Looking for a good LISTING AGENT in CARY/TRIANGLE area (real estate, brokers)

[tsuyinc]

We are looking for a trustworthy and effective real estate agent to list our 19-year-old house in Cary. Any recommendations?

My husband lost his job in RTP this fall, and we are suddenly finding ourselves relocating to Kansas for a new job! (In fact, my husband has already started work there, which means I alone must take care of selling the house!)

We have been here long enough to watch the Triangle area's rapid growth, and are anxious about selling our 2300 sq. ft. home in the current recession-affected housing market. Our house is in great shape, has had a lot of new things put in, but is definitely older than the new houses springing up.

Any thoughts would be more than appreciated! You can feel free to email me directly at tsuyinc@hotmail.com, or post a reply on this thread. Thanks!

[MikeJaquish]

With a home in great shape, I think you have little to fear about selling.
You will want to be in the top 20% in condition and the bottom 20% in price in your neighborhood.
Your Listing agent can help with staging, or bring in a professional stager to bring out the best in the home.

Then you will need exposure.
Proper price will bring you traffic. You will get an offer after pricing and marketing generate enough traffic.

Your agent should provide plenty of exposure:
1. MLS listing with good details and all 12 photos
2. Accurate MLS mapping point so it will show up in map searches.
3. Realtor.com enhanced listing with 25 photos, virtual tour, and good description
4. Minimum one virtual tour, or video. Second video tour is great and the MLS will allow two. Maybe one inside and one exterior and community amenities.
5. Syndication of listing to many sites like Trulia, Zillow, Geebo, HotPads, Google, Homescape, AOL, Point2Homes, etc. Additionally, Craigslist, BackPage, Kijiji should be used to advertise.
6. Email Flyer blasts to surrounding area agents. Most don't look at them, but you only need one buyer.
7. Open Houses, if you want. Some folks think they only benefit the listing agent, but again, you only need one buyer. Brokers' Only Open House can help the other agents in the office learn about the listing.
8. Print ads are rapidly fading in effectiveness. Most agents do them to sell the Seller on listing with them rather than to find a buyer.

Potential buyers often say that they pass on listings with few or poor photos.
Photos are free to post to MLS, and 25 photos to Realtor.com are allowed for free with an Enhanced Listing.
Virtual tours are not expensive. Don't settle for just a few poor photos. The quality of the photos is interpreted as indicative of the quality of the home.
If your home is higher end, it may be smart to hire a professional photographer.

[NewUser]

Originally Posted by tsuyinc

My husband lost his job in RTP this fall, and we are suddenly finding ourselves relocating to Kansas for a new job! (In fact, my husband has already started work there, which means I alone must take care of selling the house!)

Let me guess. . . . . lost his job at Sony Ericsson and was hired by Garmin?

[NH2NCMom]

Originally Posted by MikeJaquish

With a home in great shape, I think you have little to fear about selling.
You will want to be in the top 20% in condition and the bottom 20% in price in your neighborhood.
Your Listing agent can help with staging, or bring in a professional stager to bring out the best in the home.

Then you will need exposure.
Proper price will bring you traffic. You will get an offer after pricing and marketing generate enough traffic.

Your agent should provide plenty of exposure:
1. MLS listing with good details and all 12 photos
2. Accurate MLS mapping point so it will show up in map searches.
3. Realtor.com enhanced listing with 25 photos, virtual tour, and good description
4. Minimum one virtual tour, or video. Second video tour is great and the MLS will allow two. Maybe one inside and one exterior and community amenities.
5. Syndication of listing to many sites like Trulia, Zillow, Geebo, HotPads, Google, Homescape, AOL, Point2Homes, etc. Additionally, Craigslist, BackPage, Kijiji should be used to advertise.
6. Email Flyer blasts to surrounding area agents. Most don't look at them, but you only need one buyer.
7. Open Houses, if you want. Some folks think they only benefit the listing agent, but again, you only need one buyer. Brokers' Only Open House can help the other agents in the office learn about the listing.
8. Print ads are rapidly fading in effectiveness. Most agents do them to sell the Seller on listing with them rather than to find a buyer.

Potential buyers often say that they pass on listings with few or poor photos.
Photos are free to post to MLS, and 25 photos to Realtor.com are allowed for free with an Enhanced Listing.
Virtual tours are not expensive. Don't settle for just a few poor photos. The quality of the photos is interpreted as indicative of the quality of the home.
If your home is higher end, it may be smart to hire a professional photographer.

Mike excellent post, and I am one of those buyers who pass on listings that don't show me the entire property with photos. Makes me feel they are hiding something - a photo can sell me to look at a property. Also proper listing of room sizes can do wonders - seen many that had NO room sizes, and some way off. I am currently waiting on the bank to approve my purchase - dang Patriot Act screwed us once - trying again.