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How to Choose a Listing Agent

In last week’s post, I listed my top 10 tips for prepping your home to sell. In the coming weeks, I’ll give some more in-depth insights into each of those 10 tips. In today’s edition, let’s take a closer look at how to choose a listing agent. 

3 Basic Criteria

My three fundamental criteria for selecting a listing agent are simple: full-time, local, experienced. 

Full-Time
I strongly recommend going with a full-time agent. You want someone who’s able to focus on and respond to you throughout any given day; not someone who’s sharing his or her time with a day job.

Local
You’ll also want someone who specializes in your area. You don’t necessarily need—or even want—someone who specializes in a single neighborhood, as their scope can be limited and narrow. But you do want someone who’s well-versed in the market and trends in your surrounding area and county.

 Experience
You want someone who’s been doing this long enough to know what works, the potential pitfalls, have tested negotiating skills and tactics, etc. Think 2+ years with 20+ transactions.

What to Expect from the Listing Appointment

First, I recommend having listing appointments with 2 or 3 agents. And then go with the one who recommends the highest listing price, right? No, not necessarily!

 A recommended list price is not a promise that it will sell for that figure. If two agents recommend a lower ballpark number, and the third comes in much higher, it's likely that third agent is giving you false hope to win your business.

 The key is to listen to the criteria upon which each agent is basing his or her recommendation. Here are some things to listen and look for in the appointment:
  • The agent should come prepared with:

    - A market analysis of your area
    - Comparable sales ("comps") in your neighborhood.

    He or she should take the time to sit with you to review the analysis and explain how the comps relate to your home.
  • The agent should ask you questions to learn about your priorities, concerns, and other considerations as you go to sell your home. These aren’t just “niceties”; these could be factors down the road when it comes to negotiations with a potential buyer.

    Knowing what’s important to you—and what isn’t—gives a smart realtor the insights they need to negotiate on your behalf.
  • The agent should walk your home/property with you. If they’re doing their job, they’ll be taking mental notes of any red flags they see that could turn off buyers.
  • Either after or as you’re walking through your home, your potential agent should be able to give you staging advice. They may also have some advice for simple improvements.
A quick side-note: Don’t be offended by any of this. Maybe you've gotten your home absolutely sell-ready in every way. But if you’re like the rest of us, you have photo walls, nick-knacks, or a snow globe collection. (Things that are wonderfully and uniquely you! But you want the buyer to feel like the home is so them, not so you.) Or maybe there’s something like a leaky faucet or a cracked shower door that you’ve become blind to. Your agent should be free to point these things out to you as simple fixes to avoid buyer turn-offs.
  • The agent should be able to outline your closing costs and discuss his or her commission.
  • He or she should also be prepared to discuss their marketing strategy for your home.

Questions to Ask

Make sure you know the answers to these questions by the end of your listing appointment:
  • How long have you been an agent in this area?
    Again, you're ideally looking for at least 2 years of active experience and 20+ transactions. (Some realtors may have the 2 years experience, but only have sold a couple/few properties in that entire time.)
  • What will you do to market my home?
    Strategies depend on your local market. (Another reason to go with a local realtor.) Tactics might include brochures, online ads, professional photography, social media posts, open houses, etc. 
  • What will your availability be?
    You'll want someone who responds in a timely manner when you reach out to them.
  • What's your commission rate? Is there room for negotiation?
    Typical commission rates vary by market, and there may be some wiggle room for rate negotiation.
  • Who will I be working with?
    Some realtors--not many, but some--will do a bait-and-switch by going for the listing appointment, then assigning your listing to a junior team member. If you're ok with that--and they're up-front about it--that's fine. But it's good to be clear from the start who you can expect to work with.

The Intangibles

You’ll be spending a lot of time with your listing agent, so you want to be comfortable with the person you choose. There’s no formula. Personalities are personalities, and people like different things in people. Just try to find someone who inspires your trust and that you find easy to communicate with. 

 After you've met with an agent, consider going online to check out his or her reviews from past clients. It's an easy way to check and see if what you heard in the appointment jives with the experiences of people they've actually worked with. Also, you could ask the agent for a couple of references.

 Are you ready to buy or sell your home in Northern Virginia? Contact The Norris Realty Group!
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