Preparing for your first day

You have just been hired by a brokerage following completion of The Pre-registration Segment of The Salesperson Registration Education Program. Your brokerage will be providing an orientation, and an opportunity to ask questions. What questions should you ask?

To ensure there are no surprises and you understand who is responsible for what, prepare a list of questions to ask during the orientation. Many of these will be answered at the orientation, or may have been answered during the initial interview. But, just in case… following are a few examples of questions to ask.

Staff Services

• What specific services are available during normal business hours?
• Who is responsible for these services?

Office Equipment/Supplies

• What office equipment/supplies are provided?
• Are there any additional costs? If yes, what are they?
• How are long-distance calls handled?

Computer Equipment

• What computer equipment is provided?
• What hardware/software is provided?

Email

• Do I set up a separate email account or is it centrally administered by the brokerage?

Postage/Courier:

• Who covers postage costs for single or bulk mailings?
• Who covers the costs of documents that must be couriered?

Security

• What guidelines are in place regarding personal safety when listing and showing a property?

Marketing/Promotional Material/Advertising

• Are business cards/promotional items supplied? If not, how can these be obtained and what are the costs?
• What advertising formats are used? What are the costs?
• How do you process classified advertisements?

Signage

• What type of signage is provided? (e.g., ‘For Sale’, ‘Open House’)
• What costs are involved for sign installation?

Listings

• How are listings processed? What assistance is provided?
• What approval process is in place?
• What administrative fees apply, if any?

Agreements

• How are agreements prepared? (e.g., what software program is used)

Negotiations

• How are multiple offer situations handled?
• What steps are taken when processing deposits?

Transactions

• How are accepted agreements of purchase and sale processed?
• What administrative fees apply, if any?

Referrals

• Are there office procedures regarding making referrals? What are they?

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Did we miss any questions? Let us know.

SOURCE: The Residential Real Estate Transaction, 2012