If you’re thinking about selling your home, a good real estate agent could mean the difference between selling your home quickly and for top dollar or your home staying on the market longer than it should.
An experienced real estate agent is worth his weight in gold. He can make sure your home is priced properly, offer you exceptional marketing services, qualify your potential buyers and will have mastered the art of negotiation to help you get the highest possible selling price for your home.
Here are the top five things you must do if you want to find the best real estate agent to sell your home.
1. The most important thing sellers can do is find a real estate agent who has experience in the area you need most to sell your home. For example: is your home in danger of going into foreclosure? If so, then you’ll need a realtor who is experienced in short sales. Has your home been upgraded or had room additions added that have made it over built for your current neighborhood? If so, then you’ll need a realtor who has experience selling other homes in your neighborhood so he can properly market your home to get you the highest ROI as possible.
2. You’ll need a realtor who is willing to be honest with you. A good realtor will know how to handle your issues with optimism while helping you understand the reality. A good realtor won’t hesitate to be 100% honest with you about anything even though he knows you may not understand or agree.
3. You should find an agent who has a positive attitude and a passion for what they do. Find someone who will try to sell your home as if it was their own and not someone who just wants to stick a sign in your yard and hope for a sale. The last thing you need while trying to sell your home is someone constantly preaching gloom and doom while trying to sell your home. Ask your prospective agents exactly what processes they’ll be using to generate traffic and market your home. This will give you a reasonable way to determine their initiative and drive.
4. Inquire about who the agent you’re considering is working for. You’ll need to find an agent who only represents you throughout the process. Most States require that an agent discloses their "agency" relationship to you upfront. You should avoid an agent who has dual interests. Meaning they are your listing agent but they would also be representing buyers for your home. Sometimes an agent will try to do this so they don’t have to split their commission with another buyer’s agent. However, this is a direct conflict of interest and may cause you lose money on the sale.
5. Does your prospective agent have a support system? Your agent should have a team of people and other agents who can help sell your home. This is important because they’ll need someone to help market your home on a daily basis and have other agents available to help them should a scheduling conflict arise. However, this doesn’t mean that you should only be communicating with an assistant. You should confirm that you’ll have direct access to your agent at any time.
The best way to find a good real estate agent is to ask friends, family and co-workers for referrals. Additionally, you can browse around on social media sites such as Facebook to see how different agents interact with their clients.
If you’re selling your home and need a good escrow service in the Los Angeles or Southern California area, please contact us. Brighton Escrow in Hermosa Beach, CA is a full service, independent, bonded and licensed escrow company who has been serving the people of South Bay with their escrow needs since 1971.
