If your looking to sell or buy a home, then you probably have heard that you need a real estate agent to do so. If your not a "for sale by owner" person, then you'll need to find an agent that suits your needs. How do you find an agent that meets your needs? Well, in short, it takes homework and interviews with agents to find out how they will handle your specific transaction. Here's a good primer:
- Do your homework: Look for agents in your locale that specialize in selling homes in your market. Don't just select agents that have heavy advertising campaigns or have glitzy expertise write-ups. Look for agents that specialize in homes of your type and area. Contact your local real estate agent office if you have difficulty. In most cases, they are more than happy to help.
- Ask your neighbors and friends: This sometimes is your best bet. Real Estate Agents heavily rely on "word of mouth" marketing. No matter how much agents spend on marketing, their best advertising is in past references. If you have a new neighbor, a past neighbor, or a friend who sold a house in your area, ask them for who they used to sell their home.
- Make a list: Once you have a good list of reputable realtors (about 5-7), contact them to arrange an interview.
- The interview: For each agent that you interview, make sure you develop a list of questions regarding their expertise, knowledge, and overall prognosis of their services. There is no science to this, but be sure to ask questions that are important to you in getting the most value for your home and getting it sold quickly. Be sure to also gauge how they conduct themselves and how they respond to your questions. Are you just another listing or are you the most important client they have?
- Q/A: When you ask questions, be precise and document their responses. By documenting their responses, you'll have a laundry list of items to present to them in case they fail to meet the needs you requested in the interview. Also ask them questions regarding how your home will sell in any market and what they do differently than other agents.
- Don't get fooled on statistics: Really, what are statistics? Just because an agent presents you with how many listings there are and how many have sold, etc. in your area doesnt mean they can sell your house. Also keep in mind that the house sells it itself. Whether its the best agent in the world or God, it takes a buyer who wants your house in order to sell it. Make sure you ask them questions as how they will go about selling your home (specifically) in any real estate market.
- The Post Interview: After you have met with all the agents you wish to interview, assess the results. Read between the lines and determine the agent that best meets your needs (commission, past sales, overall personality, and professionalism). Once you are sure who the best agent is, make a final decision and sleep on it to be sure. Keep your list to 3 possible agents.
- REFERENCES: Now that you have your top 3 list of agents, contact them for a list of references. But be careful, anyone that is asked for references will give you "sure bet" clients that will always vouch for them. This is misleading. Instead, ask the agent(s) for a list of references of their last 3 or 5 past transactions, REGARDLESS of positive or negative transactions. By asking for their last 3 or 5 transactions, you'll get clients who had a positive and negative experience with the agent. We also recommend asking agents for one reference who cancelled the listing regardless of the reason. Be sure to also ask for proof from their MLS system that these were in fact there last 3 to 5 transactions or listings.
- Make a final decision: Once you have done your legwork, hopefully the list will be narrowed down to one person. If thats the case, contact them to begin the paperwork.
- Start the listing contract: Now that you have your agent, get the contract done. Be sure to have them explain EVERY line item in the contract and request termination clauses be added where YOU see fit. Also, compile a list of your requests and needs and have them sign it and get it notarized. If things go poorly, you'll have this to go back on. If they won't agree to it, ask the the managing broker to sign it or just disqualify them. By the way, this is YOUR home!
- Conclusion: Once its listed, regroup with your agent to ensure that you are getting the most of your comission money. Make sure the agent is getting feedback and advising you on what can and should be changed in order to make the process go quicker.
Are we missing something? Let us know.
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