Choosing an agent is a big deal. The first few weeks of your property being on the market are crucial and it is important to get it right. Here are a few tips that we have put together from our everyday experiences as agents dealing with properties and clients. Although there are always exceptions to every rule this covers the majority of our experience. We hope it helps you in your Real Estate Journey.
Local Knowledge
Local knowledge is crucial. Ask how long the agent has lived in the area and/or done business in it.
How many properties has the agent sold in your immediate area? Are there testimonials from their past vendors and buyers? Does the agent have a good name for themselves within your area?
Local knowledge and current experience within your area will ensure that they will be able to price your property accurately. This is very important for your property’s sale-ability.
Local is also important as they will know the pros and cons of your area and have a good knowledge of what you can or can’t do within it and can relay this to potential purchasers. Being local also helps the buyer with after purchase care and assistance. ie; tradies, community facilities and functions.
Also another fact to consider is that the buyers on a local agent’s data base are wanting to purchase in your immediate area, not a generalised across Australia data base. Visitors to the area who are looking in your local agents display window or at signage are generally interested in purchasing directly within your property’s area.
Honesty
In my experience I often hear the complaint that people just want an honest agent. Real Estate Agents do have a bad name in general for their honesty. Like any profession unfortunately there really are bad agents out there who give all other agents an overall bad name.
If you’ll forgive me though I am calling “BS” on this often stated wish.
In my personal experience a lot of potential vendor’s state that they want absolute honesty from an agent but quite often the reality is that what they want is a sugar coated version of the property presentation feedback and to be told what they want to hear price-wise as well.
This is not always the case of course and those that aren’t like this are an absolute delight to work with.
I can’t stress to you how important it is to listen to your agent. If you have chosen wisely and your agent has great local knowledge and sales within your area then they will know what needs to change with your homes presentation and what price to place on it to make it sell.
No agent has a crystal ball and we are all human and sometimes get it wrong. Occasionally a one off buyer may come along and pay cash on an overpriced property just because they can, but these are rare. To come to the decision of what your property is worth we use recent sales within the immediate area to compare and then try to add on or take off the price for any features and variations.
Be open to actually listening to your local expert instead of being lured into a highly priced promise.
Technology Savvy
Make sure your agent is going to advertise your property on the most popular websites. Another biggie is to make sure they aren’t taking DIY happy snaps of your property and loading them up on the internet and using these for marketing purposes. You are competing against so many other properties for sale on the internet that you need your property to stand out and look amazing!
What printed material will they be producing for your property? ie: brochure, flyers etc
Signage, is it big bright and professional looking?
Do they have a website? How up to date is it and how user friendly is it? Cutting edge or clunky?
Social Media – firstly do they know what that is and do they know how to use it effectively? How do they do it? Posting recipes or funny videos of cats is certainly not going to cut it. Ask the questions.
What’s their marketing technique? What’s their hook?
What does the agent you are considering using do differently, if anything, to other agents?
Qualifications
What is your considered Real Estate Agent qualified to sell for you? Are they licensed to sell: Residential? Rural? Businesses? All of the above or none of the above?
I always explain my qualifications to potential vendors and it is also clearly written into our marketing information, but I can honestly say I don’t think I have ever been asked by a client what my qualifications are. Considering I am dealing with what is usually their largest asset this is pretty amazing.
Again don’t be afraid to ask the big questions!
For more useful tips and hints this section of our website is also useful:Selling Tips or call us on
P: 02 4994 5766
R & R Property are the Stroud districts Real Estate Specialists and have A Passion For Property.
