How to Choose the Right Real Estate Agent to Help Sell Your Home
Selling
You’re taking steps to sell your home. You want to get your house on the market and priced to sell. You need to find a good real estate agent – also called a listing agent. You may have a vague notion of what this professional does to help you. Your purview may be limited to somebody who hosts open houses and showings, but this isn’t the half of what their job entails. You need to know more to choose the right real estate agent.
Choosing a Listing Agent, Plus Other Important Details to Know
Learn all about what a professional listing agent does. Learn how they help you and how to choose the right real estate agent on your quest to move out and move on up.
What is a Listing Agent?
When you hire a listing agent, they will fulfill quite a few duties in order to help you sell your home.
First, they will help you price your home correctly. They are trained to get your listing into that sweet spot between overpriced and priced too low, as both come with pitfalls.
Once your home is priced right, your agent will get a marketing plan together for the sale. This will include suggestions to make your home more salable, such as repainting walls, making improvements, or ideas for optimal staging.
They’ll also do a few other important jobs:
- Take photos of your home to show it in the best light
- Add your home to the MLS – the multiple listing service, a database of homes for sale accessible to other agents and buyers
- Advertise your home listing
- Set up open houses and coordinate private showings with interested buyers
- Negotiate the sale on your behalf
Factors to Think About When Choosing a Listing Agent
A real estate agent doesn’t get paid until your home sells. As such, you know that they will work hard to make the sale. However, to choose the right real estate agent for you, think about these factors, too:
- Their experience, including how many homes they have sold
- The general price range of all the homes they’ve sold
- Their know-how about staging
- How they will keep in touch with you, and how often
- Their connections – can they recommend contractors, inspectors, or moving companies?
Along with these considerations, keep in mind something totally basic: how well you get along with your listing agent. Do you feel like you are being listened to, that they’re easy to talk to, and your needs are being met? If they’re not the right fit on a basic level, then you’ll probably run into issues along the road.
To Sell Your Home, Start on the Right Foot
Choosing an agent who is the right fit can make selling your house a lot easier. Take the time to understand what they’re supposed to do for you, and don’t be afraid to ask questions to gauge their suitability. This will make the selling process go more smoothly.
