CHOOSING YOUR AGENT!!!

Firstly congratulations on over coming the feeling to do it yourself when it comes to selling your home, in the end most For Sale By Owners (FSBO) have to get an agent in.
It is proven that an agent actually can get you more bucks for your square foot and if they are a good agent they help advise and look after so much beyond the role they do.

First things first...

PICKING AN AGENT

Always pick a local area agent who knows the housing stock locality and comes across professional.
Agents split into full time and part time, Its your call when it comes to who you want to work with but when I am interviewed it is a question that pops up, "am i full time or part time", I always answer 24 hours I never stop! which is true...
Why pick an agent thats coming miles away to service and support you! its not easy for them in my opinion and not good for you.

Most home owners usually get two to three agents in on average, or they are happy on the first one.
Selling a home is like a marriage there are good days and bad days, trials and troubles, good and bad as you go forward so pick someone who is open straight will tell you as it is, no point working with someone who is not going to contribute.
You also need a person who is able to sell the home, its not about just going through the motions of listing the home, the home has to be SOLD, that comes in everything that agent you pick is going to do for you.
All agents are not the same in service, communication, experience or skill sets so it varies what they will do for you and how good they will be.
So interview your agent, get to know them find an agent who fits who cares and understands gives you the feeling of trust and getting the job done, i.e. someone you can work with.
They need to be a good communicator, creative therefore different.
An agent can have fantastic gold this, member of that, been in the business 20years ask them for references, ask them for a marketing plan of how they would sell the home, how will it work, what will they do, look at the whole thing.
At the end of the day you want an agent you can work with you that understands and is interested in you!
Not one that lists for listing sake and moves on to the next seller pushing forward with no implementation or care for the home owner they have just signed.

COMMISSION TAKE CARE

6% Commission does not mean the agent you list with gets 6%! The listing agent may only get 1.5% the rest being taken by the Listing broker, the selling broker and the selling agent (got the violins out yet!!!)
Make sure that you are getting a full service...for the commission.
An example maybe that you get a low ball commission but the agent only does maybe over a 6month period of listing two open house, or maybe they say they don't believe open houses work??? I see this so often!
The first three months of listing a home are critical when a property comes to the market to get the most from it so your home sells, so milk the listing for all its worth!!!.
I am not saying you will sell in three months no agent can guarantee that, of course if its under priced then you could of sold it four times over.
But for sure the marketing plan, the staging, the price all should be focused to your needs, timings and equity requirements.
Look at what else an agent does beside sticking it on one system i.e. MLS Middlesex Listing System.

COMMUNICATION

One thing to enlist on is feedback, regular updates as the path of selling can be a stressful one.
You need to know whats happening, what people are saying about your home.
The agent needs to include you in all feedback, and take action accordingly.
They should be a good negotiator even on the sellers side of the table...

These are my opinions based on my experience in the UK and the USA across the years I have been in Real estate.
The principles are the same....

Invite me in... see the difference!



MORTGAGE UPDATE

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