Selling your home

Today I’m going to touch base on some of the services that your listing agent will provide:

1- Market Analysis.

Pricing your home properly is half of the job of selling. The agent will perform research, often before your initial interview, so that you will have the data needed to arrive at the proper listing price.

2- Information.

At the time your house is listed, the agent will collect detailed information about the property. The material will be used not only for assisting possible buyers in choosing which homes to view, but for preparing advertisements, drawing up a purchase agreement and arranging the eventual transfer of title.

3- Fixup Advise.

It can be difficult for you to view your home with an impartial eye. Being skilled in looking at houses as buyers see them, the agent can offer valuable suggestions for showing your home off at its best.

4- Interim Services.

If you must leave town for a vacation or move before the house is sold, you can expect a real estate agent to supervise the property, pick up papers, arrange for lawn care or snow removal and check for signs of vandalism or fire. Neighbors seeing anything suspicious usually call the number on the For Sale Sign, and the agent is available in an emergency.

5- Advertising.

These costs are usually borne by the real estate firm, which decides on the size and frequency of advertisements. You may be asked for suggestions, but you’ll find that the agent is experienced in writing ads.

6- Qualifying prospects.

Unless each house hunter who visits your property is financially capable of buying it, then you, the agent and the prospects themselves are just spinning your wheels. The agent has an established technique for judging buyers and will obtain information about income, assets and credit rating within the first few minutes of conversation. The process is called “qualifying” the prospect.

7- Appointments to Show.

You can expect your agent to clear appointments with you in advance, accompany all prospects, you as a seller should not be present at showings because you can jinx a sale. Every good agent has developed a skilled, professional technique for showing property to best advantage.

8- Open Houses.

For the same reasons, your agent may recommend that you leave the property during an open house. This period, usually a weekend afternoon, is advertised as a time when the public is welcome to visit the house. Special signs invite all comers, and the agent will devote several hours to your property that day.

9- Reports on progress.

While your home is on the market, you should receive periodic calls from your agent. You will appreciate these even if the agent reports only that nothing is happening. In this case you can expect suggestions for improving your home’s appeal.

10- Contract Negotiations.

The agent’s tact and diplomacy are most directly in the process of bringing you into agreement with the  who wants your property. Knowledgeable in finance and law, with the experience of past transactions to call upon, the agent serves as a buffer between buyer and seller, skillfully smoothing the path to a satisfactory agreement.