2026-07-06 · 9 min read · East Bay Area
Six Questions Before You Sign a Listing Agreement in Martinez
Why Martinez rewards sharper questions
Martinez is one of the older, more established cities in the county, with a historic downtown, waterfront on the Carquinez Strait, and everything from Victorian-era homes to mid-century ranchers to newer construction. The Mashore Group treats it as its own market because it behaves like one.
That variety is what makes the city interesting. It also means pricing and marketing need a sharper eye here than in newer, more uniform East County subdivisions, where every third house is the same house.
What is the specific plan for my home
Not a general description of what the agent does. The plan for your house, in writing, before you sign anything.
Most agents will say they will put it on the MLS, take professional photographs, perhaps hold an open house, and post to the portals. That has been the standard answer for twenty years and it describes about twenty minutes of work.
A real plan names the likely buyer for this specific property, says where those people will be reached, and explains what happens to somebody who engages online but does not call. Our selling in Martinez page sets out ours.
How are you pricing it, and why
Ask them to walk you through the logic rather than hand you a number. A solid recommendation comes from a real analysis of your street, your condition and your updates, against what has actually closed in the last sixty to ninety days.
Here the age and character of a home matters more than in most of the county. A renovated Victorian downtown does not share comparables with a 1980s ranch a mile away, even in the same zip code. The agent should be able to name which sales they used and why those and not others.
Then ask what happens if two weeks pass without offers. A good agent has an answer ready. A weak one tells you to be patient. Start from what your home is actually worth.
How will you reach buyers who are not local
Martinez draws from a wider geographic range than people expect. Commuters wanting rail access. Buyers coming from higher-priced Marin or San Francisco who want the character of a real downtown without the premium. People leaving Walnut Creek or Concord who want more personality in a neighborhood.
Ask specifically how the agent reaches them, because "we post it and they find us" is not a method. Ask how the campaign is built, how the likely buyer profile is worked out for your house, and how somebody who engages but does not inquire gets followed up.
Buyers research for months before contacting anyone. If your marketing is not present during that window, a large share of your buyer pool never sees the house at all. Our relocation page covers what those buyers are weighing.
What are your negotiation credentials
Ask directly. Do you hold any negotiation designation. How do you handle a multiple-offer situation. What is your process when an appraisal comes in short, which on an updated older home with thin comparables is a live risk here rather than a hypothetical one.
Krista Mashore holds the Master Certified Negotiation Expert designation from the Real Estate Negotiation Institute, which is not a common credential. Negotiation is what turns demand into money. When several buyers are competing, the ability to structure the conversation, read the offers properly and counter deliberately is what decides whether you close at your number or under it.
Who is managing the transaction after acceptance
This matters more than most sellers realize, because the month after acceptance is where deals quietly die and it is almost never a disagreement. It is a deadline nobody tracked.
Dozens of documents, disclosures and dates have to move in the right order. An agent juggling too many listings can miss a contingency deadline or mishandle a disclosure, and a deal that should have closed does not.
Ask who manages the timeline, how they communicate, and whether you will be chasing them for updates or hearing from them first. We use a dedicated licensed transaction coordinator on every listing for exactly this reason.
Can I see results from recent listings nearby
Ask for specifics rather than adjectives. Homes sold in Martinez or comparable Contra Costa cities. Days on market. Final price against list. Reviews from recent clients you can actually read.
If an agent cannot point to verified reviews or show comparable results, keep interviewing. This is a reasonable thing to ask and a reasonable thing to have ready.
The one that tells you the most
If you only ask one, ask to see the marketing plan for your home in writing, plus the engagement data from their last three listings.
Most agents describe what they do in general terms. What you want is what they actually produced: how many people saw the home, how long they spent with it, and how quickly it sold against the asking price. An agent running genuine campaigns has those numbers because the platforms report them. An agent who is not will talk about effort instead.
Ask all six and compare the specificity of the answers. Then get in touch with The Mashore Group and make us answer them too.