Getting the Right Realtor to List Your Home

Are you considering listing your home but

haven't decided on a realtor? Its important to consider certain things when deciding on a listing agent so you can get your home sold in the right time-frame at the right price.

If you don't know a realtor, the first thing I would do as ask a friend for any referrals. Especially if they have a good past experience with one. If you cant get any referrals, call a couple local real estate brokerage firms and ask for the manager so they can place you with an agent that would be a good fit.

If you are not rushing to sell your home and want to make the most of the selling process, it is important to get 2-3 brokers you feel comfortable with after a quick talk on the phone and get them over for an interview. Ask them to bring their marketing information and information about themselves. They will also interview you as well so they can gather information about your home so they can do an analysis on pricing for the listing. This first meeting is called a "Pre-listing consultation". Now if you interview 2-3 agents in that pre-listing consultation, but you feel better about one over the other, don't make you decision after the first meeting. Get them all back and have them present to you their pricing analysis of your home. This is a great opportunity to cross examine their analysis. This is where you find out who did their homework and who is really going to effectively sell your home.

In the pre-lisitng consultation (first meeting), you may get agents that will try to sell you the world with comments like, "we are the best for marketing your property", "I can sell your house higher than asking", "I have the best experience in this market", "We are the best", blah, blah, etc. they will say anything to get the listing. Don't fall into that trap. Look for an honest, modest and analytical approach to the meeting. If they mention anything about price without doing a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA), that's a red flag.

So get them all back and have them present you the numbers. See what their analysis says. What is the recommended price range for your house? Are they all consistent? Are they using the same comps? You have nothing to lose and only to gain from doing this. Remember, you want to sell your house and you will probably have a desired time table to have the house sold, because of that, it needs to be priced right. You don't want your home listed high because the realtor did a poor analysis and told you it could be sold above market, then it sits on the market for 6+ months. That can really hurt your plans. There is a lot of value in timing, if you can price it correctly so the closing can be executed on your desired time table, it makes you life a lot easier and can save a lot of money logistically.

Lastly, you may interview "Discount Brokers" that offer a discounted fee for their services. This sounds like a no brainer, but you get what you pay for. So if you go with a discount broker/agent, don't expect much more than them putting a sign in the front lawn and getting it on the MLS. They probably won't have a marketing campaign for your home. Also, a detailed CMA/pricing analysis may be lacking, and if you don't price it right coupled with limited marketing, it might be a slow sales process.

There is a lot more that can be discussed on this topic, and I will address more in future posts, but these pointers can help you with your decisions as you find a realtor.