Well it is that time, you have decided to sell your home and now you get to pick which Realtor you want to work with for the next few months. Fun Huh? I want to briefly discuss a few things that you might consider when picking your Realtor.
What is important when picking a Realtor? Well, let’s consider a few things. Is it important that your potential Realtor have a great personality? Now although you want someone that you can work with this is not one of the main factors I would use in picking a Realtor. As a matter of fact I just recently heard of a listing that had expired (that means it did not sell during the listing contract.) The reason the people chose that Realtor was …his/her personality. Just because someone has a flamboyant personality does not mean they can sell homes. Now, you want someone you can talk with, someone you can get along with. But remember you are hiring someone who can sell your home, not someone that you can have Facebook discussions with late at night.
Is it important that your Realtor live in your neighborhood. I answered this in another blog post “Why I don’t need to live in your neighborhood to sell your home” and my answer is a resounding NO. Can it help, yes…sometimes. Here is the bottom line, if that Realtor living in your neighborhood cannot get the job done they can live next door and it’s not going to help you. You need a Realtor who has learned how to sell homes no matter what the area. A good Realtor who may be somewhat unfamiliar with the area can and will quickly learn your area.
Does it matter if your Realtor is brand new or has been at it for 30 years? Yes and no. Everyone has to start somewhere, everyone has to learn. Many Realtors have a whole office of seasoned Realtors to help them out and all of them have Brokers they can ask questions of when they need. A new Realtor has a lot to prove, to themselves and to others, so they may work extra hard selling your home. Whereas the more experienced Realtor may have 30 deals going and may not (I said “may”) be as concerned about each individual deal. On the other side a Realtor who has listed and sold hundreds of homes has a wealth of knowledge and has been through many more experiences than the newer Realtor. There is really no substitute for personal experience. What it comes down to is passion and drive. If the more experienced Realtor has neither and could really care less, go with the newer agent. If you find an agent with experience, passion and drive…that’s who you want.
So, what does matter when choosing an agent. Let me answer this by asking you one important question. What are you hiring your Realtor to do? In this case you are hiring them to sell your home. Then ALL that matters is, can they sell homes. Do they have a history of listing and selling homes? If so, then why look any further? Have they sold in many different areas, have they sold expired listings, for sale by owner homes, Short Sales and Foreclosures. I don’t mean have they put buyers in homes I mean have they personally listed and SOLD these types of homes. I don’t care if they have written books or blogs or even made videos on how to sell these types of homes, I want to know…have they done it? If so, then yes that is who you want. Why, they have proven they can sell homes under all sorts of different circumstances. They know what to look for and they know what you need to do in order to get your home sold. They have learned to negotiate and maybe most of all they are not afraid to sometimes tell you the cold hard facts that, as the seller, you sometimes need to hear in order to get your home sold.
Beware!!! There are people that will TALK their way into a listing agreement with you. Do they have the facts to back up their mouth blabbing? If not beware…a red flag just went up.
You want a Realtor with passion (still loves their job), drive (going to get the job done no matter what), honesty (going to tell you the truth even if it hurts a bit), and experience (they have helped many others in your situation.) When you find someone with those characteristics, hire them.
Shayne has listed and sold nearly 500 homes in the Phoenix West Valley and can be reached at 623-853-6644.
Choosing a Realtor...What's most Important?
