Selling my house - agents fees

[FalconheadWest]

Originally Posted by Jazzy88

Pardon my ignorance but what exactly does a selling agent do other than list the house and hold open houses?

The "selling" agent brings the buyer. The "listing" agent does everything they can to market and get a buyer to your house. Did the agent not go over his/her marketing plan? That's what the 7% fee was for, to get it sold.

[Brandon Hoffman]

Pick the best agent with the best marketing plan and then pay them what it takes to get them that you can live with. It will probably be worth it.

Don't pick an agent based on commission or what they tell you the house is worth. That's a great way to get a terrible agent.

[futurecruiser]

Originally Posted by Jazzy88

Pardon my ignorance but what exactly does a selling agent do other than list the house and hold open houses?

You mean the listing agent. Don't make the mistake we did and hire one that thought that was their only job, (listing the house and sticking a sign in the yard). If you want to sell in this tough market you need one that is going to market it well, and follow up with potential buyers, and not just sit and wait for the sale to happen.

We just relisted with a new agent (after our other contract expired) and already see a world of difference in their marketing, the web presence of our house (VERY important), the research she did with the CMAs, etc.
We interviewed 3 agents this time. There was a surprisingly big difference between them.