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In every profession, there are those who really do a fantastic job day-in and day-out. And then there are the ones who seem content with doing a lackluster job.
With that in mind, can you name the qualities that make a RE agent someone that really stands above the crowd in terms of approach, work ethic, and intangibles? What do those people do to really earn their commissions?
Yes, MinivanDriver, you are spot on. Like every other job, there are people who are attracted to this field and who do an amazing job. Others will do an average job, but this hurts the client if details are skipped,this job is not like working in retail where the wrong item is rung up. A realtor needs to wear many hats to do it right.
The last two realtors we had, my spouse summed up in one word, commission. The realtor before that was incredible. I hired him to sell MIL’s house and he went above and beyond. He was always avaliable to talk to, I’d think of a nagging detail at 11pm, shoot him an email and boom, answered in ten minutes! His work ethic was outstanding, I know the millennial generation got a bad rap, but this guy proved his honesty and integrity many times over. He gave me honest feedback on their house and would say things like a picture needs to go here, you need to clean up your paint spatter here and the front door needs a new doorknob. Many realtors won’t give those details, and there is more to selling a house than just cleaning it up. He used to do landscaping before becoming a realtor and this may have developed his eye for details. He also did thoughtful things like paying for a house cleaner right before putting it on the market. I spent a year working a full time job and working on their house every weekend. I used up all my PTO and vacation days to have more time to work on their house. This one simple, thoughtful gesture saved me a marathon of cleaning before it went on the market.
I really hope this guy stays in real estate for life, their house sold in a couple of months for a good price, he wasn’t always wanting to drop the price, plus he was on board every day. I just can’t say enough nice things about this guy. He and a very sharp lady who was originally from the Philippines, were the best and most on the ball realtors we’ve ever had. Some people are just born to sell real estate.
1. Knowledgeable of his field
2. Can build a network of connections
3. Understand the local housing market
4. Attention to detail
5. Engaging personality
6. Interest in houses and architecture
7. Can hustle and with tenacity
8. Honest and with integrity
9. Motivated
10. A problem solver
House on the market since early June. Clean as a whistle, shows well, priced correctly according to Zillow, and realtors who have come by state that it's a great house at a good price in an attractive neighborhood with top-notch schools.
Here's my problem. Against my better judgment, we went with a family friend to sell it. Someone who lives across town. Since we put the house on the market, we had a realtor open house the first week, and then nothing else. No open houses for the public, no real efforts on her part. We have had people show and it takes her forever to get feedback.
So it's a two-part question:
1) How important is it to have a realtor who knows a specific part of town?
2) What should she be doing to drum up more interest?
How many showings have you had, and are you still getting showings?
The feedback you have gotten sounds good, don't be too surprised if you don't always get good feedback from those who look. Offers are the best feedback. Are the pictures good?
As for your questions.... even if the listing agent is not local, the buyer's agents who should be showing the home are. Comps and pricing should be based on the neighborhood the house is in.
As for open houses... it really depends. Some areas they are really popular, some areas, they just don't get enough traffic. Talk to your realtor about it. See if she thinks an open house would be beneficial.
Is your agent advertising on facebook or other sites? That can be real valuable..... see if there are local real estate related facebook groups where the home could be posted, as well as talking about some paid ads.
How many showings have you had, and are you still getting showings?
The feedback you have gotten sounds good, don't be too surprised if you don't always get good feedback from those who look. Offers are the best feedback. Are the pictures good? The photos are very good. We ponied up for a good real estate photographer. I'm in advertising, so I can tell you that the lighting and framing of the shots is very good compared to what's out there.
As for your questions.... even if the listing agent is not local, the buyer's agents who should be showing the home are. Comps and pricing should be based on the neighborhood the house is in. Yes, the prices are definitely in line with the neighborhood. In fact, the price per square foot is a little lower than the norm.
As for open houses... it really depends. Some areas they are really popular, some areas, they just don't get enough traffic. Talk to your realtor about it. See if she thinks an open house would be beneficial.
I talked to her yesterday and she said, "Yes, an open house is a good idea!" Well, why am I doing the suggesting here?
Is your agent advertising on facebook or other sites? That can be real valuable..... see if there are local real estate related facebook groups where the home could be posted, as well as talking about some paid ads.
She is not doing this.
Don't get me wrong. She did her homework on the front end, showed us comparables, and no one thinks the price is out of whack. We're getting good agent feedback to that effect.
I think one of the problems is that she is marketing an area with which she has no familiarity. The neighborhood where I am has the state's top school system, a great location, and is pretty much the high-end suburb in my metro area. At the same time, it has its own quirks and eccentricities--Okay, snobbery. Our first showing arrived early before I could leave and the realtor asked point blank, "Why did you list with an agent way over there?"
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