An agent should anticipate potential problems
and give you ideas on how to head them off.
If he/she sees that you should fix something
an home inspector may tell a buyer is a serious
defect, he/she should alert you to it and
maybe suggest to you that you get your own
home inspection to guide you in fixing it
and have a report available to buyers to rely
upon as evidence that it is not a concern.
An agent should be a person who pays attention
to detail. He/she should be accurate and thorough
when listing your home and preparing an agreement
of purchase and sale. There has been no end
of lawsuits resulting from wrong or incomplete
information on these documents.
Your agent must be an excellent negotiator
to get you the best price possible. To tell
you the truth, if he/she can’t negotiate
his commission with you, it’s unlikely
that he/she can negotiate the best price and
terms for you.
Don’t list your home with a part-time
agent because he/she is not focused on Real
Estate. Family and friends should earn your
business and qualify as your agent. You should
not feel obligated to employ them. Remember,
it is hard to fire family and friends who
are inexperienced and have no marketing plan.
The bottom line is that you need Results!
An agent should have a marketing plan with
feature sheets, photos of your home on an
MLS listing, newspaper and magazine ads, and
web advertising, as a minimum.
Your home is your largest investment. You
need an experienced agent with a Plan, one
who will not take you for granted, and who
will communicate important feedback from Buyers
and Agents to you, on a regular basis. Take
the time to interview 2 or 3 agents and see
what they have to offer before you sign a
Listing Agreement. When you find someone in
the community who is a good agent, make use
of him/her. That’s how communities prosper
and are able to help each other to grow.
