How to Pick the Right Real Estate Agent to Sell Your House

Thinking about putting your house on the market? Spring is a great time of year to sell your house. However with a buyers market in full swing, it's more important than ever to have the right real estate agent to sell your home. This article will discuss some of the most important factors you'll need to consider when deciding on the right person to sell your home. Unlike a couple short years ago, when all you had to do was put a for sale sign in the front yard and you would have 10 buyers lined up, homes tend to stay on the market a bit longer these days. Not only will you need the right agent to sell your home, but selecting the wrong one could end up costing you a lot of money. So here are some key points to consider on how to pick the right real estate agent to sell your house.

How Much Can I Get For My Home.... you should interview at least three agents before making a decision. In order to determine how much you will be able to get for your house, the agent should give you a written market analysis of comparable homes in your neighborhood. This report is called a CMA. The report will show what homes comparable to yours sold for in the past six months. Along with this report each agent will provide you with the price he/she feels you should be able to get for your home. If you start your listing price too high, you may get less interest. Setting the listing price too low, can result in you losing money. It is important to interview several agents and compare their reports, in order to determine the right agent to sell your home at the right price. If you find that one agent suggests a much higher listing price than the others, he/she may be attempting to buy the listing. You won't want to use this agent.

Get References.... the best way to find out if a prospective agent is good, is to get references. Obtain the names, addresses, and phone numbers of the agents last few home sellers. Speak to the last few sellers, and find out if they were happy with their agent. Ask them if they were unhappy about anything. Ask them if they would list another home with this agent. If a prospective agent is unwilling to provide you with references, then more than likely you will not want to use this agent. The best way to find out how a prospective agent will work for you, is to talk to someone who has had past experience with that individual.

Get a resume.... ask each agent how long they've been in the real estate business. Do you work full time in real estate? How long have you been selling homes in the area? Often times people working in real estate do it as a part-time job. This does not necessarily mean they won't do a good job. However generally speaking, someone who eats and sleeps real estate will do a better job.

Listing terms.... find out the minimum listing term. Look for the agent who says 90 days. A minimum listing term of 90 days shows the prospective agent has the ability to sell your home quickly. If the agent insists on a longer minimum listing term, make sure there's a cancellation clause that allows you to get out of listing without penalty in the event your own does not sell. The last thing you want to do is get stuck with an agent who can't get the job done.

Marketing plan.... in order to have your home sold quickly and at the right price, a good marketing plan will be necessary. Any good prospective agent will be able to present you a good marketing plan in writing. Stay away from agents whose marketing plan consists of only listing your home on the MLS (multiple listing service). A good marketing plan should consist of weekend open houses, weekly newspaper ads Internet promotion and direct-mail advertising. If the prospective agent is not willing to spend some upfront advertising dollars, he/she is not likely to get quick results.

Sales commission.... the average real estate commission charged today is a 5%. There are services available today with lower commissions. These services generally provide less service. Unless you have little equity or don't need to sell your home quickly, you'll more than likely want to use a full-service realtor. Sales commissions are negotiable, however keep in mind that a lower commission can result in less attention being paid to your home. Find out how the commission will be split up. How much goes to the buyer's agent? If you are paying 5% commission to sell your home, the buyer's agent should receive 3%, and the seller's agent should receive 2%. In the current market with home sales being slow, expect to pay at least 5% to get good results quickly. If you need to sell your home quickly, this is not a good time to use one of those lower commission companies. Make sure there are no additional fees above and beyond the sales commission. Some real estate agents will charge extra fees in their contracts, that can end up increasing your bottom line.

Current listings.... find out how many current listings the prospective agent has. If the prospective agent currently has too many listings, he/she could potentially have too much on their plate. You want to use an agent who has the necessary time to spend on selling your home. For example, if the agent you're thinking about using has too many listings, they may already be to busy to focus on your open house.Make sure the agent you go with has the necessary time to focus on selling your home.

So if you're thinking about selling your home, spring is a great time to do it. Picking the right real estate agent to sell your home will not only get your home sold, but make the experience more enjoyable and profitable as well. Make sure you take your time and interview several agents, choose the right one and you'll already have won half the battle.