Finding a good Real Estate Agent is key to getting your home sold. Today it takes more than just putting your home in the Multiple Listing Service. Homes are taking longer to sale with the current shortage of buyers. A realtor with knowledge, experience, and an excellent marketing plan are key elements to ensure a sale.
STEP ONE. Try to get names of at least THREE Real Estate Agents you can talk to. Trying the following are the best ways to get those names:
SOMEONE YOU KNOW. Look around at who you know. Do you know a Realtor? If so, ask yourself if that is a person you would trust to sale your home? If not, you may not want to interview that person.
GET A REFERRAL. There are lots of ways to find a realtor. The best way is to ask around. If a Real Estate Agent is recommended be sure to ask WHY they liked the realtor. Just because they are someone’s cousin may not mean they are the best person to use.
STEP TWO. Set up interviews with all three Real Estate Agents. Be sure to explain up front that you plan on interviewing other agents (especially if it is someone you know). Explain that you would like a presentation of what they plan to do to sale your home.
STEP THREE. Ask questions during the interview. And take notes so you can compare each Real Estate Agent you interview. Find out the following:
KNOWLEDGE. You want to get a feel for how knowlegeable they are about selling homes in your area. This is one of the most important elements. Their lack of knowlege could result in over or under pricing your home, not having the proper contacts to market your home, and a lack of possible buyers to send your way. Try questions like: How many buyers and sellers have you helped in this area?, Do you know of any new construction in the area that could affect me selling my home?, Have you looked at any of the houses in my neighborhood to determine what would be the best price to sell my home for?
MARKETING. This is the second most important element in selling a home. There are lots of tricks that can give your home extra exposure. Are they only utilzing outdated tools? Newspapers and Magazines have very little success (only used by 2% of buyers). However, the Internet is the number one place buyers look for homes. Realtor.com is also the number one website for home buyers. Make sure you will be on this website and that you will have multiple pictures on this site (80% of all home buyers will not look at a home without seeing pictures first). Also, will the agent help you prepare your home to get it sold? A staged home sales for more money and faster than a home that is not staged. What marketing do they plan to do to other agents. Since 77% of all sales are conducted with the assistance of a Real Estate agent marketing to them can often be more important than trying to market to buyers. Try these questions: What marketing do you plan to do on my home? What kind of exposure can I expect from each of these? What internet marketing do you do? Will they showcase pictures of my home? How do you market my home to other agents?
EXPERIENCE. Experience has it plus and minuses. Do they have such a large amount of listings that your home may not get the attention it needs? Do they have a team member that they will pass you off to that doesn’t know anything about your needs? Will they work hard to get your house sold or do they not really care because it doesn’t really matter if they sale your home or not? An inexperienced agent may not be the best way to go either. Inexperienced agents may be more diligent in trying to sell your home. But will they know what to do when the contract comes? Do they have another agent that will assist them? A happy medium may be best. These are all things you want to weigh. Try these questions: How long have you been selling homes? Do you have testimonials or referrals to show why people liked using you as an agent? How many listings and buyers do you currently have? How often will you be contacting me to keep me updated on my sale process? Do you have a team that will assist me? If so, what are the advantages that this team environment will provide me? Have you been given any awards during your Real Estate career to show your success? What are your statics in terms of average sale price, days on market, and how close your list price is compared to sales price?
COST. Find out the costs to sell your home. There are more costs associated with selling then just the commission. Find out what the fees are so you can determine how much you need to get for your home. I also recommend NOT telling the agent how much you owe on the home. You do not want to jeopardize your negotiations if any of the agents bring a buyer to the table (including the agent you pick). Also talk about the commission the agent plans to charge. Commissions are NEGOTIABLE (in Texas, check with your state). If the agent does cut the commission ask if they will be cutting any marketing to cover this cut. Make sure all cuts are only to be taken from your Real Estate Agent’s commission and not the money that goes to pay the buyers Real Estate Agent’s commission (this could hurt you with showings and potentially selling your home if a buyers Real Estate Agent’s commission is cut). Try questions like: What are the costs to sell my home? What do those costs cover? How much commission will you charge me? Is there a way to lower that commission? If so, does it eliminate or reduce any of the marketing you plan to do for my home? How much of the commission that I pay will go to the buyer’s Real Estate Agent?
STEP THREE. Sit down and compare all three Real Estate Agents. Look at what sets them apart from one another. Did they all have the same marketing plan? Experience? And knowlegde? Try to determine if any of the differences are important elements that would assist you in selling your home. Then make a decision based on that information.
STEP FOUR. Call the Real Estate Agent you picked and inform them of your decision. Be sure to set a date for that Agent to come out and put your home on the market. Also call the other two Real Estate Agents as a courtesy and thank them for their time. Plus you do not want any resentment that would cause them to not show your home to a potential buyer.
STEP FIVE. Congratulate yourself. You did it! You have just given yourself the best tool in selling your home. A Real Estate Agent with the knowledge, experience, and marketing plan to help you in getting your home SOLD.
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