Advice

Tips for finding the right realtor to sell your home

Are you entering the unchartered territory of selling your home? You might be wondering how to meet the ideal realtor to help you on your path to landing the perfect buyer. This process doesn’t need to be overwhelming, we’ve outlined some tips for finding the perfect realtor who can be your guide from the beginning until the sold sign goes up on your property. Visit Grow Property for more information.

Ask around

The most time consuming part of finding an agent is interviewing people until you discover the right fit. But what if you could skip that leg work and have a few people lined up just by sending a few messages? If you have friends in your neighborhood who have recently sold a home, your first line of action should be asking them for a referral. This can save a lot of time, but be sure that you are asking for unbiased referrals from people who you trust, preferably in your neighborhood with homes at a similar price point.

Ask for references

Working with an agent who is recommended by someone who you trust is ideal, but if you do end up interviewing people cold, asking for references is a must. Ask each potential realtor who you are interested in to provide one or two contacts for sellers who they have worked with in the past to get a sense of how it might be to partner with this agent to sell your own home. 

Experience in your neighborhood

Hiring a professional who is licensed is a no brainer, but what’s also key is making sure that they have experience in your market. While across the country, most cities and towns are in a seller’s market — meaning there is more demand than supply of homes, markets are constantly shifting and price fluctuations can be vast across a city or town. Doing your homework in advance to see where your home stands as compared to other similar ones in your area, such as with a home affordability calculator, can make you better prepared to interview agents. When searching for your dream agent, you’ll want to ask about their track record including the number of homes that they sell each year, their typical timeline for the selling process, and any included marketing services. 

Experience with virtual listings

When it comes to marketing, online and virtual are big trends for 2021. Finding an expert with this new world of real estate is essential when timing is everything — you don’t want Covid-19 restrictions to delay your home sale. You’ll want to ask a potential agent about their experience getting homes ready for an online listing (like staging, professional photography, and maybe even a virtual tour), and live virtual tours and open houses. While some parts of the country are starting to go back to in-person showings, having virtual tools in place is a solid strategy to make sure you are reaching the most potential buyers. Given the social distancing rules of Covid-19, and not knowing how long they might be in place, if you will be working with live open house and showings, ask your agent about their safety protocols like mask wearing, limited visitors at a time for showings, and hand sanitizer at the door. 

A necessary first step to selling a home is hiring an agent who you trust, and with this guide you will be well on your way to finding them and moving forward with your plans.

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