Selling a home can be a very stressful situation, especially if you have plans and dreams that you want to accomplish and you need to sell the home to attain your goals.

In today's real estate climate it takes a lot more than planting a sign in the front yard, installing a lock box on the front door and praying to the God's it will sell. It takes marketing and market knowledge. Pretty marketing flyer's inside the house, appeases you the seller. However, buyers just toss them like trash in the back of Realtors car if they were turned off by the property. The biggest impact for selling your home comes from three things.Compelling Headline Advertising, Street Appeal and Pricing It Correctly to start with.

The questions you should ask a Realtor have changed. In today's challenging market, interview three agents and ask them these questions:

• Where do buyers come from that will buy my house?
• How will you target the buyers who would like my home?
• What form of advertising do you do?
• What does your marketing plan look like? Can you show it to me?
• Do you work with buyers as well as listing homes?
• How many homes have you sold in the past year or two?
• Google them to see how they market themselves and homes online. Here is the results when you "Google Peggy James of Erick and Company."

These questions are extremely important to you the seller. You need to feel confident and see proof that the Realtor you hire is not only surviving the current real estate climate, but that they are thriving and selling homes and helping people just you like attain your goals. Isn't that the whole reason for selling?

"The last thing you want to happen when you list your home for sale is, you keep it clean and neat everyday and no one comes inside to see it."

So how do you the seller check your agent to see if he or she is really working for you:

1. Read your MLS Printout. Is the information correct. ( "I cannot believe how many times the directions are wrong...sellers...please double check you MLS Listing") Not all agents have navigation systems. They use the MLS printout to get to your home.
2. Do you like what buyers see about your home?
3. Is The Advertising Content Changing? Buyers search online alot. If your agent is not keeping your photo's rotated, updated and changing the content on the postings and ads, then buyers will say "seen it, don't like, saw that one" The reason I say that as long as it takes you to snap your finger, a buyer can be onto the next home and yours never came up to bat.Marketing Sells Houses. You need a Realtor who knows how to market your home and showcase it's most redeming qualities.
4. Google your street address-
• Does your agents marketing stand out in front of you. First you will notice many corporate internet sites like Redfin, and Realtor.com, and Justlisted.com just pick up your listing as it was entered into the Multiple Listing Database. This is not your agent advertising.This is just the internet doing what it does best...connecting all things together.
• Then you will see any and all Online Advertising your agent is doing to showcase your home.
• Make sure that it's compelling.
• Ask your agent do you have different comments on Public Comments and Realtor Comments? Public comments are for the consumer this is another form of marketing,and Realtor  comments these comments are for Agents.Key buzz words are critical in this space. (Regualar Sale, Main Level MasterBedroom, InGround Pool, Big Flat Yard, Stunning Street Appeal etc...)
• Would you buy your home as you see it against the competition? How do your photo's look up against the others?

Selling homes today is challenging. Make sure you entrust the selling of  your home with an agent that has their finger on the pulse of the market.

1. Ask them what technology are they using?
2. Ask if they can  respond quickly by cell, text or email to buyer or agent questions? Do the use a smartphone?
3. Do they have an assistant or teammates to help them?
4. Dial the cell and test them...do they call your right back.(have a friend or co-worker test them)
5. Can they show you how many virtual showings you've had versus actual showings. (This is important information in today Online World.
6. Remember-The more buyers who cross your threshold, the better chance you have of selling your home.

I hope this post helps you realize that selling a home today is far more challenging that you thought. Realtors are faced with way more than just placing and sign, answering calls, and showing homes.Hire an agent who is connected with today's technology, someone who's actually helping people like you daily not just complaining on how bad it is. If you do you will be moving soon!

 Call me, I'd love to market and sell your home!

Learn how Erick and I work...read more

703-851-3085

Contact Peggy James or Erick Blackwelderof Erick and Company/Exit 1st Choice Realty, Woodbridge VA. Realtors®, call 703-851-3085 (Peggy) or 703-590-2252 (Office) to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Lake Ridge, Westridge, Old Bridge Estates, River Falls, Middle County, Manassas, Montclair, Dumfries, Occoquan, Dale City, Gainesville area's