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How To Ask The Right Questions Before You
List Again!
Interview With Confidence....Make A Choice That Will
Help You Sell Your Home Faster And....For More Money!
Your listing has expired and now youre wondering what
to do. The most important question you must ask is,
"Where did I go wrong?". The answer is not
usually within you, but with the agent you entrusted. Be
prepared with the right information so you can interview
your prospective agent with confidence and assure you
make the right choice this time.
With hundreds or even thousands of dollars at stake and
weeks of time invested, dont risk making the same
mistake twice. Make sure your next agent is eminently
qualified to sell your home. Dont risk this decision
out of obligation to a friend, family member or
acquaintance. Your listing has expired and its easy
to develop the identity of having a problem property in
the market place. Therefore, its vital important to
choose the right agent this time around.
Typically, most people will ask business associates,
family or friends to recommend someone theyve had
good luck with... someone they can trust. Other sellers
will watch neighborhood real estate signs to see who is
listing many of the homes. Still others rely upon the
reputation of the major national franchise companies.
Then, of course, theres always the yellow pages. All
of these methods could prove to be disastrous!
Trust Your Instincts First!
When selecting an agent, he or she should be someone you
feel good about, someone youre willing to trust with
one of the largest financial transactions you may ever
make. This report is designed to empower you with the
information necessary to make the right decision before
you arrive at the place where youre ready to sign on
the dotted line again. Dont allow the prospective
agent to dictate your time table. If an agent is
impatient you should immediately consider them suspect.
Be careful.
Do Your Homework!
Ask For References From Past Sellers - Before
you sign another listing agreement, check out references
from past sellers. Flattering letters praising the
agents work in a presentation book are a great start,
but dig deeper. Ask for telephone numbers and names of
the past three sellers and names of at least two current
listings.
Know The Companies Reputation - Ask your business
associates, family and friends about the company or
agent and listen carefully for the very first thing they
say. A company has a reputation in the community. Listen
closely for it!
Call The Real Estate Commission - Call and ask
about consumer complaints. Be sure and take note of the
number and nature but dont base your entire decision
on this information. In a slow or declining market,
agents will get more complaints because the sellers are
frustrated that their home isnt moving and they want
someone to blame when its simply poor market
conditions. Therefore, always allow your prospective
agent to explain any complaints and if their response
seems reasonable, take that into consideration. One
other note: if an agent does a large number of
transactions per year, they will naturally be exposed to
the potential for more of these kinds of comments. If an
agent isnt doing anything, they obviously wont
generate a complaint.
Call The Better Business Bureau - See if the
agent has had any bad dealings with his or her
customers.
Ask For A Record Of The Agents Marketing
Innovations - How are they dealing with the current
market conditions? Is there a plan to beef up their
advertising and marketing efforts to benefit the seller?
Residential real estate has a long history of economic
cycles. The market is either hot, improving, static or
declining and with each cycle there has to be a plan to
cope with the current market conditions.
Dont Stop Asking!
Ask for a comparison chart of last years sales to
this years sales. How is the agent and company doing?
Ask for a history of the agent; how many companies have
they been with and why did they change? If the reason is
always money there may be something wrong! Be careful
because if your agent changes, companies your listing
belongs to the broker and you may get a new
inexperienced agent as your replacement... this could be
very costly!
Final Questions
Ask For A Detailed Marketing Plan Request a
step-by-step plan of the first four weeks, eight weeks
and twelve weeks your home will be on the market. Make
sure your agent is utilizing the latest innovative
technologies for generating sales leads. There are now
ways to literally generate leads 24 hours a day! These
new marketing tools will help sell your home faster and
for more money!
Define Planning Times - Establish a time with
your agent to go over the marketing results within the
first 15 days. Ask for all showings and feedback from
other agents. Help the agent understand that any news is
good news because it can help you make adjustments in
your marketing plan.
If you follow these suggestions youre sure to avoid
the mistakes of the past. Make sure youre dealing
with a competent professional... making the right choice
is worth thousands of dollars and a great sense of
"peace of mind."
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