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Hiring a Real Estate Agent? Don’t Make These 7 Home Seller Mistakes

Wooden color gray house There are many reasons why you might want to sell your home in Blue Ridge, and one of the absolute best decisions you can make when doing so is to hire a real estate agent. And we’re not talking about just any real estate agent, but a home seller agent who will be your ally, partner, and all-around guru for the entirety of the home selling process! Choosing the agent that’s the right fit for you is important, and you’ll want to stay away from making these 7 popular mistakes:

  1. Don’t choose an agent because they have the longest resume
  2. When you’re looking at profiles of real estate agents, one of the factors that may stand out to you is the total number of homes that person has sold. Yes, you absolutely want a person who has sold a large number of homes, but the person with the largest number isn’t always the best home seller agent. Selling more homes means that those homes have also sold more quickly, which could mean the person was pricing homes too low or poorly negotiating with buyers’ agents. Rather, you’ll want to look at the sales-to-listing rate: the number of homes sold compared to the total number of homes listed. Someone who sold 95% of their listed homes is a much more qualified and valuable agent than someone who sold 60% of their listed homes, even if the person who sold 60% totaled in more home sales overall. At Nathan Fitts & Team we focus on getting our buyers the best return on investment possible rather than just selling their home in Blue Ridge quickly.

  3. Don’t stop after you’ve met with only one agent
  4. Hearing an agent’s marketing plan for your home is essential, but you won’t be able to gauge which plan best fits your home and your potential buyers until you hear multiple marketing strategies. The same idea goes for pricing. You might really like a listing price that’s quoted by one agent, but you always want a second opinion. Listing a price that’s too high will prolong your sale and minimize your buyer pool, but a price that’s too low can also be a risk to you financially. It’s in your best interest to meet with more than one real estate agency to get a better idea of how your home will sell overall. When meeting with an agent ask them to prepare a Comparable Market Analysis, also known as a CMA, to gauge your home’s value against other recently sold properties. At Nathan Fitts & Team, we perform FREE home valuation estimates in Blue Ridge and the North Georgia mountains. Click here to get your FREE CMA!

  5. Don’t choose an agent based on their commission rate
  6. If you’re picking an agent because of their lower commission rate, it’s likely the rate was lowed specifically for that reason: to get your attention. There are a few reasons why that should be a “red flag” for you. If that agent has a commission rate that stands out from most other agents in the area (on the lower side), that agent had likely not been getting many clients, which speaks to their ability as a home seller agent. Keep in mind that a real estate agent with a lower commission rate is also more limited in their marketing resources, which means your home listing will reach fewer potential buyers. Not to mention, if the home seller agent is willing to drop his or her commission, you should be hesitant to trust that person when it comes to negotiating offers for the price of your home. We’re not saying to choose an agent with a higher commission rate either, but understand what the going standard rate in your market is, and look for someone whose rate is comparable to the standard. This is why we have established our commission guidelines to determine residential, commercial, and vacant property commissions.

  7. Don’t choose a real estate agent who wants to sell your home for the highest price
  8. The most important time for any new house on the market is that first 3-4 week window. If the price of your home is too high, your home will be off the radar for buyers who would have been a great fit for the property. Your seller’s agent needs to be able to execute a pricing, marketing, and negotiation plan that can attract buyers whose expectations are met. Creating that competition and eagerness to make an offer can then drive up the final sale price.

  9. Don’t choose a real estate agent solely because they’re a family friend
  10. This should be sort of a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised by the amount of people who get pressured by a friend or family member to hire someone that they know. Don’t be afraid to say no, and don’t be worried about hurting someone’s feelings when you hire another other real estate agent. Of course, if the friend or family member has an excellent reputation and is a top candidate all-around, then that’s an entirely different situation. But don’t feel any kind of obligation to work with a friend of a friend, or a second cousin, just because that person needs more clients. Your home and your sale experience always come first, and you deserve a qualified real estate agent who will ultimately do the best job. And if you do feel that a friend or family member is the best person for the job, be sure that you’ll both be able to separate business matters from personal ones.

  11. Don’t choose an agent if they aren’t working in real estate full-time
  12. Part-time agents means part-time availability, part-time open house schedules and part-time communication with other agents, potential buyers, and you! Don’t hire an agent until you’re sure that their schedule will best serve your needs (and the needs of buyers’ agents).

  13. Don’t hire an agent without asking for references or checking reviews
  14. You’re likely someone who is Internet-savvy when it comes to researching the best restaurants, vendors, and physicians in your area. You know how to research tech gadgets and appliances before purchasing them too. You need to have the same digital reference checking process when it comes to your real estate agent. Checking the reviews on the agency and the home seller agent him or herself is a must. It also doesn’t hurt to check their social media profiles and to look for the marketing strategies they used when selling other homes similar to yours. The Nathan Fitts & Team Zillow reviews speak for themselves…to learn more click here: Nathan Fitts & Team Reviews
Most importantly, never be afraid to ask for a list of references. A home seller agent should never be wary of passing a list of references over to you. Putting in time and effort to do the proper research before selecting your real estate agent is essential to having a successful and stress-free home sale experience. Remember to avoid these common mistakes, and you’ll be on your way to finding the perfect agent (and buyer)!