How to Choose a Seller’s Agent
Working with the right seller’s agent is paramount. Choosing who to work with isn’t a decision that should be taken lightly.
1. Talk to multiple agents
There are many agents out there and many ways that you can find agents. The internet is a great tool to find agents and compare agents from the comfort of your desk, couch, or bed.
2. Interview agents you want to work with
You want an agent that “gets” you, pays attention to you, and has similar values as you. You want to get along well with your agent and trust them to guide you through the home selling process from beginning to end. The only way to know whether an agent is a great match for you is to interview them. Ask them the following questions:
How long have you been working in real estate?
Do you primarily work with buyers or sellers?
How many active clients do you have at a time?
Are you part of a team?
What’s your specialty?
Are you equipped to handle my unique situation?
How will you market my home?
Can you put me in contact with some references?
Decide what your values are in a real estate agent. This is a matching process. There may be a perfect agent that checks all of the boxes, but it’s important to know what your boxes are before you start interviewing.
3. Explain your communication preferences
A good real estate agent will be responsive to your needs and preferences. You will want to have clarity with your agent on how often you want to communicate with them. Do you want to know every detail of the process or do you just want to be informed of larger events? You also want to make sure your communicate styles are similar. Do you want information delivered in a straightforward manner or would you prefer a kinder delivery? Do you respond quickly via text or email but not with phone calls? Communication is very important in the home selling process, and you’ll want to get this sorted out from the beginning.
4. Clarify your motivation to sell
This information will help your agent with setting the price of your home, marketing your home, and negotiating with potential buyers. Are you looking to move quickly and willing to take any offer to do so or are you in no hurry to sell and want to get the best value for your property?
5. Discuss the showing process
Having showings of your property is excellent because it means people are interested in buying your home, but showings mean you will need to clean and leave your home. How often do you want to have showings? Would you prefer an open house or just private showings? How much notification do you need before a showing? Can a potential buyer give you an hour notice or will it take you a while to clean and get everyone out of the house?
6. Provide your vacation plans
This might not seem like something that is important for your agent to know initially, but the home selling process can take a while and for some aspects of the process, you’ll need to be in town. You’ll likely need to meet in person to close and potentially go to a bank in person to withdraw the closing fees. If you’re out of town and there are showings, your agent will need to use a lockbox or some other method to get into your home. It’s possible documents will need to be signed by hand or in person. Transparency around your vacation schedule will be helpful to avoid delays in the process due to travel.
7. Agree on important details
At the end of the day, you’ll need to agree on the important details of the process with your agent. The listing price, contract price, contract length, commission structure, and many other aspects will need to be discussed and agreed upon with your agent. Don’t shy away from openly discussing and negotiating these aspects.