Selling your home can often be a difficult task, especially if you plan on doing it alone. However, for prospective home-sellers, many choose to find a real estate agent that will take care of the nitty gritty for them. Unfortunately, a good listing agent can sometimes be hard to come by, and when it comes to selling your home, you don’t want to take any chances.
There are certain things that you, as a home-seller, should always take into consideration when looking for an agent. Given the obscure and confusing process that selling your home entails, you need to make sure that you don’t just trust anyone to such an important task. Below, you’ll find some key things to look for when deciding on your listing agent:
1) Look at Client Testimonials
One sure fire way of making sure your listing agent lives up to your expectations is by looking at their testimonials. Most real estate agents will be keen on showcasing reviews from former clients, and if they aren’t, then that should act as a major red flag for you.
Check their websites (all agents you consider should have one), Zillow, Yelp, Facebook, and other social media pages. This will give you a good understanding of who you’d be working with, and if they will be able to fulfill your needs and wants.
2) Make sure they are Active & Experienced
A second thing that is vital to look into is an agent’s activity and experience level. In regards to activity, any agent you’re considering should be active in the number of transactions, enough to the point that you know it’s their full-time job. If they are inactive, and only sell one house a year, you should know that’s a problem.
Experience level is crucial when combined with activity, as it will give you a look into how well the agent knows the housing market, and their ability to get the best possible outcome for you. Experience is crucial in the realm of real estate, as it could be the make or break between a smooth and profitable transaction, or a stressful, not-so-profitable one.
3) Communication should be Seamless & Easy
When selling your home with a real estate agent, it is crucial that their communication skills are top-notch. It should be easy for you to be able to get in contact with them whenever you need, and they should do their job in staying in contact with you.
Make sure that your prospective real estate agent is efficient in communicating key details with you, such as showing appointments, open house scheduling, and keeps you in the loop about any potential offers that are coming your way. This will ensure a stress-free transaction, so you can rest-assured that your agent is doing the best job possible.
4) Your Interests Come First
Often times, some real estate agents become so obsessed with the idea of selling as many homes as fast as possible, that they completely disregard the needs and interests of their clients. When looking for your listing agent, make sure that your interests are known, and if they don’t take what you say into careful consideration, its time to look for another agent.
Testimonials and reviews can be a good place to see if the agent puts the interests of their client first, or if they are only keen on selling homes quickly without regard for their client.
5) Ask About their Marketing
One of the most important things to consider when looking for a listing agent is how they market your home. A good agent will already know the best avenues by which to get the word out, and will have a perfect mix between online and offline marketing methods.
Some things to consider include whether or not the agent provides photo/video services for your home, advertises on Facebook and Instagram, and is active in passing out flyers to raise local awareness to the newest home on the market. If they don’t have these aspects in line, it’s going to be a long and difficult process from listing to closing.
6) Do they make you feel at ease?
Above all else, finding a listing agent that makes you feel comfortable, and that you can see yourself trusting, is crucial to finding the right person or team. Selling your home is not just a major transaction, it’s one that embodies the dreams and financial opportunities for you and your family. Find a real estate agent that sees your home as just that, a representation of a family and a future. If that’s not how they make you feel, then on to the next one.
The above list is just a few things that need to be considered when choosing a listing agent. Their credibility, experience, reputation, and everything in-between can be major indicators to their ability to get you the result you’re looking for. That’s why we strive to ensure our clients aren’t only business relations, but also our friends, so they know that their home is in good hands. That’s the Mehri & Jerry Difference.