Selling Property? How to Find the Right Real Estate Agent

While there are some forks in the road that you can take to sell your home, in most cases, selling your property will go through an experienced and licensed real estate agent. While the option to sell your home yourself is there, the majority take the professional route.

For those who do opt to sell their home themselves, a big motivator is not having to pay the agent’s fee (a small percentage of the total sale). While yes, you do get to hold onto a bit more of your money in the long run, the right real estate agent will get a better price for your home than you can yourself, will be able to negotiate the percentage they take, and will get your home sold faster than you could alone. Most importantly, though, is the post sale support. There is a lot to be completed after a buyer commits.

Why is paperwork important for your property transaction?

Having the right paperwork, completed correctly, will ensure the property transfer goes through smoothly and quickly. Everything needs to match up with the previous title history as well as the buyer and seller details.

Your conveyancer is there to help check the paperwork and get your transaction completed at settlement time, however, they can only make changes and corrections before signing and the cooling off period. Anything you sign, or have signed as part of your property transfer will be permanent and legally binding. If you don’t know what you are doing, it can land you in some hot water and cause delays that can mean the sale doesn’t go through.

A good real estate agent will have a solid understanding of the required paperwork as well as the inclusions and exclusions, and will have templates ready to make the contract signing fast and simple.

The best way to go about it is to have your conveyancer check over the contract before a buyer is chosen so that you can understand everything involved and make sure it's 100% before you go through the motions.

Heard horror stories of dodgy agents that might be putting you off using one to sell your home?

The key is that you choose the right real estate agent, one who will represent your property in the best light and has experience selling your type of home in your local area.

Choosing the Right Real Estate Agent to Sell Your Home

A mistake that is easy to make is to only look at how big a real estate offering is.

There is more to your assessment than who is the biggest, most popular, or has the largest window frontage.

To find out who is going to be the best to represent your home, you’ll need to do some checks and interview a number of local agents. This also includes not limiting your search to the agent who offers you the highest property estimate or the lowest commission.

That’s not to say that the biggest agent isn’t the best, they may well be, but it’s about looking beyond the surface and understanding the finer points of a sale. An accurate sale price will mean your home is offered to the largest possible audience for a fast and seamless transaction. You also want someone who works with properties just like yours so they can highlight the features that make your property stand out to buyers.

There is so much more to selling your home than just focusing on the price.

Before you give an agent the task of selling your home, sit down and have a chat, structure it like a job interview and only select the ‘employee’ you feel 100% confident with.

What to look for in a real estate agent

As strange as it seems the best person to sell your home is one you get along with well.

While you will also need to ask questions that reveal selling their trustworthiness, expertise, and adaptability, how an agent responds to the questions you ask will also give you a feel for their personality and conduct. Someone who aligns with your values and is easy to talk to sets you up for a good working relationship. It's okay to go with your gut instinct.

Before you have agents visit your home, offer an evaluation and talk about your needs make sure you know what you want in terms of sale timeframes, communication methods and support. Do you want daily updates with a phone call, or just a text message when something new occurs? Do you want to be notified of every offer even if it’s not within your requested price bracket?

Most real estate offices have a number of different agents that work in different areas, some will be dedicated to selling units, others to older family homes and others still to newly built estates. There may also be different agents who work in different price brackets with some handling older homes that sell for less, others the bracket within the medium range and others the elite properties. You want to make sure you are speaking to the agent who will actually be representing your home and the point of contact for you and buyers going forward and that they have the experience in your particular property.

Here are some key things to look for in your interview.

Someone who:

has time for your sale - popularity is good but not if they have so much on their plate they won’t be able to give you the right amount of attention.
Listens to your needs and takes your requirements into account

Is a licensed real estate agent working for a registered company
Has good reviews and great client references
Has local knowledge and sales experience
Typically works in the price bracket you’re home falls into
Has great communication with you in person and when giving updates and checking in
Has strategies and plans for what happens if your home doesn't attract the right buyers in a set timeframe
Is upfront and realistic about the market and your situation and can explain the situation well

It is usual for agents to request a meeting in your home, this way they can do a property evaluation (at no cost to you) at the same time. Schedule each agent to come at a time when you have the ability to sit and have an uninterrupted discussion about their offer and what's included in their package in terms of support, marketing and communication.

What should be included with your Real Estate Provider?

You can expect far more from your real estate agent than just someone to show people through your home. They will be the first point of contact for any interested buyer so they need to make a great impression, be approachable and reliable.

As well as representing your property you can also expect that a quality, experienced real estate agent will give you access to resources that will help assist you in setting the right price and getting a great result for your property sale including:

Advice on how to present your home for the best results
Access to local sales and appraisal data
Advice on the best sales methods (i.e. auction or private sale) suitable for your home and location
A ready database of reliable buyers
Proven, high quality marketing and advertising strategies
Screening potential buyers to eliminate cinderella offers
Experience in negotiations to get the the best with the ideal buyer
Effective administration of all paperwork to ensure legal and financial requirements are handled correctly

Selling your home is a big step and one you want to get right. While you can go it alone, you get a lot of help and support if you choose the right real estate agent to represent your property and help put strategies in place for your sale. Most importantly, you want to make sure that the legal side is covered correctly to avoid any heartache when it comes to your settlement transfer. Your conveyancer is part of the team looking after your asset and helping you get the best result for your property sale.