Need advice on selecting realtor to sell my house (real estate market, foreclosures)

[xiaqueo]

I‘m getting ready to sell my first house and will be interviewing realtors in the next week or so but am at a loss as to what questions to ask. Besides asking about the commission structure, can anyone offer advice as to what I should ask to make a comparison between realtors? I’m hoping to interview about 3 or 4 realtors before deciding on which to sign an agreement with (if that’s even the way it works). Also, any other advice you can provide as far as things to ensure are being done or things to watch out for would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[SmartMoney]

Well, you are not going to like my answer. Unless you are planning on pricing your home right and being competitive with the foreclosures, your listing is not necessarily a hot commodity. In fact, just the opposite. Your listing is a financial obligation from day one for the real estate agent. The sign, the advertising, brochures, web exposure, all cost the real estate agent the minute you sign. Pricing your home too high will cost you more than a good realtor.

See, at first, you are known as the guy that is priced too high. Buyers and realtors will pass your home by, seeking better bargains. When you get tired of no traffic viewing your home, you try to correct the price by lowering it. But not everyone pays attention to your house like you do. Many may think it's still priced too high, not realizing the price is now lower. So, your next move is to price it below your competition. Now, you are selling for far less than the original recommendation of the real estate agent.

What to ask the agent? That's a tough one w/out knowing more about your situation. Any experienced agent is going to cover your questions before you ask. But you should know what the real estate company charges as a transaction fee, in addition to commission. (the latest new fee). Also, as what you should expect to have to pay towards the buyer's closing costs. The agent should provide you w/ a seller's net sheet, showing you exactly where the fees are going. Depending upon your area, there are new taxes for traffic congestion.

It's a tough time to be selling - and if I were not prepared to stay were I was for at least 5 yeaars, I would sell now, myself. We have just begun this tough market. This has just been round one.

I really hope I am wrong.

[Nancy in Nokomis]

First of all you are looking for an agent who eat, drinks and sleeps real estate - someone with many, many years of experience, not a newcomer. Someone who can be reached on the phone, who returns phone calls very quickly. I have called up about houses I was looking at and by the time the agent called me back - I was not interested anymore.
An agent that is going to do a virtual tour of your home - a must in this internet based society. I know some will disagree with me - but this is what I wanted when I was looking for a home.
Watch out - there are a ton of dud real estate agents out ther.

[ShannonMilligan]

ask them how many listing they already have-too many and they may not have the time and energy to put into marketing your home.
how many homes they have sold in the last 6 months-if none, you may want to find someone else. It is a tough market and you want to hire someone who is getting the job done.
ask how they market-realtor.com? do they do pictures on realtor.com? in the paper? what other online resources do they use to advertise? do they hold open houses? how many per month? (I think one per month is good, but that is just my opinion) do they do brokers opens?
communication-how often do they keep you in the loop? Personally, I expected a weekly update-even if nothing happened. I wanted to know what my realtor was doing on my behalf.
as for the commission...I personally paid the "typical" at 6%, 3 to the buyers agent and 3 to the sellers. I think if they do their job and they do it well they deserve to get paid. Maybe you could do a structured commission or something if you don't want to do the 6%...say 6% if the home sells in the first 3 months, 4% in the next three months (meaning 6 months) and so forth.
good luck. Be smart and set an aggressive price from the beginning. If you price too high you will sit on the market, paying a mortgage each month. If comps in your area are around, say, $550K, consider starting at $540K or something like that.
And, make sure your home is CLEAN and DECLUTTERED! (what you may think is declutteres may not be...get a second set of eyes to tell you what bugs them. Pics on the fridge must come down, knick knacks must be boxed...clothing in closets should be thinned out to make the space seem larger...All of this is something a good realtor will tell you)

[stoopidspeeder]

Originally Posted by SmartMoney

Well, you are not going to like my answer. Unless you are planning on pricing your home right and being competitive with the foreclosures, your listing is not necessarily a hot commodity. In fact, just the opposite. Your listing is a financial obligation from day one for the real estate agent. The sign, the advertising, brochures, web exposure, all cost the real estate agent the minute you sign. Pricing your home too high will cost you more than a good realtor.

I would disagree with the person on being competitive w/ the foreclosures. Foreclosures are oftentimes a huge deterrent to potential buyers. Why? because most are sold "as is" and require the approval of the bank which takes at least a week, given the amount of foreclosures they have to deal with. People don't like to buy something they don't know the conditions. Yes, you can do a home inspection, but the inspector can only give you an assessment of the outside/visible condition of the house, none on the plumbing, heating, AC, electrical aspects, which are the most expensive to fix, if there's anything wrong. By selling your house normally, you are required by law to divulge all problems with the house (unless you sell the place as-is), thereby giving the buyers a little bit more security. so don't feel like you have to price your house near the foreclosure down the block, because you dont.

[stoopidspeeder]

to answer your question... i would ask a) experience (both in the real estate market and in your specific area) b) COMPLETE fee structure (be careful, some realtors charge separate rates than their broker) c) marketing strategy d) average time of his/her listings on the market.

[kevinm]

Open houses are a waste of time and DO NOT sell houses. They are used for the realtor to get more clients and for your neighbors to peek at your stuff.

[JesDC]

I guess depending on how soon you want to sell your house (within 3 months, 6 months, etc), your strategy will be different, particularly in such a market. Make sure your agent know that.

[ShannonMilligan]

Originally Posted by kevinm

Open houses are a waste of time and DO NOT sell houses. They are used for the realtor to get more clients and for your neighbors to peek at your stuff.

sold two of our homes through open houses...so they do work sometimes!!

[tamitrail]

Originally Posted by kevinm

Open houses are a waste of time and DO NOT sell houses. They are used for the realtor to get more clients and for your neighbors to peek at your stuff.

Those are the truest words I've seen written on this forum!!!