Trulia Question: What To Look For In A Listing Agent

FELLOW AGENTS: this post is from my local blog and was intended to be some quick thoughts on what to look for in a listing agent; not the "soup to nuts" answer. I'm always a little suprised, though, at the lack of questions (outside of how much is my home worth) I do get on my listing appointments. I would love to hear your thoughts/experiences about listing appointments

A prospective homeseller posted a question at Trulia recently asking what questions she should ask agents when interviewing them to list her home. Its a great inquiry because us real estate agents sometimes forget that most folks don't live and breath real estate, yet selling your home is probably the largest financial transaction most of us will ever make. It must be like how I feel when I'm at the doctor's office.

As is my custom, I expanded my answer to cover what to look for in a listing agent. I have posted the "meat" of my reply below:

EXPERIENCE: Being a veteran in the RE business with a bunch of designations isn't the only type of experience. In a market such as the current one in Northern Illinois, experience with (AND THE WISDOM TO SOLVE) problems when they crop up (and they do) is more important than time in the industry. I would ask, " Do you see any issues with my homesale, and if so, how are you planning to handle them?"

MARKETING PLAN: Ask for a written marketing plan TAILORED FOR YOUR HOME. I won't go into the types of marketing concepts, but the agent should be able to provide you with a clear and concise plan for marketing YOUR home; not just what their brokerage firm does in general.. Also a marketing budget and suggestions for getting the highest value for your home.

SALES PLAN: This veers into the world of dual agency (where the agent represents you and the buyer) so if you are not comfortable with that you can ignore this. Often, agents get the listing and hope that another agent sells the home for them. I would want to know how much buyer prospecting that agent is doing. Is their marketing aimed at other agents or buyers?

PRICING: Shannon hit it on the nose; you want an agent that can give you a range for the value of your home and a rationale for that value. Ultimately, you are going to chose the marketing price, but if they are meek enough to let you just list at any price, then how strong are they going to be when it comes to negotiating on your behalf.

COMFORT: You don't have to become best friends with your agent , but with average market times of 6 months (and longer), you need to be able to work well together as a team.

Click here for more of my thoughts on selling your home.

Please feel free to visit my blog about Will & Grundy Counties, IL at The Will/Grundy Real Estate Report.