Real Estate Agent Questions (day care, broker, lawyers) - New Jersey (NJ) - City-Data Forum

Ellwood · 07-11-2007, 05:56 AM

We plan to put our house on the market in January and would like some insight into what negotiations, commissions, or other things we should look for in a real estate agent. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Roselvr · 07-11-2007, 07:19 AM

Do your homework. I can't count the amount of posts I see at a buying & selling forum I go to. Agents that have lousy photos, aren't honest about decluttering, offering input on what really needs to be done to sell your house. Is email important to you? If so, you want an agent that will get back to you.

I'm gonna c/p a post I made yesterday at the board I go to. If you would like the URL pm me as I'm not sure if we can do external links here...

The best thing you could do is start going to realtor web sites, sign up at the major sites, check out the local office sites too.

When you start going to these sites, sign up to get emails about houses in your area for what you think your house will sell for. For us, I went down as low as $175,000 IIRC - up to $250,000 or $300,000 - so I can see the various competition. Go to Realtor.com, sign up there as well. Make notice of the "hot" realtors there and what their pages offer.

Do a google search for your state MLS, see who's site comes up. Go to zillow.com, find your house, claim it, then edit the facts that they have. You can also see "comps" - some aren't current, so it's used as a tool..

I'm very happy with my realtor. She's not pushy but she doesn't ignore me either. I found her when looking to buy a house and liked how she emailed me right back when I emailed her, some agents don't like email. She also let me take my own pics, plus she has no problem being honest with me.

zev · 07-11-2007, 12:26 PM

Im an agent myself and can tell you that its not about commissions and this and that, its about honesty, communication and WORK. you do want your house sold, correct? well an agent has to WORK in order to accomplish this. Its a service we agents must provide, and the better the service, the better the outcome. What I do is have a network of people that I KNOW that will get whatever job done that needs to be done ASAP. from lawyers to plumbers, i have my own team. if an agent cant provide you with a service you need, thats not the agent for you. plain and simple.

hrjersey · 07-11-2007, 02:01 PM

I agree with everything roselvr said. I sold my mothers house last year as a part of her estate. I interviewed 3 agents. Each made proposals. The most important thing I learned was to have everything that the agent says he/she is going to do be very detailed in their contract. When and where they will be advertising (specifics are imperative). How many pictures will they take - look at current listings they are currently handling - do you like what you see. If you go to realtor.com you will see some homes have a nice detail paragraph others list only the facts. Which do you think is more appealing to buyers - will that be what your agent is going to do for you. The detail in the contract is important because if they don't do what they say they are going to do you can cancel the contract. I read all of the ads, had the agent make changes to the web postings, etc. We put the house up Thanksgiving week (worst time of year) but the realtor did another realtor open house right after the New Year. We had a lot of showings and by the end of January we had two offers and sold for the asking price. Look for an agent who has been working for the same agency for a long time and is a full time agent.

Roselvr · 07-11-2007, 03:19 PM

I replied to the message you sent

DodgeViper01 · 07-12-2007, 02:38 PM

The most important thing I would say is to stay away from the discount brokers. Although the low commission seems great, in the long run many of their properties stay on the market longer than working with regular agents because they do not advertise the properties much and they do not give out reasonable commissions to other agents that bring a buyer. If you need to sell, that is not the way to go. Go with a large firm like a Re/Max or Weichert.

susienj · 07-13-2007, 07:20 AM

I am an agent with a major broker and would be happy to give you some info. PM me if you're interested.

FL little foot · 07-14-2007, 06:11 AM

You have gotten alot of good responses here. Here's my penny: I have been through 3 different realtors. The first one I stayed too long with. He had no money. All I heard from him is " houses are not selling, I'm not making any money, I can't pay my mortgage, I know you want to sell your house,but, I have no money for advertising. 10 months of that guy. Bye, bye,.

#2 realtor same company, He gave me a virtual tour, whoohoo. No open Houses. advertising only in the free paper that they throw on your driveway. Stayed 6 months with that guy.

Realtor #3, Different company, advertising in all the local "home books", pictures, virtual tour, Open Houses, Had me sold in 30 days, then buyer back out occured, not her fault, Back on the market immediately, We offered $1500 bonus to buyer's agent on top of the 5% split. Had 4 offers in less then 30 day's. I'm currently in attorney review.

When I hired #3 realtor, she had put in the contract that if she herself brought a buyer to the house then we would only pay the 4% commission. Not only did she have her companies web site with my info , she also had her own really nice web site with all my info. She had made me really nice "brochures" with all the house pictures and info, and the towns info pertaining to every school and where they were, distances to beaches, parks, lakes, attractions, restaurants, and child day care centers. It was a really nice full color "brochure" that the buyers always took with them when they left. I would definetly tell you to not go with a Part time realtor. The market is ugly. I'm wishing you good luck.

DodgeViper01 · 07-14-2007, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by patty nj

You have gotten alot of good responses here. Here's my penny: I have been through 3 different realtors. The first one I stayed too long with. He had no money. All I heard from him is " houses are not selling, I'm not making any money, I can't pay my mortgage, I know you want to sell your house,but, I have no money for advertising. 10 months of that guy. Bye, bye,.

#2 realtor same company, He gave me a virtual tour, whoohoo. No open Houses. advertising only in the free paper that they throw on your driveway. Stayed 6 months with that guy.

Realtor #3, Different company, advertising in all the local "home books", pictures, virtual tour, Open Houses, Had me sold in 30 days, then buyer back out occured, not her fault, Back on the market immediately, We offered $1500 bonus to buyer's agent on top of the 5% split. Had 4 offers in less then 30 day's. I'm currently in attorney review.

When I hired #3 realtor, she had put in the contract that if she herself brought a buyer to the house then we would only pay the 4% commission. Not only did she have her companies web site with my info , she also had her own really nice web site with all my info. She had made me really nice "brochures" with all the house pictures and info, and the towns info pertaining to every school and where they were, distances to beaches, parks, lakes, attractions, restaurants, and child day care centers. It was a really nice full color "brochure" that the buyers always took with them when they left. I would definetly tell you to not go with a Part time realtor. The market is ugly. I'm wishing you good luck.

Wow, realtor number one needs some help! Even if you are broke why bruden that on your clients. WOW!

Ellwood · 07-15-2007, 05:58 AM

I appreciate all the helpful advice. Thankfully we aren't in a rush to sell, as we have two homes. We have a townhouse 2400 sq. ft, 3 bedroom. The community only has 150 townhomes, 35% 3-bedroom. In watching the market, the 3 bedroom seem to sell quickly, as they don't go on the market very often.