Choosing the right real estate agent to sell your home

Finding a real estate agent is easy; it’s getting the right one for the job that really proves tricky. With a new breed of agents advertising themselves through online ads, yard signs, postcards and sponsored park benches, how do you cut through the hype and pick the best one?

If you are thinking of selling your home, a good real estate agent will market the property professionally, help you set the right price, qualify all potential buyers, negotiate expertly and close that deal as soon as possible. What most homeowners don’t know is that a great seller’s agent needs to have some qualities. This includes long time experience with recent markets, the ability to walk on a tight, thin rope and balance optimism with realism. Not to mention someone with diplomacy and a brutally honest personality. Remember, you’re paying the big bucks; you owe it to yourself to find the perfect match. Here are a few life-saving tips on choosing the right real estate agent to sell your home.

Round up some experienced prospects

Looking up prospective agents will require you to surf the web for real estate agent directories. Websites such as realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia provide directories of realtors that service your local area. You could also ask your neighbors or family members for referrals, but there is no guarantee that it would result in the right realtor for you. What’s most important here is to limit your search to certain criteria. This includes searching for agents that specialize in your type of home and situation, i.e., condo, resort homes, luxury apartment, bungalows, country homes e.t.c.

Ask the right, tough questions

After rounding up your prospects, what you really want is a real estate agent who is both passionately and intimately familiar with your neighborhood. An agent with all the signs and ads in the world may not necessarily be the best choice. If you interview an agent with little constructive input about market price and condition, always be curious. Do they want to genuinely help you, or just put up a sign and reel in any buyer? Ask for a comparative market analysis and make sure your prospect knows more than enough about the neighborhood. Never fall for the agent who promises unbelievably high prices that sound unrealistic from the get go.

Ensure your agent has admin support

Some of the best and most professional real estate agents have an entire team of specialists on their roster. This is why you need to employ an agent with at least one assistant or specialist. Today, selling your home involves more than just advertising; it requires nurturing and collecting quantifiable information of the buyers and sellers.

Sign the right contract on your terms

Before you sign anything, ask your agent how long they would like the listing contract to last. If the market is slow, then it’s only natural that the agent will demand a lengthy contract; typically 6 to 12 months. However, more high-end homes listing agents tend request 12 months on their listing contracts. This is just because the agent will not want to lose a listing after spending thousands of dollars on staging and marketing. So, make sure that the terms of the contract are favorable to you as well before you sign it.

Final word

While there are some selfish real estate agents that are only looking out for themselves, there are also plenty more that only want the best for their clients. It’s all about identifying who is looking out for your needs and who wants to just milk as much money as they can without offering any real help.

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DISCLAIMER: This article expresses my own ideas and opinions. Any information I have shared are from sources that I believe to be reliable and accurate. I did not receive any financial compensation in writing this post, nor do I own any shares in any company I’ve mentioned. I encourage any reader to do their own diligent research first before making any investment decisions.

Featured Image by Nerissa Dela Cruz via Flickr / CC BY 2.0