Here is what I personally look for when choosing a realtor when I buy or sell homes-and what I tell my clients when they are in need of a realtor:
(my background is, I am a mortgage representative, I periodically buy and sell homes and have rental properties so I work with realtors on a daily business)
Area expertise-Just because you "know someone" in the business doesn't mean they are the best choice for your transactions-no matter what your relationship is with them. Be careful to not put friendship or relative status in the way of your $$$-after all, it's not a friendship transaction, it's business. You want someone that is very familiar to the area you are looking at-whether buying or selling.
Marketing Plan-The days of showing up, throwing it on the MLS and waiting for offers to come in are over. I want a marketing plan from a realtor when I interview them-yes, I interview them, they work for me and I will be hiring them to perform a service for me. I want to know just what the plan is if they earn my listing-how they are going to market it, are they going to do open houses and if so, how will they spread the word to create traffic?, With the internet being the place 90% of people start looking, how will they incorporate the internet into marketing my home?, Signage-will it include flyers (one of my biggest pet peeves is an empty brochure box)?, Traditional marketing methods-will they advertise in local real estate books, etc. A realtor gets paid to sell my house, I want to know what their proactive plan will be to do this. I do not believe getting a listing and throwing it on the MLS and waiting deserves a full commission (and their are places out there that will do that for you for about $500 if that's all you need) but, if you aren't on the same page from day one and you don't set expectations (or have any) then you aren't doing your personal due diligence.
Cost-You sometimes get what you pay for. A full service agent with a full service commission package should be just that, full service so I expect when you use a discounted service provider, you should expect lesser service-but that's not always the case. This you will find out in your interview with them. One thing to think about is......if the difference between selling in a timely manner and not is, for example, maybe only 1%, think about what is most important-and that should be your bottom line number after you sell (assuming you sell). To me, the realtor commission is truly secondary-who cares how much the cost if you can't get it sold.....The best way to save money is to use a realtor who can get the job done.
Full time status-this one doesn't bother me as much because I do know some very capable realtors that are part time-and they normally don't have as many listings so you can get more attention but, for me, this goes back to #2.
Accreditations-It's good to know that a realtor has taken the time and cares enough to work on continuing education and furthering their education in the field but it's honestly really not something I put too much weight in. Their job is to find me a buyer or help me find a home and negotiate the purchase agreement.
# of current listings the realtor has-if you have a lot of listings, how can you possibly work your hardest to sell my home? You can't......I want to feel that the agent is working their hardest for me and isn't pre-occupied with too many other "irons in the fire" so to speak.
Walk through-Are they there to just get the listing or will they walk through with you and give you recommendations on what you can do to make your home more marketable? I want honest feedback. Too many times I've met clients at their house after they have listed their homes and there are so many little things they could do to make the house more appealing-with the realtor not saying anything to them. Because I do buy and sell investment properties, I analyze homes a lot based on what I would do if I were to buy and "flip" it. I don't know if it's a requirement to do this but, it's something I personally expect as part of their service.
I believe a realtor can be a vital part of selling your home-but choosing the wrong one can also be a liability and add you grief and disappointment. Take your time to think the process out in the beginning and figure out what your expectations will be on your realtor-and on yourself. Remember that, this is a different market-it's a buyers market so they have lots to choose from so you have to stand out to them. You have to be pro-active in selling your home- it has to be well advertised, it has to have "curb appeal", it has to be realistically priced, and you should be educated enough to be able to offer some form of financing assistance if the buyer needs it-but make sure you factor this part into your bottom line.
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