10/07/2019
BEFORE YOU HIRE A REALTOR,...
TIME TO RAISE THE BAR OF PROFESSIONALISM.
Don't take a Realtor's word for it, make them show you in print.
1. Before listing your property the agent should give you a list of recent SOLDS, a CMA, aka certified market analysis, showing you at least three listings: high, medium, low sales in your local area; if there's nothing in your immediate area then extend one mile out, surrounding.
2. A list of ACTIVE competition in your immediate area if there is none the extend again is one mile out, surrounding.
3. If you're listing your home your agent should be doing follow-ups to find out the most common concerns being reported from buyers the likes and dislikes, as you should make corrections if necessary, or address it in the MLS notes.
4. I once had an agent friend say "I'm going to make them paint that orange wall"; I said, why would you want to do that?... a Gators fan just may want to buy that house because of the orange wall or if they don't like it it's the house that they're always going to be talking about it's the only one with the 'ugly' orange wall pros and cons remember, ....different is not always bad and neutral is not always good.
5. Focusing on the ugly or the odd it's very easy to deal with and no, you do not need to redecorate unless it's really ugly. Do the very minimum to make it appropriate, people have different taste from what you have. And redecorating, well, that is money simply wasteful, discount your pricing.
It's always nice to have an agent who is a Visionary, ... they can come into your house and actually envision possibilities in your home and then when they do the MLS write up they can bring out these things. Remember, most people have no sense of imagination or vision for a home, it's so important; that's why I always like to have OPEN HOUSE myself, I help people to see POSSILITIES themselves, paint's cheap and can do wonders to a room can totally change it in a way that most people can't imagine. Remember, we have to deal with the sunlight which makes a big difference in color same with carpets, remember there's a lot that goes into a room that people don't realize. Sometimes removing a small wall doing something simple not expensive can open up a room bring in extra light that you never thought possible. Replacing drapes with blinds or window film. All these things are not that costly nor time-consuming to change. If I can't be at open house myself I have have an agent on staff that has been taught by me to look for these things; because you want to have a very SUCCESSFUL OPEN HOUSE.
6. An agent should never have to lower an asking price if they've done their homework.... by this I mean, if they've done a proper CMA if they have studied Active competition and Solds, followed up with feedback and ask agents to contact them before showing your property to tell the Agents of something special about your property that they may not notice.
And, your agent should be very well engaged with your property, doing open houses is a great way for finding out the feedback they need to know; otherwise, your agent really is not knowledgeable of what's going on with your listing... I don't care how many houses they sell unless they've got good agents working to do this for them they don't know your listing well enough.
On average your house should sell within 3 months most houses I've listed have sold in 3 months or under; I do take a year listing, I hate paperwork but I'm studying your listing on a very regular basis I'm also communicating with you, and your agent should be doing this as well.
Many agents will be upset with me; I am not sorry, I've seen too many agents who don't do their job and nothing aggravates me more, ...Why? because this affects my profession, my industry and your selling price..
REAL ESTATE AGENTS WORK FOR YOU... and they need to update you often and they need to return calls to other agents...
