So you have decided to sell your home and your first step is to hire a Realtor. Before you do so though, you should do your own home work to get an idea of what your home is valued. You really don't want to hear any surprises when you bring the Realtors in the door. In most cases I would recommend interviewing at least 2 Agents and sometimes 3 Agents. This is going to be the biggest decision you make over the next several months. Hiring the wrong Agent can cost you a ton of time and money, not to mention the fact that the home has been on the market at least 3 or 4 months by this time. Let's look at some of the things you should look for in a Realtor.
Pricing - If you did your homework, you should have a pretty good idea on your home price. If the Realtor is telling you they can get you much more for this home, you must ask why and see data supporting this price. It's all about the numbers. Just the same, if an Agent comes in too low, you need to find out why they came up with this price with support information.
Marketing - I have heard so many tall tails told by Agents when marketing their listings. The first question you need to ask them is what do they do for their Internet Marketing. My guess is most Agents or Brokers will have a website. The next question you need to ask is how many people a month come to your site and how many buyer leads do you generate per month. (you will have a lot better success in selling your home through an Agent or Brokerage that has strong Internet program. Sort of like Tropical Realty of Suntree which you can view at http://melbournehomesearch.com/index.cfm/Search_MLS
Once you have asked them about their site, then you need to ask whatever other sites do they upload their listings too. The more your home is out there on the Internet, the more chance of it selling. Listings can be uploaded to Google, Homes.com, Trulia, Homegain, Zillow and so many more. Before you choose a listing Agent be sure they are maximizing your properties exposure over the Internet.
Print Marketing - We have had Agents tell their customers they market over sees in multiple foreign magazines and languages. When we had the customer question him, He couldn't produce any of the magazines. Don't allow someone to tell you they do something, make them produce their material.
Personally, we don't spend a penny on print advertising. It has never worked for me and it works even less these days. There are thousands of homes in magazines that probably get your home looked at 3 or 4o times. Most of our listings going through our Internet Marketing Program are receiving 200-300 visits per month and some higher! It's absolutely amazing! If a Realtor puts his money into the Intenet marketing versus the Print, don't get down on him. He is actually doing you a great service!
If you have any questions about selling your home, feel free to call or email me. You can email me at mitch@mitchrealty.com. You can also go to my site at www.melbournehomesearch.com to view different homes in our area. Either way, I'm always here to help. Have a great 4th of July!
Those are the three
Caveat emptor applies as much today as it ever did - especially in a real estate market like this one. I've always found my best clients were the ones who were most informed. As agents, sometimes we have to teach the consumer which questions to ask.
You hit a lot of good points in the post, but to focus on one - more important than "how many" web sites an agent or company uses to promote their listings is "who sees" those web sites. It is far better to be on 1 site that gets 1,000 visitors per month than on 50 sites that each get 10.
I don't waste much money on print advertising at all. As an office we have an ad in the local paper where I rotate out my listings and we have a two page spread in a local real estate magazine where one home can be featured for a month. My money goes into the internet as well.
Mitch that is a great blog! This is great information for any seller to read!
REally great article. It is a great way to explain to sellers that marketing needs to change from print to internet.
Marcy Moyer Keller Williams Realty Palo Alto