How Do I Pick A Real Estate Agent?
Unlike a lot of other types of transactions in which you can look up the review of say a restaurant, a product, or even a specialist by looking online, real estate agents are more difficult to judge. For most people, selling a house will be the largest financial transaction of their lives, so you should not hire a specific person simply out of convenience. A quality real estate agent can save you a lot of time during the steps of selling a house. The role of a real estate agent or a realtor is to help you market your home properly to ensure your home sells quickly and for the highest sales price. It is important then to pick a real estate agent that is both experienced and superb at their craft.
Their Experience
Some people think that they need to have the best real estate agent in the country but in reality all you need is one skilled in your local area. Even if you know a Realtor in another state you should only use them if you are buying or selling real estate in that specific state or area. The entire real estate market is a local level market which is why you need to find someone that knows what is going on in your specific market. If you have a large home that is going through foreclosure, or short sale, make sure you find a Realtor that is experienced with both large homes in your area as well as someone that knows about foreclosures and short sales.
How can you do this? Interview agents before deciding on a specific one. When you speak with them, ask them how long they have been in business of selling homes? What are their specializations? How long have they sold homes specifically within your area? Then, ask them for a list of homes that they have sold recently and a business card. Often the name on their card will be accompanied by acronyms. The acronyms that are listed by their names are the credentials that they have received after specific areas of training. Agents that specialize in local markets will often know off the top of their head what other houses are being listed in your neighborhood and their general price. Agents with less than 5 years of experience are still learning the market.
Do not be shy in asking these questions and do not skimp out on the research. People often decide to sell a house without a Realtor because the commission fee feels exorbitant. With a commission fee ranging between 5-8% of the purchase price of your home, you will want to get your money's worth.
Excellence
After looking for awhile you have finally found a couple of qualified agents that you feel fit what you are looking for in terms of experience and knowledge. This is a big step in selecting the right real estate agent but the person should also be a good seller. How do you know the agent you pick will be the right one for the job? This is the real question, but one you will not know until the sale, but there are some good signs that show if you have a quality agent on your hands. Awards that are given out by any type of Realtor association are a good sign. If you have contact information for recent sales you can get a hold of them and get their opinion of the agent. You can go online and check out their current listings. Since the internet is usually the first research tool that most people start with so you need to make sure that your agent knows how to navigate the online world.
If you really are serious about selling your home quickly then finding the right agent to make the process as smooth as possible is a very important step in the process.
About the Author
If you're on the verge of a home foreclosure, don't forget you have other options. Most of these options, you probably don't know that you have. Visit our blog to find out how you can stop foreclosure quickly.
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