This is the first article in the series called, Love Selling Your Home: Minimize Your Stress, Maximize Your Profit, a step-by-step guide to what you need to know to sell your home in today’s market.  This series will take you through the entire home-selling process — from finding a real estate agent to settlement day. Look for a new, informative article each week, right here!

The absolute first step to selling your home is finding the right real estate agent for you.  And, although I would love to help you sell your home, I may not be the best agent for you and I’ll be the first to tell you if I’m not!  It won’t do either of us any good for me to sell a home I can’t sell well.   

I would love the opportunity to talk with you about what I can do to help you get the most money possible for your home and how I can take a lot of the stress off your plate too.  And, if during that conversation I’m not the best person to help you get the very best for your home, I’ll let you know and even suggest the best agent I know.  

But, this isn’t one of those, “Here’s how to find the very best agent for you…oh it’s me” type of article.   No matter who you choose to help you sell your home, here’s what you need to consider when looking for the very best agent to help you make the most of your biggest financial asset:

1. Talk to friends, family, and co-workers. They’ll give you honest, unfiltered feedback on what they went through and if they’d go with the same agent again (a key sign!). Check out any agent’s website to see if they are active and passionate about working with sellers. Remember, you don’t have to go with the first agent you meet. However, you’ll need to negotiate a Listing Contract once you start working with one. Usually a listing contract is three to six months long but may be longer in a slower market or for a higher-end home.

2. Does this agent specialize in the type of home you’re selling and your specific neighborhood? Even a great agent for your friend may not work for you because of your different criteria. Narrow down your search to real estate agents that sell similar homes and know your neighborhood well. They will know how to best market your home to draw in buyers who want to live in that type of home and are attracted to that location. This agent will also have a better idea of pricing and will work with you on a competitive listing price so you’re off to a great start from the get-go!

3. Collaborates with other agents to give your home the inside edge. Your agent should be able to easily get the word out to buyers’ agents that your home is on the market before it hits the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). Someone who interacts regularly with agents within your area and holds well-attended broker previews can help draw attention to your home. You need these buyers’ agents to know about your home upfront so they can bring in the right buyers for your home. Plus, being a member of Top Agent Network is a big advantage for an agent since it’s a private online community that exchanges valuable non-MLS information.

4. Takes the time to listen to you and discover what your goals are for selling your home.  A good agent has the skills to ask you questions that can help them implement the best marketing strategy for your specific home. Questions such as: “Do you have to sell quickly because of a job location?”; “Do you want the highest price possible to move up to your next home?”; and “What is the unique story about your home that we can tell to buyers?” These questions can set the gears in motion to reaching the right target market for your home. This process can take time but it’s an important step. Your agent will then know what parameters they are working with and will know your deal-breakers when negotiating with buyers.

5. Provides a specific strategy for selling your home to the right target market. Your agent should give you the rundown on how they will market your home from start to finish. How they will attract buyers who really mean business and are serious about buying a home. They shouldn’t just focus on foot traffic to your home (we’ve all been to open houses because we’re just curious!). Find out how they are reaching buyers online or through social media. Do they think an open house is productive for your home and why?

6. Gives honest feedback on how to make your home shine for buyers. A good agent will walk carefully through your home and provide guidance on whether updating, some freshening up, and/or staging is needed to make your home look its best. And, better yet, will then help you get it done with their network of professionals! They also can help determine if this upfront cost will help sell your home more quickly and for more money so that you can get a return on your investment.

7. Communicates clearly and regularly. Make sure your agent is easily reached via cell phone, text, or email; and gets back to you in a timely manner. And, on the flip side, that the agent keeps in touch with you on a regular basis with updates on your home and any follow-up on possible buyers. What are buyers saying about your home after they see it – is it positive or negative? A good agent will use this feedback to market your home or help change whatever needs fixing. Nothing is more frustrating than not being informed and feeling forgotten! So find an agent who promises to communicate with you regularly and will guide you step-by-step all the way to closing day.

8. Negotiates well and has your back at all times. Selling a home is a business transaction, and your agent also needs to have negotiation skills that will benefit you and your home. A good agent knows when to be assertive in order to get the deal done but doesn’t play dirty and turn buyers away. Find out more about your agent’s past experiences and tactics at the negotiating table, especially when dealing with multiple offers. Find out how many sales they have handled over the past year and how close the listing price was to the final offer accepted.

9. Makes you comfortable. Your gut will tell you if this is someone you trust and can work with on a regular basis. Opening up your home to others can be very personal and hard for homeowners, and you want to have an understanding agent. You want to feel at ease when asking any questions or expressing your concerns. Selling a home can be stressful and exhausting at times. Go with someone who can reduce such tension and has a sense of humor, and you’ll appreciate these traits throughout the process.

10. Looks at real estate as a financial tool that can empower your life. This will be one of the biggest transactions of your life and you don’t want to make any mistakes. Your agent should respect how real estate can change your life for the better and see the possibility it has for your economic stability and security. A good agent knows that selling this home can be a stepping stone for your next home and so on. They want you to dream big, but will keep it real when necessary!

11. Never says good-bye. No matter what, your agent shouldn’t view this one transaction as the end of your relationship but just the beginning — expect them to be there for you over the long-term and ready to work with you when it’s time to sell and move on again. Plus, they should be someone you can trust to turn to with any of your homeownership concerns – a real estate resource for life!

If you or anyone you know has been thinking about selling their home, I’d love the opportunity to see how I can help get the very most money for it as possible and remove as much stress and expense to you as possible.