What Should Sellers Expect from their Listing Agents?

What Should Sellers Expect from their Listing Agents?

First and foremost, not every agent works the same way and state laws when it comes to real estate may be different. So, if you are a homeowner thinking about selling your home in Florida, I would caution you when taking advice from a friend with a real estate license in Colorado.

From a consumer standpoint, marketing a home should be the same regardless of the location, however, listing and selling a home is a lot more than putting a lockbox on the door or wherever else is appropriate and a sign in the yard and hopefully entered the listing into MLS and wait for the potential buyers strolling in.
Even though agents make it look so effortless, even fun to coordinate a real estate transaction, there’s a lot of in the back-end you may never even know about.

So what should sellers expect from their listing agents when selling a house?

-Communication- this is probably one of the most important parts of the transaction. Be sure to talk to your agent about how often they will communicate and the method. Communication is essential even if there’s no activity.


-Marketing- your agent will provide you with helpful tips on how to prepare it so potential buyers will fall in love enough to write an offer. Your house should be ready to show outside and in. Once the house is ready to market, your agent will then coordinate a time to get professional photos taken. Remember, most buyers start their search online.

-Timelines- whether you’re the buyer or the seller, you must read the contract and ensure you meet all the deadlines set forth. The closing date is probably the one most home sellers pay attention to, however, several things must take place in order to get to the closing table.

-Their interaction with other agents- real estate transactions should never..ever..ever be about the agent but all about the buyers and the sellers. Listing agents and buyers’ agents should work together, as a team so everything goes smooth. However, that is like expecting a winter without snow or no rain in the spring months if you live in Florida. Not going to happen! Listing agents should stay in their lines and do what it is they were hired to do by their seller clients/customers. So, how do they cross that line?
I can give many examples but here are few;
~communicating with  the buyers directly and bypassing their agent
~contacting the buyers’ lender to ask questions they should not be asking
~re-writing the contract in the form of an addendum..just pointless
~following them around the house like a puppy-dog during showings and home inspections

-Coordination- your listing agent will coordinate and schedule all the showings, the inspection, appraisal, respond to all the offers in a timely fashion and finally, schedule the final walk-through.

Above are some of the important roles your listing agent plays, in addition, listing agents also work with the title company(in FL) to ensure they have what they need to coordinate to get the file to closing.

Not every agent works the same way, I suggest speaking with a few and select the one you can trust. If you’re not satisfied, do not wait until the listing expires but address the issues with your agent immediately. When selling your house, every day counts and the last thing you want is to find yourself in a place searching for the next agent. If your agent is not responding, contact their Broker.

Selling your house should not add any stress to your life, on the contrary, it should be a time of celebration and joy. As agents, that should be our goal.

What Should Sellers Expect from their Listing Agents?

 

 

Beth Atalay, Broker/Owner Cam Realty and Property Management 407-929-1852 Wheretoliveinorlando.com BethAtalay@Gmail.com Your Orlando Agent - Where to Live in Orlando