Segment 1
Agent Selection Guide – How to Pick the Best Agent When Selling a Home
Barb Schlinker Radio Show
719-888-3736 | 719-301-3900
Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty Colorado
Home sellers planning to put their homes on the market often ask how to prepare. What are some things a home seller should consider when choosing an agent to sell their home?
- Not all real estate agents are the same, years of experience helps but it may not indicate if they are actively selling in this market. For example, you may get an agent who has been licensed for years but only sells a few homes here and there. So when it’s time for negotiating how would they know things like; It’s no longer customary for the seller to pay buyers closing costs.
- Negotiating prowess; An agent who does not sell many homes may be anxious to encourage you to jump at the first offer…
Active on Monday, offer on Tuesday, what about the weekend buyer who may pay more? What about inspection repairs – recently got one that has 26 items on it including, new stucco siding & mud jack basement slab. The buyer’s agent clearly did not properly manage expectations with her buyer about this market and what inspections are for. Too many are just ‘the messenger’. - Agent who knows how to market appropriately to create the most demand. The scariest thing for me is that no one knows how many homes are being eliminated by photos online. I can take 5 minutes in the MLS and find really, really bad marketing photos. We focus our business on getting GREAT pics to get as many buyers in the door as possible.
- Serving the clients during the transaction. Once it goes U/C there is a ton of work still to be done to get to closing. One of my team agents working the buyer had to handle all of the LA responsibilities because that agent just disappeared. Think about, we are helping people sell one of their largest assets and this guy just abandons his client in the middle of the sale.
- Knowing you are in good hands is hugely important. Right now, most homes are selling quickly, but there is still a big project to complete to close the sale – in addition to the seller moving! Not every agent knows how to serve the client, communicate with the client, every step of the way, and don’t leave them in the dark! People are moving – that alone is enough stress. We try to make it clear about the entire process, keep them informed as we go along. We even have a series of videos explaining every step as they are happening so there is less mystery about the process. One of my team members tells her clients: “I’m going to do everything except move in and pay the bills to get this done!” Things can easily go sideways in a real estate sale, that is why we stay on every part of the transaction, even other people’s jobs to get it done!
I have some tools that can help home sellers make that selection. There are a lot of factors for home sellers to consider yet.
➢ 55% of the listings are with people they know
➢ 74% of agents sell 3 or fewer homes per year!
➢ Many home sellers become disillusioned once it goes up for sale only to discover:
■ Photos are poorly presented
■ Home sits on the market unsold
■ Agents do not keep them informed on the feedback of the showings
■ Agents do not educate them about similar sales as the listing goes on
Once a listing goes stale on the market, buyers start to think there is ‘something wrong’ and if they make an offer at all, it could be a low ball offer. To Help Sellers we offer an Agent Selection Guide and the 10 Questions You Should Ask When Choosing a Real Estate Agent. Not all agents are the same, we all have different experiences.
We offer questions like:
■ How Many homes have you sold in the past 6 months – 1 year
■ What is your average list price to sell price?
If home sellers are interested in ordering the Free Report on the 10 Questions They Should Ask Before Hiring an Agent and the Agent Selection Guide they can visit my Website: www.BarbHasTheBuyers and click on the Green Button on the upper right corner or call us at 719 301 3900
