Email from reader: Jeanette, in your blog post Conniving Agents you told the story of what's happening to us. We advertised our home just to see what would happen and we got a bunch of calls from agents. How do we select the right agent?
Answer by Jeanette Joy Fisher
Real estate agents work for themselves and only get paid when you sell your home. Many agents love to list houses and just put them on the MLS hoping that another agent will sell the house. If that happens, they still have work to do. However, an active agent with connections can make a big difference. We sold a house last week, full price, in one day. Our agent wasted no time in calling contacts to show the house.
Here are a few tips for hiring the right person to help sell your home.
First, do some basic research. You want to know which companies specialize in your area, and among those companies, which agents make it a point to concentrate their efforts on selling homes in your part of town. Those agents will be the most knowledgeable, because your home falls within their "farm" or inventory area.
Visit company websites to see how user-friendly, attractive, and informative they are. More and more people turn to the Internet for their home searches every day, so an effective website can be a powerful sales tool. Some things to ask yourself as you view websites:
Do the listings include virtual tours of homes? This can be a great sales tool, allowing potential buyers a chance to get a feel for your home before spending time and gas money on a property tour. At the very least, there should be a number of good quality interior and exterior photos of the homes they have listed.
Next, check your local area for free publications. You'll find free real estate publications in supermarkets or gas stations around town. Pick up as many as you see and look at them. Which companies are prominently displayed, and which ones have the most effective ads?
Ask your friends, relatives, and neighbors about agents they have worked with. Which ones would they recommend and why? Which ones did they have a negative experience with? This can be a great help, because the people you'll be speaking with have had actual dealings with the agents and companies, so they can give firsthand accounts of their experiences, good or bad.
Once you have a few agencies and agents in mind, schedule appointments to interview them. You can generally get a free market analysis at the same time. This will give you a chance to get a range of suggested selling prices, and it can also help you weed out those agents who are too far out of line one way or the other.
Ask each candidate to outline their proposed sales strategy, including advertising and presentation on the Internet. Make certain they're members of your local Multiple Listing Service (MLS), because it remains one of the most powerful sales tools available. It's important that as many agents know about your home as possible.
Ask about commission schedules and listing periods. You want to pay a fair price, but you don't want to tie your home up with an ineffective agent or company for an undue amount of time. Find out the average selling time for homes in your area, and then ask about their particular company's average time. The two figures should be similar. Ask about open houses, lockboxes, and how showings will be handled, as well.
See also Home Selling Guide - Listing Cautions
Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher
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