Selling your Home
Once you’ve made the decision to sell your home, the next decision you make will determine the success of your home selling process. That’s right, hiring the right real estate agent to manage your listing is the most important first step towards selling success. However, equally important is understanding what tasks your listing agent is responsible for in this process. Setting realistic expectations of your real estate agent from the beginning will allow you to get through the home-selling process knowing that your agent did everything necessary to get you the best deal on your home.
Expectations for your Listing Agent
The best way to gauge your expectations is to understand the role the listing agent plays in selling your home. A listing agent has three main roles in working with you to sell your home. Their job is to help you prepare the house for sale, market the property and handle the offer and transaction process to complete the sale. In order to accomplish these three major tasks, you’ll want to find an agent who possesses the following characteristics:
Honesty – An honest agent is credible and reliable. While it may be difficult to find out if a real estate agent is an honest person, you can put their word to the test by asking for recent sellers’ contact information and fact checking against recent testimonials. Make sure your agent is both honest, experienced and has the results to prove it.
Professionalism – Timeliness and a well-maintained appearance are the main keys to professionalism when it comes to the right real estate agent. Finding an agent who is always on time and dresses the part shows both you and the buyers’ agent that you’re working with that they are professional and committed to helping you sell your home.
Strong Negotiation Skills – Your listing agent’s job is to be your voice. They should know what to say and when to say it, especially when it comes to accepting offers and sending counteroffers. Having a real estate agent who brings strong negotiating skills to the table will help ensure that you sell your home for the most amount of money in the least amount of time.
Creativity – An agent simply can’t rely on the sign in front of the house to sell the home. Rather, creativity is needed to help market the home, and no two homes are the same. Having a listing agent who is creative with the property description, angles of photos and copy in advertisements plays a large role in the time it takes to sell the home. Also, keep in mind that a comprehensive marketing plan should accompany high levels of creativity.
Large Network of Connections – Great professionals tend to align themselves with other great professionals. One of the fastest ways to find out what level of professionalism your listing agent is operating at is through their sources of preferred vendors or partners. For instance, a reliable moving company or a trusted real estate attorney. Any experienced real estate agent should be able to provide you with a list of business recommendations in no time.
Strong Communication Skills – Last but most definitely not least is frequent communication. One of the most important questions you can ask in your interview with a potential agent is about their communication. A listing agent should be able to adapt to your preferred communication method. For instance, if texting is best than you should communicate that with your listing agent at the beginning to ensure you’re on the same communicative page.
A Professional Real Estate Agent in Orange County
Work with one of the best in realtors in Orange County. As the number one individual agent in Ladera Ranch with 18 years of successful sales and exceptional service within the community I’m confident I can help you sell your home. Proudly serving all of Orange County with superior marketing and keen negotiating skills coupled by unparalleled networking and numerous customer service awards. Click here to learn more about my experience and see why homeowners in Orange County enjoy working with me.