Three Very Costly Mistakes That Sellers Make When Choosing a Listing Agent

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We’ve all heard the expression “time is money” right? So why, then, is time not something that most sellers think about when hiring an agent to list their property? Just imagine, hiring the wrong agent can end up in months of frustration with lack of communication, lack of preparedness and worse, a lackluster attitude toward what is probably the most important financial transaction of your life.

To help make sure you don’t make the same mistakes that countless other sellers have made, here are three important things to consider before you sign the dotted line of a listing agreement.

Shop Carefully and Consider Your Options

This question is often asked, especially by homeowners who consider selling their homes by themselves.

The fundamental first answer to this question is that an experienced realtor is an expert at what he or she does. Through hard work and education, they’ve acquired a set of skills that make the process of home buying and selling a lot easier than it would be by doing it yourself.

Choose an Agent or Broker That is Current

What do we mean by “current”? It’s simple. Just like technology continues to evolve in all other areas of life, we have to assume that the person representing them is also current with technology. A very surprising large number of agents neglect to realize the importance of delivering on real-time needs of buyers using up-to-date tools. Rather than make the mistake of hiring an agent that is relying strictly on Open Houses (studies show less than 2% of sales are generating from Open Houses), contact someone that is using relevant technology.

Video is the single most innovative and also underutilized technology in real estate. Your agent should be using video tours as a matter of routine and unless they do so, you are working with a broker that has not yet kept up with the times. Buyers are out there using their smartphones to do home searches, utilizing their GPS systems to search neighborhood properties and expecting real time responses to information requests. That’s why it is critical to know that unless your broker is up to speed in today’s technology, they can’t keep up with the needs of today’s buyers. As a test, look up any agent in Google. Do they pop up as the first or second item on the search results page? If not, they are not positioned to be at the forefront of today’s technologically advanced real estate industry.

Look for Recognition Among Community and Peers

There is something to be said about agents and brokers that are revered not only by members of the community but also by their peers. In the many dealings that are necessary for a smooth transaction, it is critical that agents on both sides of the transaction are able to communicate effectively. When you have an agent that is difficult to get along with, does not mesh well within the community or their colleagues, you stand to face risks that directly impact the sale of your property.

Hire a broker with a name that is respected in the marketplace by both consumers and other real estate agents. When interviewing your prospective agents, be sure to ask about their dealings with others in the industry.
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These are just a few of the things you can do to make sure you are in good hands when it comes to selling your home. But beyond that, it’s important to be able to look your agent in the eye and feel that you are valued – cherished and most of all heard. To give us an opportunity to listen to your needs, please contact us today. We look forward to the chance to share with you why we are the right brokerage to hire for your real estate needs!

Want Your Moving Experience to Be Stress-Free?

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Hire the Pros!

Yes, you can pack everything up yourself and sure you’d save a few bucks but at the end of the day wouldn’t you rather be able to focus on enjoying your new place and setting things up rather than recuperating from the exhaustion of packing and hauling boxes? Hire professional movers. They get the job done so you can focus on enjoying your new place.

Say “Yes!” to Offers of Help

Rather than be polite about any offers you receive for help, ACCEPT them! Now is not the time for pleasantries – just like when a new member of the family is born and everyone wants to help, moving is a big deal too and friends, family and coworkers enjoy being there for you. So take all the help you can get and then invite everyone over to your new place to celebrate when all is said and done!

Use Up Some Vacation

Though you could get away with prepping your move, supervising the pros (see first point above), and setting up your new place only on evenings and weekends, the last thing you want to happen is for the whole process to drag on more than necessary. Take some time off from work, get the moving job done and then go on with life. Simple.

Don’t Procrastinate

It can be very easy to put off things “just another day” or one more weekend, but truth be told, it is FAR easier to chisel away at moving tasks one thing at a time, especially if you get a head start. Start early with your planning, identify the things you want to move, which ones you want to get rid of, and anything in between. Then take care of them systematically so that when moving week arrives you’re way ahead of the game.

Get Ready to Purge, Purge and Purge

The old rule is “if you haven’t used it, thought about it or seen it in a year – TOSS it!” so go ahead and get rid of those things! Not only will it be refreshing to start in your new home with plenty of room to play with but it will also feel good to donate things to deserving people that might actually use the things that have been sitting there forever.

Organize Thoughtfully

It’s easy to pack things up in a frenzy when moving out but if you are thoughtful about it you can end up making your move IN much easier. The best way to handle this is by labeling things and packing them on a room-by-room basis. You can use color-coded stickers, markers or anything else that clearly separates one room from the other and that way when the movers move you in your new home they will know exactly where everything has to go.

Treat Valuables With Care

Not just in terms of packing but it is essential that you are watchful of your valuables during the move. In the moving madness that is typical of most households during such a major transition, things of value can easily be lost, damaged or even stolen. To avoid this, it’s a good idea to transport especially valuable things in your own vehicle(s) and possibly look into moving insurance on larger items of value.

Plan the First Few Days At Your New Home

You may think you will be able to find those towels, kitchen utensils or hand soap once you move but the truth is that unless you go in prepared you probably won’t be able to find anything at first. The easiest thing to do is to prepare a box of all the essential items you will need for at least a few days in your new home. Make a list and have every family member add their own items to it.

Keep Important Documents Close at Hand

Many people pack their important documents early on in their quest to be prepared for their move and as a result sometimes those boxes get embedded deep into the room where those boxes have been moved. And as luck might have it, the minute you need something from your files you might realize that they are not so easy to reach. To avoid this from happening, establish a box of key documents that you may need access to and keep them close at hand with you during the move.

Keep Track of What’s Coming and Going

Finally, as you prepare and implement your move there will be a LOT of stuff going back and forth. Keep an inventory list, broken down by room and even further broken down by color code (see “Organize Thoughtfully” tip above). That way if you suspect something is missing you can easily refer to your inventory list. Also, if your moving company provides insurance your inventory list will be very helpful if not mandatory in case there are any claims.

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Good luck with your move! Remember, in our many years of experience working with buyers and sellers, we have established a long list of local preferred partners that we can vouch for as being valuable to our clients. Contact us today for a list of our preferred partners or for any other real estate related needs you may have.