What Does a REALTOR Do to Sell a Home?

A common question that someone looking to list their home on the real estate market would be “what exactly does a REALTOR do to sell my home”? This is because you are on the verge of putting your home up for sale for one reason or another. This is a valid question to ask particularly considering that your home is most likely your most valuable asset and have established a strong emotional bond with the over the years. Being that this is a major decision and life-changing process, you have every right to ask “How is a REALTOR going to help me, and make this process as painless as possible”.

 

 

Before we dive deeper into this topic, let’s first point out that there are two types of REALTORS. The first of REALTOR would be the hands-off type. These agents will do the bare minimum to get your home sold and potentially provide incorrect information to you during the process which could be a huge mistake. The other preferred type of REALTOR would be the agent who will work tooth and nail to ensure that you get the best deal for your home and give correct information to you and your family and assist in any way they can throughout the process. We will focus on the second type of REALTOR in this post, what they do, and how to identify them beforehand. These are a few steps that you should always look for when looking to list your home with a potential agent or company.

 

When you go to sell a house you might wonder exactly what the REALTOR is doing to sell your house. we made this list so the consumer

 

It’s only natural for you as a homeowner to overestimate the value of your home. This is partly because we all tend to be biased when valuing the things we own and love. Don’t get discouraged if the agent values your home slightly lower than you had envisioned, they are the experts in the area and know what your home will sell for. A good REALTOR is the one who prices your home accurately without wanting to indulge you with an unrealistic price. Statistics show that overpriced homes take longer to sell compared to the reasonably-priced homes and in most cases, they end up selling for what the agent recommended as the correct list price months ago and a lot of aggravation would have been spared. A good agent knows the correct value and it is a good idea to trust the experts to sell your home in a timely manner.

 

A good REALTOR must do a competitive market analysis for your home. This includes the location, age, original listing price, and general condition. The REALTOR must also consider your home’s size in terms of square footage, number of bathrooms, and number of bedrooms. This is the information that he/she then compares against the prevailing home prices within your area in order to accurately estimate your home’s monetary value. Depending on how quickly homes around your area attract buyers, the realtor® should be able to predict whether or not your home’s current price will appreciate or depreciate by the time you close the sale. 

 

Your home is among many other active listings in your area. Your real estate agent should employ all marketing strategies- modern and traditional- to ensure that potential buyers consider your home before all the others. Taking professional pictures of the home and post them on all social media platforms. This is where some agents stop. Listing the home online is a great practice, but social media and real estate online platforms now, in today’s market, are not enough. Placing ads on the local print media, erecting an attractive sign in front of the home, or even distributing flyers all over the place isn’t going to cut it either in today’s extremely competitive market. A REALTOR whose sole dedication is to help you sell your home should go to unimaginable marketing lengths and use the most-convincing and targeted strategies along the way.

 

A good real estate agent should initiate a relentless social media campaign that targets a certain group of prospective home buyers and promote your home until the target audience begins to respond to the media blitz. He/she should appeal to the emotions of the potential buyers, feed their souls with provoking images and videos of your house, and positively influence their perception about your home’s neighborhood. As for the marketing brochures, the REALTOR should ensure that they reach every corner of your hometown and even to the neighboring towns if possible. This is exactly what an agent should do to market your home and if executed correctly, the seller will not have to stress and their home will be sold for a fair market value in the most timely manner.

 

Your REALTOR will be extremely busy marketing your home, however he/she must keep your lines of communication open at all times. Your agent should show respect to your home and the investment you have placed in it by taking you through the entire marketing and MLS listing process, as well as inform you every time a prospective buyer makes a written offer.

 

Your REALTOR should communicate in a language and method that you understand best. If you are comfortable with emails, then he/she should email you. If you are more comfortable with phone calls then they should call you. This is up to you and you need to be informed and comfortable throughout the entire process.

 

 

Home inspection is at the very heart of any real estate transaction. Although it isn’t mandatory for anyone besides the inspector to attend the inspection, a responsible listing agent ensures that he/she will attend the inspections in order to witness the process firsthand. Buying agents never miss any inspection tours and if the seller isn’t well represented, these agents can easily manipulate the inspector’s recommendations in the buyer’s favor. This is not common, but can happen so having your agent present at the inspections assures you peace of mind.

 

Some listing agents dislike when a seller’s agent is there, but as long as they limit their visibility and just oversee, everything will be fine. This is just for your protection at the end of the day.

 

Negotiating for a home’s price is by far the most sensitive phase in the entire buying/selling transaction. It’s the phase where you, the seller, try to push for the best deals while the buyer tries to minimize the listing price as much as possible. You must, therefore, have your REALTOR by your side so that he can offer you expert advice and ensure that you are getting a fair market price for your home.

 

A buyer can ask you to: lower the asking price, or update the home in terms of appliances or cracked floors and so on. Other negotiation points include whether or not the buyer will take all the furniture in the home, whether you will vacate, and what happens in case of any financing contingencies. All these negotiations can be overwhelming in the absence of a savvy REALTOR.

 

 

Now that you know what a REALTORS job is, these are the three things to look for in a REALTOR before contracting him/her to sell your home:

 

1) Performance record: Enquire about the agent’s previous listings and establish the average time it takes him/her to close a deal, his/her negotiation skills, and their experience with homes similar to yours. His/her past and current clients are the best people to ask this kind of information.

 

2) Professionalism: Confirm whether the agent is a registered REALTOR, ask him about his/her professional awards’ count, ask about his added credentials, and most importantly take time to study him as a person. If your instincts don’t trust him even with his professional qualifications, don’t hire him.

 

3) Online Reputation: You need a REALTOR with a strong appeal, both online and offline. How do you like his website? What are people saying about him on social media? If he is active online, there is a high possibility that he is good at his job.

 

Hiring the correct real estate agent is one of the most important decisions that you will make in your lifetime due to the gravity of the transaction and all of the nuances involved, but do your homework and selling your home will be an incredible, stress-free experience. A REALTOR will take the stress out of this very stressful process.

 

Now all you need to do is hire a moving company!