by drose
16. November 2010 14:27
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Most homeowners will only sell a house a few times in their lives. It's an incredibly important process;
done correctly, it can be very successful financially. That's why the process of selling a house needs to start with choosing a real estate agent who knows your market and can help you properly market your house at the right price to the right buyers. Yet with so much at stake, many homeowners choose a real estate agent because the agent is a family member, a neighbor or someone they met in a coffee shop.
If you’re getting ready to put your house on the market, you should choose your real estate agent with the same care that you would use to select a doctor, an attorney or an accountant. It's important because a good real estate agent will serve as your representative in the real estate transaction. They will make recommendations on things to do to help sell your house for the highest possible price and the shortest amount of time. They’ll make sure that your home is marketed to the right group of prospective buyers, handle negotiations on any offers that are submitted and check on the ability of buyers to get financing. It’s a big job.
Here are some tips to help you select a real estate agent when you're selling a house:
Get recommendations from people who have sold houses in your area in the last year. The market for sellers is extremely competitive; you want an agent who has been successful selling houses like yours under the current conditions. Ask what their agent did to market their house, how long it took to sell, the listing price and the price at which the house eventually sold. (If these questions seem too personal to ask, the information may be available on real estate websites such as Trulia.com or Zillow.com.)
Attend open houses in your neighborhood. See how the listing agent represents the property to prospective buyers, both in the presentation and in the printed materials about the house.
Once you've done these things, make a short list of the agents with whom you were most impressed and call each of them to ask for presentations. You'll want to receive a comparative market analysis to determine a range for a sale price, suggestions on things you could do to your house to get the best possible price, information on how they would market your home, and the terms of their listing agreement.
You'll want to ask:
-Is real estate your full-time job?
-How long have you worked in real estate?
-Are you a member of the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS)? This is critical for reaching the widest range of prospective buyers.
-Are you a REALTOR®? Only members of the National Association of of REALTORS® can use this title; the term means the agent follows and is bound by the NAR's standards and code of ethics, which often far exceed state requirements for licensing.
-Do you hold any professional designations, such as the National Association of REALTORS® Green Designation? These real estate professionals are specialists in marketing the value of energy-efficient, sustainable homes.
-How many listings do you have -- and how many houses have you sold -- in our neighborhood and price range in the past 12 months? An agent with several dozen listings may sound very experienced, but the more important question is how many houses they've listed that have sold, how quickly they've sold in comparison to the overall marketing and at what price they've sold in comparison to the original listing price. This will give you a very good picture of how well they understand the market in your area.
Check the status of their license. Every state requires real estate agents to be licensed, and to keep their licenses in good standing. The licensing agencies have the authority to suspend or revoke an agent's license for misconduct. Check with your state's regulatory agency -- it's often a department of professional regulation -- to see if any complaints have been filed or disciplinary action has been taken. If the agent is a REALTOR®, you can check their standing with your local Board of REALTORS®.
