Most cities have a number of great Realtors to choose from. When looking, it’s important to make sure you are looking specifically for Realtors with home selling experience. Many Realtors specialize in serving home buyers and rarely represent sellers. When you are looking online at reviews, look specifically for reviews from sellers. After doing your research, set up appointments with your top selections. The appointment step is important because a Realtor may seem great online, but you need to speak with them to better understand how they work.
When you are interviewing Realtors, ask them how many properties they have sold in the past year and what their negotiation success rate is. Negotiation success rate is the percentage of homes sold above/below asking price. You should look for Realtors with the highest negotiation success rate – preferably above 100% (meaning that they sold most homes above asking price).
Use the interview time to see if you have a compatible personality with the agent as well. You could be working with them daily, so you want to make sure you get along and can rely on one another. Another item to discuss is their marketing strategy. A strong online presence, along with a comprehensive marketing process (staging, photography, property showings, etc.), is imperative. It’s also important to have a Realtor who is well-connected and can share your listing with other Realtors in their circle.
When it comes to selling a home, most Realtors work in the best interest of the seller because their commission payment is dependent upon the home’s sale price. Regardless, you still want a Realtor who is trustworthy, skilled at negotiating, a strong communicator, and has good attention-to-detail. Your sale value is very dependent upon the competency and reliability of your Realtor.
