How To Find A Great Real Estate Agent

August 24, 2017

When selling your home, it’s crucial you find a great real estate agent. Do this one thing correctly and you will sell your house for the biggest dollar possible.

That one task to make it all happen smoothly and to the highest benefit to you is: Find a great real estate agent. The good thing is, no matter where you are in Australia, there are some clues you can use to find the right real estate agent for your property sale.

Don’t choose on price

To choose your local agent you will get to interview them in a listing presentation.

There is only one agenda at a listing presentation; To secure your property with their office. They want your house and they will all be competing to give you the hottest number they can come up with. If they give you an estimate in the interview, think of it as a top bracket number. Your house might sell for a range between $600,000 and $750,000. They might feel it’s possible and not unrealistic to sell you their business on a figure of $780,000. It’s a hopeful, optimistic number to impress you. The truth is any person can pull out a number. What you need is someone who can back that number up with professionalism, knowledge, and some passion for your property.

In your listing interview, don’t be bamboozled by the numbers, pay attention to each representative and check in on their behaviour. Is this someone you like? Is this someone you trust?

Use the interview to your advantage and see what kind of people you have at the table. You want to pick a good match for your home, someone who represents what your home has to offer, and is able to appreciate and tease out the highlights your home boasts.

When you are in the interview watch for the real estate agent who listens, who communicates well, who pays attention to detail and who knows the local market.

They should be able to give you details on how exactly they are going to get your property into the sights of the best buyers.

If an agent comes to the table without any sales data or insightful market analysis, you can pretty much guess that they are not going to be moving mountains to move your property.

They need to convince you that the number they offer or the bracket they estimate for your home can be backed up with business know-how and experience.

Basic must haves

Before you even consider an agent to oversee the sale of your home you need to be certain they are legitimate.

Do they hold a full, current real estate license?

Just note that a certificate of registration is not a full license. A person holding a certificate of registration will only be able to act under a senior staff member with a fully qualified real estate agent. That means this is not the person representing your home.

Character tests

Another place to check on a potential seller’s character is through testimonials. Positive testimonials should be easy to get access to. Ensure that the clients’ name is provided, anonymous or first name only testimonials can’t be easily confirmed. You can go further and contact previous customers to get more detailed information and also confirm that the testimonial is correct and true to the service offered to you.

Proven track record

This is your number one go-to to determine if you have a great real estate agent or not. What is their performance like? Look at their previous listings, their advertising platforms, and marketing material. Check out their previous sales prices, and know how long it took to close a sale. It also helps to pay attention to the properties that are most similar to your own in terms of size, location and price.

You want someone who has sold a lot of properties in your area, if you are selling a family home, be sure they have experience in this area. Some agents specialise in land, others in units and holidays homes. Some specialise in rural sales, and some in lifestyle and luxury properties. Be sure the agent you choose has a proven track record of sales. This will ensure they have current market knowledge in your local area for the type of property you are selling.

Having this experience gives your real estate agent the ability to effectively market your property and communicate with the right buyers.

This will really help when offers start to come in. A knowledgeable real estate agent will be able to effectively advise you if an offer is a legitimate one and will know what deals are right to accept or reject.

Ready buyers

A really great real estate agent will already have a database of potential buyers who are looking for the ‘right’ property. Rather than wait for a buyer to walk in the door, the great ones will be able to make a few phone calls and generate interest for your property before any images even hit the web.

This is the best way to sell because the estate agent has the ability to set the price. They already know the property match to the database and will be able to source the most keen and ready to buy clients.

Your best potential buyers are highly motivated ones. People who have been actively looking at properties for some time will know a good investment when they see it. If your property is a match to their needs they will push for a quick sale and pay a higher price, especially if they have missed out at other sales and auctions previously.

Look beyond the agency

Most times you will have a real estate agency that looks after your agent. The agency might have anywhere between three and 15 individual agents working for them. It is the agency that provides the marketing material and sets the rates of things like commissions.

So while the previous results of the agency overall is good to look in on, especially for the sections it is responsible for, you want to be sure you know the results of your particular agent, not the entire field.

If you choose to go with an agent based on their performance and personality, be sure that is who represents your property, not a more junior representative who needs a leg up. Make sure when you do your research it’s your individual agents track record you are getting data on and make sure they and they alone are getting the positive results you want for your home.

It is your agent that represents your home that makes the difference, which could be to the tune of thousands of dollars. It’s their skills and experience and their drive that will take your property sale to it’s highest possible capacity.

Know what you are worth

Your property is one of the largest assets you have. You want to be sure that you go with the person who is going to best represent you and make that asset really count.

Don’t make the mistake of going with the first agent you interview. Take your time, do the background work and be sure the agent is working for you, not the other way around. It is well worth the time and energy to secure the right real estate agent, not only for the best dollar value in the long run, but also peace of mind, quick sale and less stress.

Your chosen agent needs to be someone you can trust, feel comfortable with and be confident they are the right fit for your sale.

Make the big job of selling your home smaller by getting the very best support and expert skill on the job.

Peta Stewart

Who is Peta Stewart?

Award-winning conveyancer. Entrepreneur. Business mentor. Women’s cycling advocate. These are just some of the ways Peta Stewart is introduced. What ties them together is a steely determination to help people achieve their life goals and have fun in the process.

In 2004, Peta became the first licensed conveyancer in the Albury Wodonga greater region. Five years later, she launched her own business and started shaking up the industry with a good dose of personality, integrity and humanity.

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