Blog Post by Harry Ridge: Choosing the right Realtor to sell your ...

Choosing the right Realtor to sell your home requires a completely different approach than the approach you used to find a Realtor to help you buy your home. It would be ideal if the same Realtor can help you with both transactions, because developing a relationship with an professional Realtor can be a great benefit to you in many ways. Your listing agent should be a full time Realtor. If buyers and other Realtors have questions about your property, they want an answers now, not when the listing agent can manage to get time away from his job. Successful listing agents are not in the business part time.

Most Agents who sell Plano homes or any DFW homes don't want you to know they work part time because they know it will reflect negatively on them. Ask the agent how many hours a week they spend working real estate and if they have another job. Does the agent have a professional appearance? The agent you choose will be a reflection of your property. An unprofessional appearance or attitude will turn off potential buyers. How long has the agent been involved in real estate sales? It's an important question, but don't get hung up on the answer to much. Hard working new agents can be just as effective as a well established agent.

?

Does the agent belong to all of the areas multiple listing services? The more places your listing shows up, the better exposure it will get. Your agent's first choice will be to sell the property herself, but promoting it to every available agent within the area is a must from the very beginning. A single agent might be working with ten qualified buyers at any given time, but your property won't be suitable to all potential buyers. Listing the property in the MLS brings in every licensed agent, drastically increasing your buyer pool. Does the agent specialize in Dallas foreclosures? If so, you probably don't want them as the selling representative for your house.

?

There are many other questions you should ask the agent during your interview. Here are some good examples:

?What types of marketing will you do for the property?

?How many of your recent listings have sold during their initial listing period? How many listings expired without a sale?

?Do you have special training that goes above and beyond what's required to be licensed?

?Will you hold an open houses?

?Will you provide marketing materials to leave in the house for agents and buyers?

?Will you send flyers or postcards to local agents?

?How often will you call me with showing reports and feedback?

?

Ask as many questions as possible that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no response. An open ended question forces the agent to talk about her ideas for your property, and many of the responses will trigger more questions from you. Always ask an agent for referrals from satisfied seller clients. If the agent cannot provide them, something may be wrong and you should probably move on.

?

A Marketing Plan

The agent must be able to demonstrate to you an aggressive marketing plan. Does the agent or firm have a good internet presence? Will the agent do a virtual tour of your property? How does the firm stack up against other firms that are marketing on a local level? You should have a good feel for the answers to all of those questions based on the agent search you did when you bought the property. After you decide on an agent monitor them to make sure that the promises your agent made turn into actions. If the marketing plan isn't implemented, ask the agent to make the necessary corrections. If they make no corrections ask them to release you from the listing contract. Remember that the firm's broker in charge is your agent and she should be notified if your listing agent does not follow through their promises.

?

Open Houses?

Most open houses held for buyers do not actually sell the house being held open. A better type of open house is one held for other real estate agents because these are the people who are in control of showing your property to buyers. At the very least, your agent should have a showing for all other agents within his office, but holding a second open house for all agents within the MLS is also highly recommended. They won't all attend, but everyone who does will tend to remember your property when a suitable buyer comes around.

Ask as many questions as you need to determine which agent is best fit for your needs. Keep in mind that your final agent selection will require some gut feeling on your part. Personalities always come into play, so you should choose an agent based in part on the knowledge that you can get along with that agent during the listing period. There are plenty of good agents out there available to you. Don't choose someone who you cannot stand dealing with, because there's surely someone who can offer good services and a good working relationship.

Source: http://www.realestateglobalnetwork.com/xn/detail/2211201%3ABlogPost%3A241226

andy reid McKayla Maroney