The Best Realtor Will Get You the Quickest Sale

Despite the clamor about real estate being in a huge slump I've sold two homes in less than a year, each within 3 months or less. I have a third home on the market and have had 4 buyers before I chose to list it with a realtor. We put a "For Sale As Is" sign on the lawn and had one sale after another. Each of them fell through the cracks for reasons not related to the home itself. Then we had to leave the ara for six months so I listed it with my realtor.

The first two homes I sold were due to death and illness in the family. One was in New Jersey,one in Miami, Florida. Both were in excellent areas. Neither one was in top condition but due to location they each had a lot of value. I priced these homes to sell with only a little wiggle room. Each of these were listed with excellent realtors who were on top of everything. We had all our inspections done ahead of time. The septic system, termite inspection, well water were all covered when we put the house on the market. In the Miami house we had everything checked but needed to have a mold inspection. Our buyers were a bit worked up over this issue but we had the mold cleaned up for $300 by an expert and it amounted to nothing of any concern.The realtor found us the inspector, set up the clean up and was there on the job supervising him. We were an hour away so this was extremely helpful.

The third house is in New Jersey in a neighborhood where all the houses are in the 2 million dollar range. The house itself backs commercial property so that makes it a bit harder to sell but being an acre of land in such a high end area it will sell. The couple of buyers who fell through were either not qualified for mortgages or had other small problems that didn't work out.

All these houses have been priced to sell. No greediness involved. No delusions of grandeur. The comparable prices were checked and we priced accordingly. We priced to sell. Again, with the house I have on the market now, I've had all the tests run so I'm prepared for any questions. The house is being sold as a knock down. It's livable as is but it's part of an estate we need to settle and we don't want the hassle. We do want to be informed though. Also, by having all the tests in place it saves time for closing a deal and makes you an educated seller.This is the advice our realtor gave us, very good advice.

Having a top realtor is a must. When putting your house on the market you should be sure your realtor is really gung ho. Mine has been incredibly thorough, communication has been non stop, she checks everything and gives me excellent feed back. She is a resident of the town where this home is located so she is extremely knowledgable about the area, a real plus. She's been in the business for decades, is NAR certified (National Association of Realtors) another plus. She works for a large well known company, Sotheby's Prominent Properties. She has sold homes for me before and really works hard for me. All qualities that make her valuableShe is my listing agent, She puts the advertising out there, screens potential buyers and runs the open house. Try to find someone whose sales record you're familiar with, someone you're comfortable working with, someone who is a go getter. Make sure they are certified. I do not recommend using someone soley because they are a friend or family member.

Our Florida realtor was bilingual, very important in the Miami area, since there is such a large Spanish speaking community. She was also someone we'd known for a long time and someone who had been our realtor before. She also was wonderful at keeping us up to date on any information, any changes in the community and any items we needed to address. We sold this home, a condominium in Kendall, in less than three months. The only reason it took three months is that there were some issues with the Condominum board. There meetings are sparse and it meant waiting several weeks for the board to convene. Our realtor attended all these meetings.

If you're looking for top dollar I would advise fixing up your property for curb appeal. A simple trimming of shrubs, some planters with plants out front, a fresh coat of paint on your front door are all minor fixes but pay off. Do all the necessary internal repairs. Since the places we sold were all as is we didn't do any of this but most importantly you should make sure you have the best realtor you can find whether you're home is on the market as is or not.

Whatever the market is if you are in a good location you will have a much easier sell. You will also have a much better chance at selling if you have a top realtor. I think that made all the difference in our sales.