Selling a Home

Selecting an Agent

The selection of the agent you’ll trust to sell your home is the most important decision you make in the selling process. Statistics suggest that almost 20% of sellers choose an agent who is a friend or a relative. However experience has shown that this isn’t the wisest way to select the person who will represent you in one of the largest transactions in your life. There are better ways to ensure you receive top dollar, encounter few problems and sell your home quickly.

To begin with you want to hire a full time agent that appears to have a strong record of success in the area in which you are selling. Professional “out of area” agents may be able to do a good job and then again they may just keep you property on the market too long or unintentionally under sell your place as they don’t have the volume of enquiry a local agent would get.

To effectively sell your home you want to find an agent who knows your neighbourhood, who has knowledge of the schools, shopping, streets, transportation and the relevant council by laws. The agent who will be your best negotiator will be the one who will tell you what you need to hear (not what you want to hear) without fear of hurting your feelings or injuring a personal relationship. Conversely the agent who seems to give you only the good news (especially on price) or is unlikable won’t be able to get the most out of the best buyer for your property.

An effective agent should be able to clearly explain how they will go about selling your home. Selling your home requires more than just putting up a sign, advertising it in the papers and putting it on the internet. If they have been in the industry for any length of time they should have lists of unsatisfied buyers waiting for the next property to come onto the market. Recent statistics suggest that today as many as 90% of buyers begin their search on the internet. Therefore, it is extremely important to hire an agent who has “high tech” knowledge and is “internet savvy”.

Quiz you Real Estate Agent.

1. How long have you been selling in this area?
2. How many potential buyers for my propoerty are currently on your books?
3. How many contracts have you negotiated in the last 3 months? 
4. What is the average time a property listed with you stays on the market? 
5. What is the average difference between your first listed price and your eventual selling price on most properties you list?
   
6. How can you justify your estimate of price? 
7. Do you have a website and how do you attract buyers to your website?
8. What are your marketing strategies and how much will it cost to promote my property?