My friend is realtor for more then a year now. His houses sell less then 30 days even in this difficult market right now his last one in 4 days…. But he still seems to struggle to get new business so I was wondering how would you choose a realtor? Where do you look?
Tags: new business, realtor
You can try asking the Board of Realtor who the best performer was last year, but they probably won’t tell you. Short of that, I’d get referrals from people. Also some realtors are better at representing the seller and some the buyer. I would NOT use a friend. If the deal goes south, you’ll lose a friend.
-MM
word of mouth works for me
If you are confident in your friend, I would use him. I’m sure he will have a better interest in selling your home than a realtor who doesn’t know you. But if I didn’t have a friend in the biz, I would go by references, references, references…
word of mouth—much like an attorney, it is hard to find a goof realtor. people are never satisfied with realtors or attorneys.
so make sure you know people that had a good experience with their realtor.
also make sure your relator is LICENSED.
good luck
Realtors have to work hard for their earnings, as your friend will tell you. One reason is that it is a very competitive business with many realtors in it, competing with one another. In choosing a realtor, you first need to consider are you choosing one to sell your property or do you need one to help you buy? Some realtors specialize, for example, a realtor I know will not handle homes of less the $250,000. Others will handle any size transaction. If your property is commercial you would want a realtor who specializes in chimerical property rather than homes. There is no good rule on how to select a realtor. Look in the phone book yellow pages, talk to people who have bought or sold homes through a realtor and ask about their experience. Did the realtor return calls promptly, and show the kinds of property that interest you? Did the realtor prequalify the buyer to make sure that if an offer is made financing will not be a problem? Was the realtor aggressive in showing your listed property to a lot of good prospects?
I would search my neighborhood and find the real estate company doing the most business in you territory. Then find the Realtor in that organization that is one of the top producers (usually the admin or broker can direct you to the top ones). Interview one or two of them and ask them to make a listing presentation or if you are a buyer, use the same search technique to find the best Realtor in the neighborhood in which you wish to buy and interview that person.
Listing agents put your home on MLS and Realtor.com which creates massive exposure. Then buyer agents show and sell the home NOT your listing agent. If the home is priced right and you have researched other homes that buyers are seeing that are in your price range with similar features and sq footage in order to price it so that you yourself would make an offer; the home will sell itself.
If you are OK with showing your own home don’t pay 6% commission. You can list for a couple hundred dollars and get on MLS and Realtor.com. If you sell FSBO you pay 0% – if an agent finds your buyer and you accept their offer you pay 3% total commission.
Check out http://www.HELPMESELL.com
Most Realtors are struggling to get new business. The best aspect of using someone new is that they have the time and enthusiasm to market your property effectively. New Realtors are working hard to establish a good reputation and are working hard on every transaction.
It would seem that your friend is off to a great start. If you have concerns, sign a short contract with him, say 90 days, and that way if you are not happy, you aren’t committed long term. Also ask him if you can change Realtors at any time if you aren’t satisfied. If the answer is yes, sign up.
Good luck selling your home.
If your friend is selling houses in less than 30 days and is not getting new business, he is not sharing his successes with enough people. He apparently did a good job conveying this to you, and provided he is telling you the truth, I would go with him as most agents are not selling houses in 30 days.
There is the possibility that things could go awry and challenge your friendship. If he is that good, I would push for a 60 day listing and re-evaluate after 60 days. Explain to him up front any concerns you have and let him know that you value the friendship and don’t want business to interfere with that.