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Replies (12)
- sunnyview
- Contributions:25139
I would not select a TV realtor myself. Most of the TV realtors that I have met deal in mainly volume and do not handle listings themselves. They seem to use junior agents, open house sitters and assistants to deal with clients needs/concerns for much of the deal. If you neighborhood sells to a specific demographic or specialty buyer then I would consider going with a neighborhood specialist. If not, I would favor hiring an agent that I had worked well with before in the local area.
It is always smart to interview more than one agent to choose the best one for your house. Do not select the agent based on the list price that they give give you the highest list price does not men you are getting the best agent and some agents will develop a higher than reasonable CMA just to get the listing. Do some interviews and trust you gut in selecting an agent.
It is always smart to interview more than one agent to choose the best one for your house. Do not select the agent based on the list price that they give give you the highest list price does not men you are getting the best agent and some agents will develop a higher than reasonable CMA just to get the listing. Do some interviews and trust you gut in selecting an agent.
- DiamondFundingCorp
- Contributions:454
As a lender, often indirectly related to actions of realtors, experience is your best guide.Rather than selecting the agent, select the broker first. See which broker actively advertises. Ask to meet with the broker for a referral to someone in their office who is experienced and ACTIVE IN THE BUSINESS.
- Mike Hancock, "MoyeRealty"
- Contributions:83
First off you are doing the right thing by getting started early, this will give you time to talk with more than one realtor. My advice, start your agent search by checking all the local venues for real estate advertising (local papers, print ads, and online ads) see who stands out, or shows up everywhere then meet with them. If none of these click with you then call your realtor friend, chances are if you were happy with them before you will be again and if they are worth their weight they'll tell you if they think someone else is better suited to list your home. I agree with "sunnyview" about the TV guys.
Good luck and go ahead and get started.
Good luck and go ahead and get started.
- rockinblu
- Contributions:7202
DViolette,
You may want to print out the blog attached to the link below for help on deciding on an agent. Good luck.
http://rockinblu-rockinblu.blogspot.com/2009/02/ive-got-my-fingers-crossed.html
You may want to print out the blog attached to the link below for help on deciding on an agent. Good luck.
http://rockinblu-rockinblu.blogspot.com/2009/02/ive-got-my-fingers-crossed.html
- real estate mike
- Contributions:2001
You could interview one of each. I'd probably go with the past relationship assuming good communication and a strong marketing process. best of luck
- Iwona Wojcik, "iwona76"
- Contributions:114
I would go with someone that works, and knows your area best. They probably have buyers that are looking for properties. Also they would be most availabe to show your house on short notice.
- NTETS, "Mr Caveat"
- Contributions:6436
select multiple realtors, a dozen or so, and interview them. treat it like a job app, afterall you are paying them a lot of money... thousands of dollars
ask them about listing price, marketing stratagies, experience, education and their personal lives. try to find one that you feel comfortable with emotionally and who seems somewhat intelligent. tell them to walk you through your house and really try to sell it.
ask them about listing price, marketing stratagies, experience, education and their personal lives. try to find one that you feel comfortable with emotionally and who seems somewhat intelligent. tell them to walk you through your house and really try to sell it.
- real estate mike
- Contributions:2001
ntets is insane who has time to interview a dozen people? You already know one and I assume they performed well or you wouldn't have mentioned them.
- SoCal_Engr
- Contributions:5666
Here is the process I used when I sold my home...
1) Do some research on your own and get an idea of what ballpark you think your house should sell for. It doesn't need to be super accurate, but it will give you a basis for comparison when talking to realtors.
2) Drive around your neighborhood and look at the "For Sale" signs. See what brokers are most represented, and which agents. This gives you an idea of who is "most active" (both broker and agent) in your neighborhood.
3) Pick the top 2-3 agents and talk to them. Get a CMA from them and see where they price you at (i.e., are they being realistic, or pricing to get your business?). Ask about things like days on market, how your house will be marketed, what can be negotiated on the commissions. Also, ask to have the CMA explained - with reasons (i.e., not just "well, these last three sold for $400K, so yours should be in the same ballpark").
4) Go with the agent you feel most comfortable with. Hopefully, steps 2 and 3 will give you a pool of competent (or, at least, active) agenst to pick from.
I went on the theory that the most active agent in a farm may be able to work other agents to make the deal happen...and that is exactly how it worked out. The buyers offered $2K less than our asking (which was ridiculous considering this was early 2000 in SoCal), so we countered at $1K less...and the buyers replyed with a take-it-or-shove-it response. So I said "fine, let them walk if $1K means that much to them in this market". Bottom line, our agent leaned on buyer's agents and got them to reduce their commision to make the deal work. The buyer's got the house $2K below asking, but the reduced commission meant that I cleared the same as if they had agreed to my counter.
Good luck.
1) Do some research on your own and get an idea of what ballpark you think your house should sell for. It doesn't need to be super accurate, but it will give you a basis for comparison when talking to realtors.
2) Drive around your neighborhood and look at the "For Sale" signs. See what brokers are most represented, and which agents. This gives you an idea of who is "most active" (both broker and agent) in your neighborhood.
3) Pick the top 2-3 agents and talk to them. Get a CMA from them and see where they price you at (i.e., are they being realistic, or pricing to get your business?). Ask about things like days on market, how your house will be marketed, what can be negotiated on the commissions. Also, ask to have the CMA explained - with reasons (i.e., not just "well, these last three sold for $400K, so yours should be in the same ballpark").
4) Go with the agent you feel most comfortable with. Hopefully, steps 2 and 3 will give you a pool of competent (or, at least, active) agenst to pick from.
I went on the theory that the most active agent in a farm may be able to work other agents to make the deal happen...and that is exactly how it worked out. The buyers offered $2K less than our asking (which was ridiculous considering this was early 2000 in SoCal), so we countered at $1K less...and the buyers replyed with a take-it-or-shove-it response. So I said "fine, let them walk if $1K means that much to them in this market". Bottom line, our agent leaned on buyer's agents and got them to reduce their commision to make the deal work. The buyer's got the house $2K below asking, but the reduced commission meant that I cleared the same as if they had agreed to my counter.
Good luck.
- rjon.101
- Contributions:201
here are a few items to look for
1 do they do RE full time, I am ammazed at the number of REAs that are part time with another "real job" that really pays the bills
No one retired from another job, they (90% of the time)don't need the REA career to earn a living and are filling time and need the tax writ off
2 is it their and their families livelyhood, avoid those who don't need to perform to provide a living , ie the spouse has the real income and RE is a diversion or tax write off.
items 1 and 2 mean someone who has to perform and put a deal together to eat and pay the mortgage and health insurance. and they know enough about RE deals to truely earn a living at it.
3 avoid anyone who advertises on TV or the internet or radio, just like the plague . IF they are really good they will live off referals and not need to waste money on ego fulfilling advertizing or to show their face all over billboards. instead spend the money on a new mercedes.
4 make sure they can return your phone call the same day and have time for you. A super duper agent may be at his limit and not have time for you. so it is better to settle for just super. Nix any agent who can not return a phone call the same day or at least have a secretary return the call just out of courtesy.
TRy for minimum 3 years full time all the time experiance. if you can get someone who experianced a few real estate crashes like 1982 1991 as well as the present crash even better. Remember if you interview 10 agents at random odds are 9 will leave real estate in 1 year if they need the career to earn a living. So ask how long have they sold RE and how many houses have they sold. yes be very blunt even if accidently rude, if they cant take it they cant do real estate very well. YOu want the one who made it threw several years and actually provided a living for his family doing it, that is the agent to find.. which is why they are so rare .
a good agent who does not know your area can use his skills/experiance to be up to speed on your area very quickly in terms of values, sales, what you should ask and accept5 one who will tell you realty about your homes value and sales prospects not what you want to hear just to get the listing hoping you will lower your expectations later. Actually a really good agent (probably) won't take an overpriced listing that will consume a lot of time until the owners come down in expectations. His reputation will be hurt by that house that did not sell for 1 or 2 years. And he will spend his time on other listings that will actually sell and make him money.
1 do they do RE full time, I am ammazed at the number of REAs that are part time with another "real job" that really pays the bills
No one retired from another job, they (90% of the time)don't need the REA career to earn a living and are filling time and need the tax writ off
2 is it their and their families livelyhood, avoid those who don't need to perform to provide a living , ie the spouse has the real income and RE is a diversion or tax write off.
items 1 and 2 mean someone who has to perform and put a deal together to eat and pay the mortgage and health insurance. and they know enough about RE deals to truely earn a living at it.
3 avoid anyone who advertises on TV or the internet or radio, just like the plague . IF they are really good they will live off referals and not need to waste money on ego fulfilling advertizing or to show their face all over billboards. instead spend the money on a new mercedes.
4 make sure they can return your phone call the same day and have time for you. A super duper agent may be at his limit and not have time for you. so it is better to settle for just super. Nix any agent who can not return a phone call the same day or at least have a secretary return the call just out of courtesy.
TRy for minimum 3 years full time all the time experiance. if you can get someone who experianced a few real estate crashes like 1982 1991 as well as the present crash even better. Remember if you interview 10 agents at random odds are 9 will leave real estate in 1 year if they need the career to earn a living. So ask how long have they sold RE and how many houses have they sold. yes be very blunt even if accidently rude, if they cant take it they cant do real estate very well. YOu want the one who made it threw several years and actually provided a living for his family doing it, that is the agent to find.. which is why they are so rare .
a good agent who does not know your area can use his skills/experiance to be up to speed on your area very quickly in terms of values, sales, what you should ask and accept5 one who will tell you realty about your homes value and sales prospects not what you want to hear just to get the listing hoping you will lower your expectations later. Actually a really good agent (probably) won't take an overpriced listing that will consume a lot of time until the owners come down in expectations. His reputation will be hurt by that house that did not sell for 1 or 2 years. And he will spend his time on other listings that will actually sell and make him money.
- Debra La Plante, "TheBestNJHomes.com"
- Contributions:70
Find an agent that has a marketing plan that makes sense to you!
- Joe Azzolino, "jazzolino"
- Contributions:40
You need a Realtor that is Most Familiar with your neighborhood and has had success selling there.
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