Virtually all sellers want to achieve the highest possible price for their property in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of risk.

Any successful journey begins by choosing the right path.  The journey to achieving the successful sale of your home begins by choosing the right real estate agent.

Your  house may still be your largest asset. Or it may currently be a great liability.

Whether your need is to obtain the most money from you equity or reduce your financial distress your success will depend greatly on the agent you hire.

How to Start
Choosing agents to interview. Ask for referrals, Look around.  Look for signs and advertising. Agents who are visible and are widely known demonstrate aggressive marketing.

Interview : What to look for

Do you feel comfortable with the agent?

Is the agent a high drive “get it done” type of person?

Does the agent seem trustworthy?

Is the agent taking time to discover what is important to you?

Does the agent seem genuinely concerned about your issues?

Is the agent focusing on your needs or on his or her achievements?

Marketing Expertise
To net the most from your sale, search for agents who have an aggressive marketing plan and who are selling their listings in spite of bad market conditions.

All agents offer the 4 P’s                  1. Put a sign in your yard,
                                                      2. Place your property MLS,
                                                      3. Place an ad in the local paper
                                                      4. Post it to a website

But getting your house sold in today’s environment takes a maximum amount of exposure.

Skills and Knowledge You Want Your Agent to Have

Your agent needs exceptional marketing skills. Ask the agents how they plan to market your home.

Your agent should be able to provide you with a customized plan.

A customized marketing plan includes Targeted Niche Marketing Strategies. Every house has bedrooms and bathrooms.  A customized plan aims towards a target that is the most probable buyer for your house.

What marketing avenues do they use? Direct mail, print advertising, web advertising?

Ask each agent how they plan to market to the Brokerage Community. Does the agent do anything beyond putting your listing in MLS?

Spend time exploring each agent’s local market knowledge. Pricing your house correctly is greatly dependent on the agent’s local market knowledge. Few sellers realize that by letting the agent misprice their property they can and do lose thousands of dollars. Does the agent do an in-depth analysis and understand what creates value in Fountain Hills?

Networking skills. An important part of any agent’s ability to market your property depends on the agent’s personal contacts and visibility. This is an often overlooked marketing skill. What does the agent do to reach as many potential buyers as possible through networking?

Community Involvement:  An agent who is involved in the community and who is visible and dedicated has a large networking system.

Negotiation Skills Few sellers realize the hidden costs of choosing a poor negotiator. The wrong agent can cost you thousands of dollars.

If another agent brings in an offer the agent you hire will represent you in the transaction. How well are they able to negotiate on your behalf and build value for your property?

Does the agent know how to uncover the buyer’s motivation? Can they overcome objections?

If the agent also has the buyer and represents you both, (known as dual agency) how will the agent handle buyer objections when they also represent the buyer?  Only when you work with a strong negotiator can you net the highest price for your property.

Technical Skills

Does the agent have the necessary technological skills to give your house maximum exposure? 85% of home buyers today search online before they buy.

What is the agent’s online presence? How will a possible buyer find your house?

Does the agent have their own site or depend on the company site? Is the site easy to navigate?

Visit the each agent’s website. Does the site demonstrate a knowledge of Fountain Hills? Does the site reflect our lifestyle?

Does the website encourage visitors to provide contact information?

Are the listings syndicated?

Visit www.realtor.com  and  www.Remax.com.  The ReMax site is the #1 real estate site in the world.

How do the agent’s listings appear? Do they attract potential buyers? Will your property stand out?

Ask the agent if they have any additional online presence and buyer search sites. Where else will the information about your property appear? Are they on LinkedIn? Facebook?  The greater the agent’s online presence the more exposure your house receives.

Does the agent have a Weblog? By reading the agent’s blog you can learn how knowledgeable the agent is about the real estate market.

Question the agent about what other marketing strategies they have.

Professionalism

Ask each agent if they have a database and data management system. Successful professional agents have an organized efficient follow-up system for potential buyers and sellers.

Find out how each agent responds to inquiries and how quickly they respond to inquiries from potential buyers.

Call about one of the agent’s listings and see how long it takes the agent to respond. Call both the office and agent’s number to see how a potential buyer is treated.

One of the most common complaints about real estate agents is that once they put the sign in the ground, the seller does not hear from them.

Find out how often the agent will communicate with you once you have listed.

How does the agent follow-up on showings?
Ask any agent you interview if they have a Performance Guarantee. What kind of commitment will they make to ensure their performance and your satisfaction? Will they cancel the listing if you are unhappy with their performance?

Experience

There is no substitute for experience.

Every sale brings with it its own set of circumstances and challenges. The more experience the agent has, the more likely she/he can anticipate and solve transaction problems. When you sell your house you will probably be selling your greatest asset. You will want to net the most money from that asset. Trusting that responsibility to someone with little or no experience can cause you to lose thousands of dollars.

• Ask around to find out what the agent’s reputation is.
• Ask the agent for references.

Brokerage Company

All Realtors either work for a brokerage or own their own brokerage. There are large international brokerages and small one or two agent brokerages. What is most important about the company is how good their agents are.

You can work with a company that boasts all kinds of marketing abilities, but they are only as useful as their individual agents.

Larger companies usually have: national and international relocation services, offices in other countries, their own website.

Determine if the agent is mostly dependent on these 3 strategies to get your house sold. If they are, you are not getting enough service or commitment from the agent.

Customer Service

Selling your home is very stressful and can be frustrating at times. It involves planning and making numerous choices

Find out if the agent offers any additional services to help you.

Does the agent offer services to help you with preparing the house for sale?

Does the agent have resources and moving assistance to help you with all of the steps involved from selling your home to reaching your final destination?

If the house will be vacant when you are selling how does the agent follow-up with showings and communicate with you.

Common Pitfalls

To have the best possible experience in selling your house

Listing with agents who are a family member or friend who lack the knowledge and experience necessary to get your house sold for the maximum price in the shortest amount of time.

• Listing with an agent just because they tell you the highest price. How are they justifying that price? Do they have all the ability you need for a successful sale?
• Choosing an out of area agent. An agent who works in your local market exclusively is at a great advantage in having the knowledge and understanding of what  buyers are looking for, and what buyers are willing to pay. An exclusively local agent will put all their marketing strategies and energy into attracting buyers to Fountain Hills.

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