6 Biggest Mistakes When Choosing a Real Estate Agent

6 Biggest Mistakes When Choosing a Real Estate Agent
6 Biggest Mistakes When Choosing A Real Estate Agent

Spring and summer can be the busiest time of the year forreal estate agents. As the school yearis coming to an end, a lot of homeowners decide to make their moveto sell their home. Selling your home is one of the biggesttransactions you’ll ever make and one you shouldn’t doon your own without the help of a real estate professional.Don’t be the homeowner that makes any of the followingmistakes:

  1. Choosing an agent whodoesn’t know or who isn’t the expert in yourcommunity.  It’s important to choose an agentwho is familiar with and active in your community. An agent who isactive is constantly promoting your property to neighbors andvisitors. An agent who believes in the community is the best agentto sell your home.
  2. Choosing a friend orfamily member.  This is not always a wise choice andcan make the situation awkward if you’re not happy with them.This can lead to long term friction which could have beenprevented.
  3. The number ofyears’ experience isn’t the mostimportant.  Honestly, that large number of how manyhomes they sold in the past 25 years sounds impressive but moreimportantly is their success rate. An agent who listed 100 homeslast year but only sold 25, has a success rate of 25%. An agent wholisted 15 homes and sold all 15 has a success rate of 100%. Thesuccess rate is important.
  4. Flat Fee ServiceCompanies.  The fact is, you get what you pay for.This is not the correct approach when you’re dealing withsuch a large transaction. Chances are you think you are savingmoney but in reality, you are probably not getting the most moneyfor your property. Pennywise and pound foolish come to mind.
  5. Choosing the agent whogives you the highest listing price.  It all soundsgood at the time, but when your house is still on the market in sixmonths, are you really accomplishing your goal of selling yourhome? Go with the facts given to you on what sold in yourneighborhood, they don’t lie. Knowing upfront what arealistic price is for your property will avoid disappointment atclosing.
  6. Choosing an agent whocares about one thing…..commission.  The agentgives the best presentation but deep down you know they only careabout their commission. That agent doesn’t care about gettingyou the most money for your home. The best agent is the one thatlistens and cares about your goals.

Selling your home can be stressful, but it doesn’t have tobe. Don’t make the mistake of choosing an agent whoisn’t an expert in your community, who is a friend, who hasthe most number of years in the business, who gives you thecheapest commission, who gives you the highest list price or theagent who only cares about one thing—making a commission.Making the right choice of who should sell your home will make yourselling experience pleasant and profitable rather than anightmare.