Questions An Agent Should Be Able To Answer About Their Clients.

With every New Year, many people reflect back on the previous year, what they’ve accomplished, and what they could have done better.   Although important, I believe it is equally as important to look forward. It will help determine what the New Year is bringing, and what will be the best course of action for you to accomplish your goals this year.  After all, the most valuable commodity for any real estate agent is time.

To maximize the effectiveness of an agent’s and your time, one must be able to address and answer specific questions.  Following are some questions every agent should know the answers to, so they can be efficient and increase the odds of success for their clients.

If client is leasing space, at the minimum you should know:

1)      How long have you been in business?

2)      What exactly do they do?  Understanding their business is key to finding the perfect spot for them.

3)      If it is a new startup, who will the guarantor be?

4)      What is their budget, including secondary services such as phone, internet, etc…

5)      What are their space requirements?  This should include type of buildout, how many people will be located at the space, and what are the geographic boundaries of where they would like to be located.

If client is looking for an investment you should know:

1)      What is the amount of capital they are looking to invest?

2)      Are they planning on getting any debt/leverage their purchase?

3)      How long are they planning on holding the property for investment, are they looking for a value add play, or a long term cash flow?

4)      Specifically, what are their goals for a return?  What type of percentage, return would they like to see?

5)      Would they consider making capital improvements to increase their return?

6)      What asset classes would they consider for their investment?

These questions are just a start, but by knowing the answers to at least these questions you will be able to effectively begin a search in earnest and narrow down the field of possible properties to a more manageable size, and therefore increase the possibility for success.