Five+ years of house selling hell is OVER Thanks to The Big "W"!!
And the crappy realtors we had to deal with?! Let me help you avoid the mess me and mine had to go through until we found a realty co. that had a team of reliable professionals who actually sold the house (our first foreclosed as we had crappy realtors and BTT we found the right one, we couldn't afford it any longer and lost it. Good thing we found "W" for the 2nd house):
Anyway, first one going in, if you phone and agent doesn't answer your initial call in a reasonable time, move on (as we should've) and find one that/who will. Chances are if they don't answer your call now, they won't when a good lead comes in or when they are really needed. We had a perspective buyer sitting outside property wanting to see the first house. Unfort., buyer couldn't find a soul to show them the place and moved on.
When picking your realtor, ASK people who they've used when they sold their property and chances are they'll also tell you who NOT to list or buy through.
Make sure your realtor/realty company is respected in the area. If they suck, not many will want to work with them. One realtor started a disagreement with a prospective buyer and he and wife stomped out our open house. Also, a little chit-chat is fine but a total gossip fest is not professional.
If a company boasts the head of a board or some schmancy group, make sure he (or she) does more than pose for pictures, drink champagne and smile for the camera. If that realtor is really real, make sure he is the ACTUAL person who will be your realtor. We thought we were getting thee experienced realtor but he pawned us off on gal who had three months experience and who cared more about going to waterslide parks when the real realtors were out selling houses. She also neglected to tell us our upgraded sod was getting a fungus so we could treat it. We lost $1,200 in upgraded lawn thanks to this "realtor."
Work weekends? You betcha! If they don't, run like hell for those are your busiest days! One realtor told us that no real estate office is open on Sundays. We provided him with four that did and couldn't wait for contract to expire. Lucky this duo is out of biz and hopefully stays that way.
Help your realtor help you:
DROP PRICE TO A REASONABLE FIGURE. DROP S'MORE. If you've a 1980's built house and ask $99,500. when there's a 2006 (foresclosed or short sale) down the block for $105,000, which would you rather have? I know, I know but it's that or be stuck with it. Insurance, electricity, water, lawn care etc. and if something breaks, well, it all adds up. Selling property is worth the peace of mind alone.
Get rid of all that happy hoo-ha hanging on walls, parked all over counter tops, and sitting up on cabinet tops. Buyers want to see the house not all that crap. Some of it is so faded, tired looking, dusty and in need of tossing.
Help get the word out as best you can. We ran some of our own ads. Had flyers printed up and passed them out. etc.
Follow their suggestions, within reason, of course. A good realtor knows the market better than you and will usually make sound judgements to help afterall, they want the same result as you.
Add your own for a helpful discussion and good luck in selling and finding the house of your dreams. Now onto finding some jobs!!
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