Finding a real estate agent is not an easy task. And this is the one person that you may have to deal with when selling or buying a property. On a lighter note, they are like that one uncle in the family that you try to avoid but you need his presence at your party because he knows how to keep the party going. Maybe that could explain a lot of why some people choose not to use an agent.
In our case, we choose to use the agent. The reason was that it was a lot for us to deal with interested buyers. And it really went quite easy than we had anticipated. To find our agent, we did it in 3 steps and these are:
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✦ Step 1. Finding the Top 3 Real Estate Agents
The following are some of the tips on how to manage to get to the top 3 real agents in an area based on our experience:
✦ 1. Research
On one Sunday afternoon, just take the car and drive around your estate or your area. This way you will see the homes that are for sale and the real estate agents that are selling them. Also, go to the Immo websites and check which real estate agents are leading in property sales in your area.
✦ 2. Ratings
Ratings on Google Reviews and social media can also help you to identify the top three real estate agents that you are going to invite and maybe consider working with them. From these ratings, there are normally comments about different experiences from people. Go through them and gather as much information as possible to be informed before making your decision.
✦ 3. Finding Real Estate Agent from the Referrals
This is normally from family, friends, and colleagues. But while getting a referral ensure that it is from their own experiences. Not that they are giving you a reference because the agent is a relative or a friend.
✦ 4. The Experience
Strange enough whether you own a home or not, there are those one or 2 real estate agencies that you know. This is from seeing their advertisements on the homes that are on sale, newsletters, or even social media for so long. As humans, we tend to believe that if it exists for long, then there is experience. Thus, give that real estate agency that exists for a long time and you never know they may end up being your finalist.
✦ Step 2: Finding Your Preferred Real Estate Agent
In this step you will have to invite the 3 top real estate agents you will have chosen in step 1. At this point, you’ll have to make some appointments and visit their offices and they will give you dates when they can come to see the property. During this visit they will value your property, tell you their charges and how they operate.The following are tips on how to choose a suitable real estate agent to sell your property:
✦ 1. The Charges
This should not be on the top of the list to help you to make that decision but it really matters. It could be that they charge based on the interest or a standard fee for different categories, just to mention a few. But whatever sits best with you, then go for it!
✦ 2. How they Operate
Each real estate agent operates differently. For instance, some are direct to the price, some will have all the interested buyers come for viewings in one day, and then the one who offers to pay more takes the property. And also there are real estate agents that use the bidding. These are just a few of the ways how they operate but whatever you think is the best, it’s for you to make a decision.
✦ 3. Your Expectations
When a real estate agent comes to value your property, and overvalues or undervalues it, that should already be a red flag. Even though your expectations should also be real and based on the prior private property appraisal. If they’re not met, then let it go. It’s that simple. Of course, you should remember to have a certain margin.
✦ 4. Follow Your Gut When Finding a Real Estate Agent
There is that something inside of each human being that tells you, it’s an okay baby! You can’t explain to anyone how and why, but that’s it! Follow it and you will never go wrong.
✦ 5. Communication
This should be on the top of the list. And from the word go, if you feel that there is a communication breakdown, it should already be a sign to discontinue. The reason is that this is the person with who you will share a lot of information in the whole process. The thing is when you can’t communicate well with the agents, you even doubt if he will be able to sell the property for you. Ask yourself some questions like: Does he/she keep his word? Does he/she keep time? Check on his/her facial expressions and body language, among many others. And last but not least, what feeling does the agent give you?
✦ Step 3: The Contract
Choosing the best real estate agent who you believe will sell your property, is just the beginning of the long journey. And there comes one of the important moments to signing the first contract of your sale of the property. Please before signing, read and reread the contract. It is all in small letters and long texts. Go through every detail like you have a final exam from those papers. These details will be of great importance because there could be extra hidden charges. Or for instance, in case the house is not sold on the agreed timeline and you want to change to another agent, then the drama begins. There could be even more issues that can arise later but the details are always included in the contract. Just stay woke and I wish you good luck in the sale of your home!