How To Pick a Realtor for Selling Your Home

Choosing the right realtor is crucial for reducing the stress of your move and getting the best offer on your home. With so much riding on this important decision, you want to hire the right agent! How do you know if your agent is the best for your situation? Here are some strategies for finding an excellent real estate agent.

Gather Contacts From Trusted Sources

Ask your friends, family, colleagues, neighbors, or coworkers whom you trust for recommendations on realtors. Most people know at least one realtor, especially if they’ve bought a home. Alternatively, they might have advice on who not to hire!

If you have a friend who is a realtor, this might seem advantageous. However, hiring your realtor friend could be detrimental to your friendship. Your friend might feel obligated to represent you, even if they prefer not to. Then there can be friendship stresses related to fees, commission, professional vs. friendly advice, and leveraging professional contacts. If you want to preserve your friendship beyond the sale of your home, hire a realtor with whom you can have a professional relationship.

Alternatively, if you have a friend who is a realtor, ask their advice on who to hire. They will know the good and bad reputations of other realtors.

Research Potential Realtors

While it’s great to trust your friends and family, you should do your own research before hiring a realtor. Check their social media or LinkedIn pages and learn about their areas of specialty. You don’t want to hire a realtor who specializes in condos to sell your farmhouse.

Another means of researching realtors is reading reviews. You may have to take these with a grain of salt, as some disgruntled reviewers may wrongfully place blame on their realtor. But you can use user reviews to identify any good or bad patterns in your potential realtor.

You should also verify that the agent has a current realtor license in your state and that they are a full-time agent. Part-time agents who sell homes after they get off their full-time job are less reliable and are limited in when they can show houses. It would be a pity to lose your dream home because your realtor couldn’t make the showing! A full-time realtor is much more flexible and attentive to your needs.

Interview Potential Realtors

Just like you can interview a doctor before hiring him, you can (and should!) interview potential realtors before hiring them. Interviewing realtors can tell you:

• Their understanding of the local market, recent sales, pricing trends, and neighborhood characteristics.
• Their plan for how to market your property, such as online listings, photography, and other promotional strategies.
• How well they communicate, both verbally and nonverbally
• How they approach negotiations and their strategies for securing the best possible price and terms.
• Their competency in their job

You should come prepared to these interviews with thoughtful questions covering their experience, marketing strategies, market knowledge, success rates, contract details, and commission fees.

Choose Your Realtor

Take time to compare your options. It might also be helpful to process your impressions, concerns, and details with a trusted friend or family member. Once you make your decision, contact all the realtors, informing them of your decision and signing a contract with your new realtor.

Peavlor Moving & Storage Can Help!

While we can’t help with the preparation, listing, and selling of your home, Peavler Moving & Storage can help you with the next important step–relocation! Our skilled team can manage your whole relocation from start to finish, and even store your possessions in one of our quality storage facilities. Contact us today to get started!