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Choosing the right Agent

So you have decided to sell your home and think you have a fairly good idea of what it is worth.  Being a sensible homeowner you schedule appointments with three real estate agents who have been stuffing things into your mailbox for years now.  Each Agent comes prepared with a “Competitive Market Analysis” on fancy paper and each recommends a specific sale price.

Amazingly two of the prices are lower than you expected.  While the Agents back up their recommendations with recent sales of similar homes in the area, you remain convinced your home is worth more.  When you interview the third agent, their figures are much more in line with your own anticipated value, or even higher.  Suddenly you are an excited and happy home seller, already counting the money.

If you are like many people, you will choose Agent number 3.  This is an agent who seems willing to listen to your input and work with you.  This is an agent who cares about putting the most money in your pocket.  This is an agent willing to start out at your price and if you need to drop the price later, you can do that easily, right? After all, everybody else does it!

The truth is that you may have just met an agent engaging in a questionable sales practice called “buying a listing.” He “bought” the listing by suggesting that you may be able to get a higher sales price than the other agents recommended.  Most likely, he is quiet doubtful that your home will actually sell at that price.  The intention from the beginning is to eventually talk you in to lowering the price.

Why do agents “buy” listings?  There are basically two reasons.  A well-meaning and hard working agent can feel pressure from an owner who has an inflated perception of their home’s value.  On the other hand, there are some agents who engage in this practice routinely.

Whichever the case, if you start out with too high a price on your home, you may have just added to your stress level, and selling a home is stressful enough.

14 Questions to Ask an Agent

1. What is your guarantee?
2. Do you personally answer phone calls?
3. Can we cancel the listing if we are not happy?
4. Do you have a Personal Assistant?
5. If you don’t call me back within 24 hours will you take $50 off the commission?
6. Do you list my property on the Internet?
7. What systems do you have in place that will keep you in contact with me during the listing and the transaction?
8. Are you fully automated with your own personal computer, Fax machine, copier, pager, voice mail, SMS, etc?
9. What is your average market time Vs. other agent’s market time?
10. What professional qualification do you have?
11. I want to give my home the advantage of the latest marketing strategies.  How much time and money do you invest each month in professional training?
12. Can you give me a list of your clients who have closed deals and can I call them?
13. Why are you personally motivated to sell my house?
14. Why should I list with you rather than any other agent who is calling?

How do I price my Property?

Perhaps the most important question facing you at the moment concerns the price that you should ask for your property.

You certainly don’t want to sell it too cheaply, nor do you want to overprice it, thereby preventing it from being sold.

consider these points:

The price a property brings is determined by what a buyer is prepared to pay.

This is influenced by three things;

• Recent sales in the area similar to yours.
• Properties for sale now similar to yours.
• The way in which the property is marketed.

Pricing a property too high is a sure way to prevent a sale.  A property receives its maximum buyer interest in the first month of advertising.  That is when it is fresh on the market, and it will in turn create a sense of urgency with buyers to make wise decisions when it is listed close to market price.

who determines the price of your home?

Many homeowners do not have a full understanding of how the asking price of a home should be established.  They either base their decision on what the need to get out of the sale in order to buy another home, or they base it on what they paid and adjust for inflation.  Another mistaken concept that prevails is that the real estate agent sets the asking price.  The truth is that buyers are the ones who establish what your home is worth in today’s market.

When and agent comes to your home and shows you a competitive market analysis, it is made up of homes that have recently sold, homes currently listed, and homes that were listed but did not sell. What these numbers represent

What the buyers were willing to pay for a home similar to yours (sold)

What the buyers were not willing to pay (Not Sold).

It also gives you a gauge as to what your competition is (the currently listed).

It is important to take these numbers into account when establishing the price for your home.  If you price your home over what the buyers have recently been willing to pay, then your home will most likely not sell.  One of the biggest mistakes a homeowner can make is thinking that they will start with a high price and then come down on the price later.

The reason this is a mistake, is that the first 2 weeks that a home is listed is the hottest time on the market.  Buyers who have been looking for a home for a while are always excited to see a new home listed for sale.  However, most buyers are smart enough to have shopped around and know what houses are selling for in your area.  If your house enters the market priced higher than all the rest, the buyers won’t even bother looking at it.

Later, when you decide to lower your price to what other homes are selling for in yourarea, it will be too late.  You will have missed the initial wave of buyers that a new listing creates.  If buyers do look at your home later, they may wonder if you lowered the price because something is wrong with the house.  They may be more careful when inspecting the house, which may bring up more problems to fix.

Time on the market always works against you.  When all is said and done, you may end up having to come down on the price even farther than your neighbours, just to get it sold.

The smartest way to price your home is to be very competitive in the beginning.  Sometimes you’ll get so much interest in that first wave of buyers that you’ll end up with two or more offers at the same time.  If several buyers are interested in the same property, it can drive the price up higher.

Finally, keep in mind that real estate agents should always advise you to price your home at fair market value.  You should hire an agent based on their qualifications and not on how high they are willing to list your house.  Remember that in the end it comes down to what the buyer is willing to pay and not what the agent is willing to list it for.

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