Image via WikipediaWhen meeting your agent, take time to see if you like them in general. Are you comfortable with them? Does their personality suit you? Do they listen, and are they positive? Do they take the time to explain things to you? These are so important because if your personality clashes, communication will suffer and they will be less enthusiastic about selling your home, and this is not good.Know what you want and make sure your real estate agent listens. There is nothing more aggravating than being taken to see 12 houses and all of them are not suitable. Have an idea in advance about age, condition, square footage, no. of baths and bedrooms, etc.
Ask your agent beforehand, what improvements you can make that may impact your homes value and asking price. My agent set our price and then had us spend a fortune on improvements after the fact. This actually took away from the profit we made.
If your agent has arranged to come by to take photos, ask them if there is anything special you need to do, or have them walk through your home first before they take photos to suggest and give you a chance to change something you may have overlooked. Your home is going to be shown on websites all over, potential buyers may be turned off by the pictures and what they see in them before they even bother to view your home. A good agent should know this.
Before you commit to your real estate agent and his company, make sure you tell them that for any home you are interested in you expect to be able to make an offer on the property. If this is something they don't do or discourage in any way, don't sign on with them. You are the boss! Its your money. You have the pre-approval, you have the power!
Make sure your real estate agent knows you may need more time to move, and have it written into any contract. If your contract states that you are to turn over your keys at the signing, you really have limited time to move out, and in some cases the buyer can charge you rent by the day for every day it takes you to move out. You want to get all of this clear before you sign any agreement to use that real estate agent or his agency.
You are so right. Having a good real estate agent is essential. I had a bad one once - she was a wonderful person, I think, but ditsy and not well-focused. We finally had to fire her - it was terrible. The next agent was terrific!
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