One of the most important decisions a home seller has to make is to decide who will best represent their home on the market. Need some real estate advice? If you plan on using a real estate agent the question then becomes which one do you choose?
We recently had Facebook Fan, Tara N. ask for some real estate advice on this very topic. She says, they didn’t know how to pick a real estate agent and they didn’t have any referrals to narrow down the search. Tara was looking for someone who would understand her unique property and for agent that would work quickly to find the best deal. Here is her entire Facebook message:
Well, as I always say, I’m here to help my Facebook community and I certainly don’t want her to feel overwhelmed with this process. Without doing a lot of research it is pretty easy to see that some people make horrible choices when it comes to picking a real estate agent to work with. Whether you are buying or selling a home the Realtor you choose to work with can have a tremendous influence on the success of the transaction. In order to get a better understanding of how to hire a real estate agent we reached out to Bill Gassett a top real estate agent in Grafton MA. Bill has been selling homes for the past twenty nine years and has established a great reputation as an agent people can count on. I thought he would make an excellent choice to consult with on this important topic. I asked Bill how someone should pick a Realtor and this is what he told me.
“Tori first let me say thank you for allowing me the opportunity to speak with your readers. I know you have a very successful business of helping people get their homes sold. Of course I take the same pride in my work. Your question is a very good one. Throughout my career I have seen numerous people make poor decisions when it comes to choosing a real estate agent. Frankly, I think part of the problem is many agents do not do enough to distinguish themselves from others. If everyone has the impression that all Realtors do the same thing to sell a home then there is not going to be a lot of effort put into making the right choice.
This is not to say that everyone does not take the time to do an extensive interview. There are some who actually do but they don’t always know the right questions to ask. They instead rely on things like the agents personality or do I like this person. While these things are important they are not the most important. When selling a home it is smart to think about it as a business transaction not a popularity contest. Choosing the best agent should consist of things like who is the best marketer, negotiator and communicator. Not who I could picture myself hanging out with.
The focus should be on the agents track record. What is their performance in good markets and bad? Are they the same or radically different? You want an agent who is a consistent producer. Some of the key questions you should ask when hiring a real estate agent are:
- How many homes did you sell last year?
- What was the average days on the market?
- What was the original list price to sale price ratio?
All of these questions show what an agent is made of. You want an agent who is honest NOT someone who tells you what you want to hear. In the real estate industry there are tons of Realtors who will tell sellers what they want to hear just to get them to sign on the dotted line. Once under contract the agent will start working on getting price reductions. As hard as it is to believe there are some agents who don’t care at all what the home is listed at. These intention of these agents is not to sell the home but use it as a feeding station to get buyer leads they can sell elsewhere. This of course is not the kind of agent you want!
The key to making a successful choice is really taking the time to do your home work. Instead of getting references from the agent find out 3 homes they sold last year and ask them for the contact information. This way the agent is not hand picking people they know will give them rave reviews.”
Be sure to use this valuable real estate advice from Bill, as you begin the hunt for your next real estate agent. We want you to be able to put your best foot forward on the market. That requires having not only the best representation possible, but the ability to have a home buyers will actually want. Grab our home seller guide here or click on the image below and avoid having your listing linger on the market– we offer some clever solutions for you to implement.
Have a real estate or home staging question, go ahead ask in the comments section below. I’m interested in hearing from you and to learn more about your home selling process.
Happy Selling,
