Listing Your Home by Contracting with a Real Estate Agent
Ask around. The most common way of listing a house is by contracting with a real estate agent, and it's going to be the most effective for most people, because the real estate agent takes care of the entire listing process for you. Not only can your real estate agent help you price the house and schedule showings, but they are also networked with other real estate agents—not to mention that it's their full time job to sell houses. Although there are many things to consider when picking out a real estate agent, the first thing you should do when looking for a real estate agent is ask your friends and neighbors about real estate agents they've used in the past with success. Start off by talking with any new neighbors about real estate agents they used. A real estate agent with experience in a particular local market is a plus. They know the kinds of buyers to look for, market trends, and the best price points to start a listing.
Get references from recent clients. Once you've found a prospective real estate agent, ask them for a listing of recent clients so you can get a feel for the past clients' opinions about the real estate agent. While the real estate agent isn't likely to forward you negative references, the clients have no reason to lie about their experiences. This is one area where quantity can give you an idea of quality. As long as a real estate agent's been in the business for a while, they should be able to give you as many references as you'd like to see.
Pull a record of their licensing. Like many professionals, real estate agents are licensed and bound by a code of ethics (not to mention law). If the prospective real estate agent has been sanctioned by any licensing bodies, there will be a record of the offense. Anyone considering contracting with a real estate agent should make sure to look up any disciplinary violations in their professional history. Each state has their own licensing bodies for agents working with their jurisdictions. To find the one for your state, just use your favorite search engine to search for “disciplinary against real estate agents” in your state. The information needed to look up a violation may vary from state to state, but as a rule of thumb, get the real estate agent's name and license number. As an example, you can browse the disciplinary actions against real estate agents in California at http://www.dre.ca.gov/Licensees/EnforcementActions.html.
Pay attention to credentialing. Credentials matter. Just like a doctor or a lawyer might be board-certified in certain practice areas, real estate agents can become credentialed specialists in certain areas. Some real estate agents specialize in representing buyers, while others might specialize in commercial real estate, residential real estate, land sales, or foreclosures. You can view a listing of the various specialties at the National Association of Realtors' (NAR) website, located at https://www.nar.realtor/education/courses. Consider hiring a Realtor. The trademarked name Realtor is a sign that the agent is a certified member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).
Ask about experience. While experience isn't a perfect indicator of competence, it's a factor you should weigh in your decision. Ask your real estate agent how long they've been in business—you can always check up on them via the state licensing board—and make sure you're comfortable with the answer. Most commentators agree that five years' experience is long enough to have learned the ins and outs of the business, but your mileage may vary. Some agents will learn far more quickly than that. Most states have 2 levels of real estate licenses. The higher level is called a broker or managing broker. Usually, it takes 2-3 years to advance to the upper level. If you see someone who has been a managing broker for only 1 year, remember that they probably have at least 3 years of experience overall.
Look at their web presence. Most people who purchase real estate these days begin their search on the web, and no one needs to understand this more than your prospective agent. Before you make a commitment, check out their listings online. Go to https://www.realestateagent.com and search for the agent to find their online listings.
Make sure the agent knows your market. Ask your prospective agent about market trends, the asking and selling prices of comparable houses in the area, and how long homes in your area are staying on the market. These types of questions aren't terribly complex. They're the basic questions they need to answer in order to demonstrate their knowledge of a local market. If your prospective real estate agent blanks when you pose these kinds of questions, it's not a great sign. One reason why thorough knowledge of the local market is crucial is pricing. While you have ultimate control over the selling price of your house, the real estate agent's expertise should help you understand if you're pricing too low or too high.
Be aware of the extra cost. Of course, the expertise and the networks of a real estate agent aren't free. Real estate agents charge a commission to execute a sale. When this commission is added to the other closing costs, it can add up to a significant expense. A commission of 6% is typical, but is negotiable.
Listing Your Home Independently
Determine how much coverage you want across platforms. A home has to be listed by a broker to make it onto the MLS. In the old days, that meant a person had to find a local broker and pay them a flat fee to get their house listed if they didn't want to use the services of a real estate agent. These days, there are literally dozens of services on the web that will take care of the listing for you, including FSBO.com, MLSMyHome.com, and ForSaleByOwner.com. The biggest decision you'll need to make is deciding how much coverage you'd like to get across platforms. For example, you might pay a flat fee to get listed on the MLS and https://www.realestateagent.com (which overlap), the MLS, https://www.realestateagent.com, and a for-sale-by owner website, or by all of the above, plus Trulia, Zillow, and national real estate brokerages like Keller Williams and Re/Max. If you are paying to get your property listed on the MLS, you will need to state what the cooperating broker commission fee is. This fee is paid to a real estate agent if they show and sell your home. Include showing instructions so that the real estate agent can show the house according to your specific instructions. If you do not include this fee, agents and brokers may not show your home. The fees increase in proportion to the amount of coverage you get. While you may be able to negotiate a listing on only the MLS and https://www.realestateagent.com for less than $100, you might have to spend as much as $800 to get coverage on all available platforms. These fees can vary based on geographic region and brokers.
Decide which package options are right for you. In addition to coverage across platforms, the flat-fee listing sites have different packages claiming to offer ever increasing marketing advantages. These might be the length of time a home will be listed, the number of pictures that can be added to the listing, placement of your listing at the top of a page, and yard signs. Although all of the flat-free listing services promise better results the more money you spend, it's nearly impossible to find independent verification of these claims. Your best bet is to find a flat-fee company doing a lot of business in your area and checking their reputation with the Better Business Bureau (BBB). The BBB is a nonprofit funded by businesses that rates, reviews, and credentials businesses in order to ensure consumer confidence. You can look up a business at http://www.bbb.org/ by entering the business' name, URL, or phone number, and narrowing down the geographic area as much as possible.
Create your listing. You need to try and write a listing which is as compelling as possible without overpromising. Be sure to include the following elements: A descriptive and succinct heading. Instead of listing the address and the price in the title, be a little creative. For example, instead of “123 Red Robin Lane, $100,000,” try something like “Charming turn of the century craftsman home in the popular Red Robin neighborhood.” As many pictures as possible. Humans are visual creatures, and the more pictures you have on the listing, the more likely you are to sell the home. Specific details about the house. Be sure to include details like number of rooms, square footage, size of the lot, and any amenities that come along with the house—sunrooms, porches, a fenced-in yard, attractive interior styling, etc. The price. Make it as easy as possible for someone to buy your house. Don't be the person who creates a listing without a price, or worse, “inquire” where the price should be. Be sure to include a description of the neighborhood. List any amenities that might attract a potential buyer, such as parks, public swimming pools, or local schools.
Don't forget to cross-post. Remember to add your listing to sites like Craigslist and Backpage if you're selling independently. While most buyers will start out their search on the larger sites like https://www.realestateagent.com, widening your exposure can only work to your benefit. In addition, most listings to sites like these are free or low cost. In most areas, listings on the MLS are added to sites like Trulia and Zillow, but not every locality's MLS shares information with these sites. Make sure to check with your flat-fee listing service to find out. If the listings aren't automatically shared, you'll need to upload your listing yourself.
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