5 Questions To Ask Real Estate Agents If You’re A First-Time Seller

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Selling a property is already difficult, especially during challenging economic times. This degree of difficulty is even higher when you’re a first-time seller. You may not know what to do yet or how to even go about the entire process. This is the reason why it’s a better choice to work with a real estate agent, rather than sell on your own.

However, hiring a real estate agent doesn’t automatically assure you that the selling process will run smoothly. It will all depend on how you’ve selected your agent. You need to do some research, list down the qualifications you’re looking for, and ask the right questions.

To give you a systematic approach to this pursuit, here are some of the questions you have to ask your real estate agent before choosing one:

  1. How Long Have You Been A Real Estate Agent?

There’s no substitute for the experience a real estate agent holds. The more experienced a realtor is, the better. It means they know how to navigate through the most challenging problems you could possibly encounter during the whole selling process.

Ideally, selling a home should be a straightforward, procedural thing. But, it’s also a common situation to have a few bumps along the way. This fact is the reason why experience is crucial.

For example, some realtors may have held a real estate license for a very long time now, but don’t actively sell for a long period of time. This proves that it’s not about how long an agent has held a license, but rather, how far the extent of their active practice is.

To start your comparison of various local real estate agents, click this link to widen your range of choices. 

  1. How Can The Selling Price Be Arrived At?

Your property’s selling price can significantly affect the success or failure of your sale. You have to price competitively and strategically for your sale to go smoothly. Obtaining the ideal price for a property is not an easy process, it demands thorough research regarding the existing market value of the properties near your home and in-depth market analysis of your target buyers.

You should ask your real estate agent about the best process to take in deriving a viable selling price for your property. 

  1. Have You Sold Homes In This Neighborhood?

Another key question that speaks a lot about the realtor’s range of experience is whether or not they’ve sold properties within your neighborhood. Remember that in real estate, location matters. Even in your local state, there are some neighborhoods which are identified as prime locations, while others aren’t. This means it could also be easier to sell homes in some areas than in others.

Whether your property is located in a prime location or not, it helps if the real estate agent had experience closing a sale within your neighborhood. This means that they are well aware of the target market that could be the prospective buyer of your property.

  1. What Services Are Included In Your Agent’s Fees?

Not every agent has the same comprehensive inclusion of services within their fees. This is the reason why you have to be clear about this before commencing your contract. That way, you can avoid having hidden charges and unexpected additional costs in the long run.

This is the reason why you need to clarify the services included in those fees. Here are some examples of the services included in their agent’s fees:

  • Inspection services
  • Marketing activity
  • Photography
  • Floorplans
  • Open houses

Some Romford Estate Agents will have a comprehensive range of services, while others will offer some of those services as add-ons on top of their commission. It’s advisable to be certain regarding these details from the very start to avoid winding up with a long list of fees at the end.

  1. How Much Will Selling This Property Cost You?

As a first-time property seller, you have to be aware that there are costs to be incurred when selling your home. You have to be prepared to cover those expenses first before you can even start enjoying the profit.

Asking your real estate agent about this also gives you an idea of how much budget you should prepare. It’s not just the agent’s fees you have to pay for, but also the listing expenses, filing fees, notary costs, and other expenditures related to preparing all the documents needed to sell the property.

Conclusion

Many homeowners don’t know what questions to ask their realtor when selling, especially the first-timers. If you’ve had that dilemma, keep in mind that you’re not the only one experiencing it. Listed above are the essential questions you need to ask your real estate agent to understand more deeply how to go about the process of property selling.

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