Finding a good listing agent will take you to explore the market. The process may take time but it will help with some of the hassle. Let us discuss as to how you can go about choosing a listing agent.
Showing Your House
Listing agents need to be chosen carefully. You can start by asking your friends, relatives or someone in your neighborhood who has recently sold their house. It can be a great way for you to take a head start and save time. You should be more interested as to why they preferred going with the particular agent rather than the names.
The second thing on the list that you can do is to look around for any relocation services, hired by your company where you work. After you have done the research, choose the agents you like and invite them individually to your house for showing.
The agents may ask you for some repairs if needed, run a market analysis and present a value based on comparisons between different houses of the same size, age and condition. Inform them beforehand that you intend to interview several agents before finalizing. Schedule meetings and check their market analysis to ease the decision making process.
Conducting Agent Interviews
After you have analyzed their marketing proposals and workings, you can ask them the following questions before hiring so that you can hire the right agent.
Are you a full-time agent?
Even though it is something that you should have questioned before but if you have not, ask them now, as you should not prefer working with part-time agents
Whom do you represent?
It is necessary for you to be aware about the agent and the agency he/she is representing. That way if you happen to have any doubts, you can always look up on the internet and be sure.
Tell me something about your office?
Most people tend to go towards hiring someone with well-established offices while some prefer small and regular ones as they think the attention span will be more and in-depth. Above all that, you need to observe the individual’s knowledge and expertise about the job. It is not necessary for you to find a good listing agent at a well-established office, sometimes the good ones seem to be working in small ones as well.
How much is your experience?
A good listing agent will always keep him/herself updated about the market and will keep on leaning and growing. A professional listing agent will have at least 5 years of experience while a mediocre one will have one-year experience five times. Then again, you will need to ask a couple more questions as time and experience only cannot be the best judge of competence.
Do you possess a broker’s license?
A broker license is not something that is simply handed over. You need to have the required educational prerequisites and experience to get it. It can be said without a doubt that many listing agents have salesperson’s license throughout their careers. For some it can be just to stand out but those who really are up for improving their professional skills will definitely show for it.
How do you keep current in your field?
Reading and taking educational courses to stay ahead in the race is a good attribute of a good listing agent. Professional designations and certifications such as Graduate Realtor Institute and Certified Residential Specialist are a great way to self-improve but you cannot rely on them solely.
What do you think about other agents (name them)?
In such professions, agents are very well aware of who is going on or going out. Therefore, you can by naming the agents ask each one of them about each other. Good seller’s agents will not bring themselves up by tearing others down. You will not hear a good agent saying something derogatory about the other. Even if upon naming a particular agent, the others happen to go silent, that alone would be enough for you to understand the reputation of that particular agent. You have to keep this in mind that dealing with agents can be a tricky process, they can easily bluff and you might want to watch every step.