Skip to main content

Seven Questions to Ask Before You Choose an Agent



The concern today when putting your home on the market should not be whether you'll get a contract; it's whether you are going to recognize the majority your net proceeds without any unnecessary delays.

What you realize from the sale of your home has to do with maximizing the sales price while minimizing the sales expenses.  Interestingly, the buyers will be trying to minimize the price they have to pay for your home and possibly, have you pay some of their expenses.

Taking a few pictures with a cell phone and putting a sign in the yard may be enough to get a buyer but successfully selling a home in today's market requires expert marketing and expert negotiations. 

Marketing begins with the preparation of the property to optimize the first impressions it makes to potential buyers.  A skilled professional can make recommendations that can help the home sell for the most money and in the shortest amount of time.  Cleaning, painting, depersonalizing, removing unnecessary items and possibly staging are a few of the recommendations you might receive.

93% of buyers rely on the Internet to search for properties and information and is something they engage even before they find an agent.  Positioning the home so it only can be found effectively in the search is making it appeal favorably and requires careful consideration.

Professional-level photography will make the property look appealing.  Experience knowing the right angles, the proper lighting, and having the right lens are only a few of the things can make a property stand out from the competition.

Negotiations plays a huge part in the sale of any home.  There will be negotiations during the offer/contract stage with the buyer and the other agent.  After that, there may be negotiations regarding inspections, repairs, the appraisal, or anything that might threaten the ultimate closing.

The following are seven questions that you can ask when interviewing an agent to market your home.  The answers should help you evaluate and select an agent who can represent you and your interests.

  1. Do you use a professional photographer?
  2. Have you sold homes in this area recently?
  3. Explain your timetable for preparation, "going live" and market exposure.
  4. Describe your efforts during the negotiation process.
  5. Do you have a pricing analysis, showing actives and solds, for my neighborhood?
  6. Which properties will be our strongest competition?
  7. How do you get the most exposure to get competing offers?

On the surface, it may appear that all agents are the same.  They are all be licensed to sell real estate and can put your home in the MLS for other agents to find.  Experience and skill sets can vary widely among agents and the questions provided in this article can help you determine who can do the best job for you in today's environment and the market your home is located.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Make Your Home Offer the Most Appealing

Sales in February 2023 were up 14.5% month over month and still down 22.6% year over year according to the NAR Housing Snapshot.   The median sales price dipped 0.2% to $363,000 and there are 2.6 months supply of homes on the market compared to 1.7 months a year ago. "Inventory levels are still at historic lows, and consequently, multiple offers are returning on a good number of properties." According to Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Association of REALTORS�. It is still important to have a strategy for potentially competing with other buyers on the house you want to buy.   The plan should include several available provisions and options, so that at the time of drafting the sales offer, you can consider exactly what to include based on the situation. Unless a person is paying cash, you need to be pre-approved by a trusted mortgage professional long before you start looking at homes.   Include the written pre-approval letter along with the offer
Post a Comment
Read more

Getting Comfortable with the New Normal Mortgage Rates

The biggest shock to homebuyers is the soaring mortgage rates of 2022 that doubled in one year resulting in approximately 15 million mortgage ready buyers displaced from the market due to affordability issues. As of February 23, 2023, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage was at 6.5%.   While that is twice as high as it was on January 6, 2022, it is still lower than the 7.75% average rate since April 2, 1971, according to the Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey. When rates increase at a rapid pace like this, it takes time for the public to adjust and begin to accept it as the new normal. Prior to the housing bust that led to the Great Recession, the normal for mortgage rates was in the 6% range and existing home sales were over 6.5 million for three years.   From 2007 to 2014, home sales were closer to 5 million with 2008-2011 at just above 4 million annually. From January 17, 2008 to March 5, 2020, mortgage rates averaged 4.32%.   In this 12-year period, buyers exper
Post a Comment
Read more

Rethinking Backup Offers

Like with any professional, there are tools and techniques available to help with particular situations.   They might be more popular at certain times and might even be put aside or forgotten at others. For real estate professionals, one of those is the backup offer.   In a situation where there are multiple offers, the seller can accept any offer for whatever reasons are important to them, leaving the makers of the other offers disappointed.   There is always some uncertainty that the buyers on a contract will close accordingly.   To hedge on that possibility, the seller may choose to make a counteroffer to one or more of the other offers to be a backup should the primary contract not close. From a buyer's perspective, the purpose of a backup offer is to be next in line to have the chance to purchase the property should the first contract fall through. The benefit is that you'll be next in line to purchase the home without having to submit another offer and possi
Post a Comment
Read more