Realtors are your neighbors, your friends and sometimes your family. So when the time comes to hire one to list your home, how do you decide who to use? Selling a home is, of course, more than dollars and cents. It’s selling a piece of your life. It can often be an emotional and sometimes overwhelming time. So what you’re looking for in a real estate agent is a combination of counselor, negotiator, expert, and calmer of fears.

Start your selection process by asking around. Friends and family are an excellent place to start, but neighbors and even online research can be helpful as well. You’ll want an agent who is dedicated to real estate full time, has a good amount of experience or education, a track record of closed escrows, and can offer you a list of satisfied customers to call if you haven’t read reviews about them online. They should be able to speak with authority about sales trends in the Colorado Springs market, know the schools and businesses nearby and have even versed themselves on the future of the area.

Then set up some one-on-one interviews with a few that interest you. A face-to-face meeting is not only recommended; it’s necessary when selling one of your life’s largest assets. This is the person you will be relying on throughout the process of selling your home, so you’ll need to have a high level of confidence in him or her. They may talk a lot about how they are the best people for the job, but they should also be good listeners as well. Consider yourself their employer (because you will be)- ask about their skills and qualifications, how many homes they’ve sold in the last year, and request a list of recent clients that includes contact information and not just addresses. Then follow up with those names, asking their past clients what the original asking price on their home was as well as what the house eventually sold for.

It’s essential to be crystal clear about your expectations. If you want someone who’s is Johnny-on-the-spot with texts and phone calls, tell them. If you prefer emails only, communicate that. If you want updates after every showing, say so. Lockbox or no lockbox? Open houses or just private showings? And if the only time you have to be in touch are evenings and weekends, it’s imperative they know this.

Get real. Don’t be shy about asking what the agent thinks can be done to improve your home before putting it on the market. They know what kinds of updates are popular in your area, what to tell you to place in storage to make the house look more spacious, how to spiff up your home’s street appeal and when to paint rooms to help provide potential buyers with a clean slate look. Seasoned brokers will provide specific recommendations as well as the reasoning behind them, even at the risk of losing the listing. Even if the idea of spending money is hard to swallow, they will explain to you how and why the investment is well worth it to get top dollar for your home.

Your agent is your partner through this process, but good ones will also play devil’s advocate when you are challenged with decisions. Even after the sale, they will be by your side, coordinating your move-out and communicating with the buyer’s agent so there are no misunderstandings. Your ideal listing agent should be someone you trust, who will  negotiate and advocate for you.

Source: TBWS