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Have been thinking of selling my place for a few years now and moving out of state. I assumed I would use a friend (who I met when I moved here five years ago). She keeps me updated with new listings and sold prices for my comps. Other than that, I hardly ever see her, maybe once or twice a year.
However, a neighbor listed her place with an agent who uses a stager. I had seen another unit in our complex that was staged by this lady and it was gorgeous, AND sold for ABOVE asking. My neighbor's unit didn't need much staging but the stager did tweak a few things. Neighbor got full asking. Another neighbor who listed with this agent got full asking before it even hit the market. These prices are well above what comp units had been going for; prices had been kind of stagnant for a few years.
Soooo, obviously I would be torn -- do I go with the friend, or the agent who seems to get everybody top dollar?
"Above asking price" or "full asking price" are not relevant without knowing how the sales reflect market value.
Let's say my house is worth $350,000, and I ask $330,000 and get multiple offers and it sells for $340,000.
Which is more impressive, that it sold for $10,000 over asking, or that it sold at a $10,000 discount to market value?
That said, if the second agent is getting full market value or more, and the fees and costs are acceptable, I would suggest going with the second agent.
Interview both and possibly a third. (There are already threads advising what questions to ask)
Then go with the best. Maybe it’s your acquaintance, maybe it’s your neighbor’s agent, maybe it’s the third agent.
It’s best to put some time and effort toward finding the right agent at the start.
First step is to review the listings each agent currently hold: is the price generally in line with the market, the number and quality of photos satisfactory, is the description
informative and accurate, do the remaining listed facts appear accurate and mostly complete.
Honestly I think the market will determine how fast and how high your place sells for… With or without the professional staging. Both agents are probably able to do professional staging if you think that’s needed :-)
I would use the agent that you feel you can communicate best with and trust.
Compare past sales for the two. How does your friend stack up to the agent who uses a stager when it comes to list vs sale prices and days on market? I'd go with whoever was most likely to get me the sale in the shortest amount of time which results in less stress as a seller and less carrying costs. If all that is equal and they suggest the same ballpark of a list price and they're both going to cost you 3% for their fee but the one is also going to cover the cost of the staging out of their commission, I'd definitely go with the one using the stager because it seems like a lot of buyers these days forget that unless the house comes furnished, all of that goes away. They're just drawn to pretty things.
Compare past sales for the two. How does your friend stack up to the agent who uses a stager when it comes to list vs sale prices and days on market? I'd go with whoever was most likely to get me the sale in the shortest amount of time which results in less stress as a seller and less carrying costs. If all that is equal and they suggest the same ballpark of a list price and they're both going to cost you 3% for their fee but the one is also going to cover the cost of the staging out of their commission, I'd definitely go with the one using the stager because it seems like a lot of buyers these days forget that unless the house comes furnished, all of that goes away. They're just drawn to pretty things.
You are so right. The first unit I mentioned was (I believe) the first non-flip unit in this complex to be professionally staged. And one of the things that really stood out was the artwork - the stager puts her own paintings in, which are large, contemporary and really complement the furniture and color scheme. The buyers probably didn't even notice that the chandelier and vertical blinds were still from 1988, LOL.
The buyers probably didn't even notice that the chandelier and vertical blinds were still from 1988, LOL.
Odds are that they didn't even notice the chandelier or blinds at all, let alone their age. Nice art work makes everything seem better. It's not until they close that the grim reality will set in.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Avalon08
3% commission? Isn't it normally 6%?
Yes, but typically they do a 50/50 split with each party getting 3%. You can negotiate a lower rate for the seller agent, though. I'm seeing more and more of that these days with people taking only 1.5 or 2% to try and compete with other agents in soliciting a listing.
I could care less about professional staging. I’m looking at a house. I don’t care about a chandelier or crown molding. Yes it’s nice but it’s not a big deal if you have crown molding. I’m more interested in the roof, structure, termite, kitchen, appliances etc.
I would go with the agen that can get you the most money but i wouldn’t go nuts with the staging I would clean declutter rearrange and paint/wash/ replace the carpets and walls if needed.
You would be surprised what just getting rid off a bunch stuff will do to make the house look huge inside.
First off, how's the market in your area? Hot sellers market?
Go with the agent who:
-Communicates with you the best and in a timely manner and who seems to be well-organized
-Will give you all of the necessary steps and paperwork ahead of time to prep you for ALL things (cleaning, things to look for during buyer inspection, clean up any HOA violations you may have/resale package (if needed) ) etc.
-Will sell your house for the highest amount
-Will sell your house the quickest.
That's it. Don't matter if they're your friend or not. In fact, your friend might be lazier with you in the long run since they already know you'll give them a good review anyway.
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