What should an agent ask a seller on the first call?
The questions to ask a potential vendor before booking an appraisal, how to offer a firm time on the call, and what to write down so you walk in prepared.
AgentFront Team5 min read
The short answer
Before booking an appraisal, find out the property address and type, the seller's timing and reason for selling, whether they have spoken to other agents, who makes the decision, whether the property is tenanted, and the best way to reach them. Then offer a specific appraisal time while they are still on the phone, instead of promising to call back.
The first call from a potential seller is usually short, and it rarely comes at a good time. The agent is between appointments, or it is 6:15pm and the seller has just got home and finally made the call they have been putting off. The aim is not to value the property over the phone. It is to learn enough to book the right kind of appraisal, with the right people present, at a time that suits them, and to walk in knowing what matters.
Assume you are one of several agents they will speak to. The Queensland Government's advice to sellers is to speak with several agents and ask each to inspect the property. The one who books a firm time on the first call, and arrives already knowing the seller's situation, starts ahead.
What do you need to find out before booking an appraisal?
Seven things, and most take a single question. Ask them in whatever order the conversation allows, but get all seven before you hang up:
- Address and property type. The full address including any unit number, then house, unit, townhouse or acreage, and roughly the bedrooms and bathrooms. Read the address back, because street names are easy to mishear on a mobile.
- Their timing. "When are you hoping to be moved?" tells you if this is a listing appointment or the start of a relationship that runs into next year.
- Their reason for selling. Upsizing, downsizing, relocating for work, settling an estate. Ask gently and accept a vague answer. It shapes what the seller needs to hear at the appraisal.
- Whether they have spoken to other agents. Ask plainly. If they have already had two appraisals, yours needs to answer what the others did not.
- Who makes the decision. Everyone on the title, plus anyone whose view counts: a partner working away, adult children helping a parent, an executor.
- Whether it is their home or an investment. If it is an investment, ask whether a tenant is in place, when the lease ends and who manages it.
- The best contact details. Mobile, email and the best time to call. Read the email back too.
How do you offer a specific appraisal time instead of "I'll call you back"?
Offer two specific times from your calendar while the seller is still on the phone, and confirm one before you hang up. "I can come Thursday at 4pm or Saturday at 10am. Which suits you better?" A choice of two is easy to answer. "When suits you?" restarts the negotiation.
"I'll call you back" leaves the seller waiting, and the next agent on their list may ring first. To offer times with confidence, know your calendar before you pick up: your usual appraisal length, travel time between appointments, and the buffers you need. If every decision maker needs to be there, offer an evening or a Saturday rather than a time only one of them can make.
Then confirm it. Read back the day, date, time and address, say who you expect to meet, and send a calendar invitation or a text the same day.
A tenanted property is different, because the time depends on the tenant as well as the owner. In Queensland, entering a rented property needs the tenant's agreement or a written Entry notice (Form 9). The Residential Tenancies Authority lists 48 hours' notice for a valuation or to show a prospective buyer, and entry between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday unless the tenant agrees otherwise. Agree a window with the owner, then confirm the exact time once the property manager has arranged access. This is general information, not legal advice, and the RTA has the detail for each situation.
Walkthrough or desktop appraisal: which should you book?
A walkthrough appraisal is an in-person visit: the agent inspects the property with the owner and gives a price opinion based on its condition, its features and recent sales nearby. A desktop appraisal is prepared without a visit, from recent sales, the property's details and any photos the owner can send.
Book a walkthrough when the seller is likely to sell in the coming months, when condition or recent renovations will move the price, or when you want to win the listing. Nothing replaces standing in the kitchen with the people who decide.
A desktop appraisal suits an interstate owner of an investment, a seller who is only starting to think about it, or a tenanted property where access takes time to arrange. It needs no appointment, but it needs more from the call: the renovations, the condition, and photos if they have them. Agree when you will send it, and offer a walkthrough once they are closer to selling.
Either way, do not give a figure on the first call. In Queensland, if an agent suggests an asking price, they must do a comparative market analysis comparing at least three similar properties sold within 5km in the last six months. That is the work an appraisal does, and the phone call is where you book it.
What should you write down after the call?
Write down everything you would want in your head as you pull up outside the property, and put it in your CRM the same day. A short template keeps it consistent:
- Names, mobile, email and the best time to call
- Address, property type, bedrooms and bathrooms, recent work
- Timing and reason for selling, in the seller's own words
- Other agents they have met or plan to meet
- Decision makers, and who will be at the appraisal
- Home, vacant investment or tenanted (lease end date, property manager)
- Appraisal type, and the confirmed time or the window still to confirm
- Practical details: a gate code, a dog, where to park
- What you promised to send, and when
Keep sensitive details factual and brief. "Selling as part of a separation, both owners to attend" is enough. The note is for preparing the appraisal, and other people in the agency may read it.
What happens to the seller calls nobody answers?
Many first calls from sellers arrive when the agent cannot take them, which is why conditional call forwarding matters as much as the questions. AgentFront's Phone Assistant answers those forwarded calls, asks a seller for the property address, their timing and whether it is their home or an investment, and agrees an appraisal time during the call from the agent's real calendar, allowing for working hours, appointment length and buffers. For a desktop appraisal or a walkthrough of a tenanted property, it texts the agent and creates a task instead, so they can arrange the next step themselves.
Common questions
Should I give a seller a price on the first call?
No. Answer a value question with an appraisal, because a figure given before you have seen the property or the recent sales is a guess. In Queensland, if an agent suggests an asking price, they must do a comparative market analysis.
What if the seller is not ready to book an appraisal?
Agree a specific next step instead, such as a desktop appraisal or a call on a named day once they have spoken to their partner. Write it down and keep it.
Do I need the tenant's permission to appraise a rented property in Queensland?
You need either the tenant's agreement or a written Entry notice (Form 9). The Residential Tenancies Authority lists 48 hours' notice for a valuation or to show a prospective buyer, and entry between 8am and 6pm Monday to Saturday unless the tenant agrees otherwise.
Is it rude to ask a seller whether they have spoken to other agents?
No. Sellers expect it, and the Queensland Government's own advice to sellers is to speak with several agents. Knowing who else they have met tells you what the appraisal needs to answer.