|
How should I select a REALTOR®
when selling my home?
Once you've decide to sell your home, finding a REALTOR®
is the next step in the process. In making this important
decision you should understand:
Who is a REALTOR®
How to evaluate an agent
What a REALTOR® will
do for you
Who is a REALTOR®?
As a prerequisite to selling real estate, a person must be
licensed by the state in which they work, either as an agent/salesperson
or as a broker. Before a license is issued, minimum standards
for education, examinations and experience, which are determined
on a state by state basis, must be met. After receiving a
real estate license, most agents go on to join their local
board or association of REALTORS® and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
OF REALTORS®, the world's largest professional trade association.
They can then call themselves REALTORS®. The term "REALTOR®"
is a registered collective membership mark that identifies
a real estate professional who is a member of the NATIONAL
ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict
Code of Ethics (which in many cases goes beyond state law).
In most areas, it is the REALTOR® who shares information
on the homes they are marketing, through a Multiple Listing
Service (MLS). Working with a REALTOR® who belongs to
an MLS will give you access to the greatest number of homes.
How to evaluate an
agent
Without any obligation, you can invite local REALTORS®
to visit your home and give you a "listing presentation"
about why they're the best ones to market it for you. Two
to three presentations will probably give you a good opportunity
for choice. A listing presentation includes having the REALTOR®
review with you the reasons why you should list with that
particular individual, and providing you with information
that will assist you in making initial decisions about selling
your home.
Recent laws in every state have defined the duties of someone
specifically retained as a real estate agent. Most states
require a real estate agent to explain his or her role at
the outset of any conversation. A professional agent will
promptly provide this such a disclosure. Look for an agent
who:
- Is a member of the local board or association of REALTORS®
- Explains and discloses agency relationships (the role
of the agent, i.e., who they are representing--the buyer
or the seller) early on in the process, at "serious
first contact"
- Advises you on how to prepare your home for the market
- Shows some enthusiasm for your property, listens attentively,
instills confidence, operates in a professional manner,
and has a complementary personality style to yours
- Has already researched your property in the public records
and the MLS
- Brings data on nearby homes that have sold (or failed
to sell) recently
The following are important questions to
ask a potential agent:
- Are you a REALTOR®?
- Do you have an active real estate license in good standing.
To find this information, you can check with your state’s
governing agency.
- Do you belong to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and/or
a reliable online home buyer’s search service? Multiple
Listing Services are cooperative information networks of
REALTORS® that provide descriptions of most of the houses
for sale in a particular region.
- What have you listed or sold in this neighborhood lately?
- Do you cooperate with buyers' brokers?
- What share of the commission will you offer a cooperating
broker who finds the buyer?
- And in addition to the criteria mentioned above, there
are number of very important reasons you will typically
prefer to work with a REALTOR®. Among them are the fact
that they adhere to the NAR’s highest standards of
ethical conduct and professional training.
What a REALTOR®
will do for you
There are many important reasons to use a REALTOR®. Some
of the duties your REALTOR® will perform for you include:
- Walking through the process of selling your home from
beginning to end
- Providing comparable information about the prices for
which other properties have sold and analyzing data for
you to gain a true comparison
- Supplying information regarding local customs and regulations
you may want to consider
- Sharing information about your home through the Multiple
Listing Service and on the Internet
- Placing advertisements for your home
- Fielding phone calls
- "Qualifying" potential buyers to make sure they
would be financially able to buy your property
- Negotiating the sales contract
- Alerting you to potential risks
- Complying with the disclosures required by law
- Providing you with an estimate of the closing costs you
will incur
- Helping you prepare for a smooth closing of the transaction.
|
