdoddy’s serves one of the finest, juiciest burgers in Central Texas. We might just have to call their hamburgers “decadent”. We also need to tell you that you might have to wait in line to get one, but it is well worth the wait. (and the weight!) Everyone in line is dreaming about the reward just the same as you. For the most fun experience, sit at the bar to enjoy your meal. It is a fun experience to watch the bartenders throw their incredible margaritas together….and their handmade milkshakes.

Hopdoddy’s Burger Bar serves the freshest available, all natural ingredients. Their beef comes from “Humanly Raised Cows” which are never given growth hormones or antibiotics. All of their beef is Kobe beef ground in-house so it is as fresh as possible. My Dad used the say the secret to a great cook is using quality, FRESH ingredients…even if that means going to the grocery store or the local farmer’s market every single day. I have found that to be incredibly true and it seems that might be one of the secrets to Hopdoddy’s success. All we know is….they are darn good!

You can’t beat a hamburger with a bun made from scratch and baked fresh all day every day. I have to admit I make a pretty mean burger myself. The quality of the beef and the quality of the bun go hand in hand. If you have one or the other as substandard, you end up with a mediocre burger. No mediocrisy at Hopdoddy’s. That is for SURE!

Try the Truffle Fries…just try them. All of their french fries are hand cut Kennebec potatoes. Or, if you like, try the french fries with Hopdoddy’s handmade chile con queso on top. Mmmm mmmm.

I’d like to tell you they have fabulous salads, too. But, seriously, do you go to a burger bar to have salad? They look great….really they do. But, I just can’t go to Hopdoddy’s for a salad!

Check it out…You will NOT be disappointed! And let us know with comments below if you agree. We’d love to hear from you!

Comments Off on SO…HAVE YOU BEEN TO HOPDODDY”S BURGER BAR in ROUND ROCK, TEXAS?

OUR FIRST FRIDAY CLIENT APPRECIATION PARTY WAS A HUGE SUCCESS! THANKS FOR COMING!

with:

Oh my gosh…it has been SUCH a busy March that we haven’t taken the time to blog. But, there are so many things we want to share with you that we are going to go blog crazy! So, let’s do this in chronological order and tell you what’s going on with our team!

First, we want to say thank you for helping us have so much fun at the First Friday event in early March. We had such a great turnout. Our clients who have become our friends came, our friends, our families, the other agents in our office, and our owners of Century 21 HS came to the party. We had lots of libations and tasty cake pops made by Sugar Momma’s. What’s wine without cheese and crackers and grapes? So, we had to serve that, too.

Everyone helped and it was a fun event. Know what? We LOVE treating others. Everyone has to let their hair down every now and then. So, we did and you did and we appreciate it.

Don’t worry….we’ll do this again soon. And again….thanks! We so appreciate you!

Comments Off on OUR FIRST FRIDAY CLIENT APPRECIATION PARTY WAS A HUGE SUCCESS! THANKS FOR COMING!

WINE & DESSERTS….FIRST FRIDAY, MARCH 4th, 2016 PLEASE COME ON BY OUR OFFICE FROM 4:00 to 6:00

with:

We hope you will join us as we celebrate “First Friday” with the Georgetown Square merchants. Its our way of saying thank you for your friendship, your business, and your referrals!

Century 21 Hellmann Stribling, Home Warranty of America, and The Power of 4-Team Excellence invite you to stop by our office from 4:00 to 6:00 on March 4th. As is tradition on the Georgetown Square, the merchants stay open longer and have special discounts on some of their products. So, we’d like to serve you wine and dessert as you walk around the square and enjoy shopping, dining, and listening to music provided by local musicians!

Everyone likes wine, right? And who doesn’t like desserts? These aren’t just cookies….So come see the spread. This is your chance to see us being hostesses and serving you wine! It is our pleasure to serve you! And, if you haven’t seen our new office, this is the perfect time to pop in. So, come by and say hi….We’d love it!

Comments Off on WINE & DESSERTS….FIRST FRIDAY, MARCH 4th, 2016 PLEASE COME ON BY OUR OFFICE FROM 4:00 to 6:00
Style Selector
Select the layout
Choose the theme
Preset colors
No Preset
Select the pattern