Everything a real estate agent doesn’t want a home seller to know! Part 1
Thinking of selling your home this spring? If so, it may be beneficial to stop and think about some of the issues you face as a home seller. Are you planning to sell for sale by owner or list your home with a real estate company? Did you know that you can do both at the same time? Not many people know that…
If you plan to engage the services of a real estate agent, the keyword is caution. Keep in mind that selling your home is a BIG deal and you want the best real estate agent you can find to represent your project. Finding a professional real estate agent can be a difficult task if you don’t know the basic questions to ask. Many agents work part-time with one toe in the tub and simply cannot represent a homeowner as well as a full-time agent. Beyond this, you have to ask yourself (and the agent) how much trading experience they have? Do they have a business degree? What is your experience in marketing and sales? Are they full time or part time? How many houses have you personally sold? When you hire the services of a real estate agent to sell your home, you are the employer and have the right to ask these types of questions. You will pay a real estate agent a BIG commission for selling your house IF it sells. Your job is to ask the right questions to select an agent who will do the job professionally.
One of the main things to avoid as a home seller is entering into long-term listing contracts with any real estate agent or company. Keep listing contracts limited to 90 days at a time so you can review the performance of the agent and their company. Among the things you want to negotiate when you are listing your home and have it show up in the listing contract as a legal document (exhibit or addendum) is a detailed marketing plan stating the exact marketing activities that will be used to sell your home. You want to see a marketing plan that details where and when your home will be advertised, how many open houses will be held, when those open houses will be held, and how they will be held. You want details about the publicity campaign surrounding the sale of your house. Many agents will list a home and basically a new agent spins their wheels to sell for them. The old saying among real estate agents is “if it doesn’t sell, it doesn’t last”. What this basically means is that an agent will do and say almost anything to get a listing deal from a seller. Then they throw the house on the MLS (multiple listing service), cross their fingers, and hope another agent finds a buyer for their property. Most sellers don’t know the listing agent and their company will get most of the commission whether they sell the house or not. Seasoned agents often make a list and let new agents rip the tires off their car showing the property; The key to success for real estate agents really lies in getting sales contracts, not necessarily selling them. Do you want advice? Keep an eye out for these articles as there is more to come and grab your copy of the report below before you rush out and sign that legally binding listing contract – it will help you cover your basic legal and financial interests.
Our e-report: 101 Tips for Home Buyers, Sellers, and Borrowers will help you with more information on this article. Just click the link below and request your copy and we’ll send it to your email address within 24 hours, absolutely free. Another ezine articles exclusive! Until next time…
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James W. Hart, I.V.
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