Your home is your castle. The minute you move in you start stamping it with your own special touch… the décor, the artwork, the colors, the landscaping, all are reflections of your personality and your lifestyle. This is the place where you raise your family, entertain your friends, and find refuge from the world. By the time the day comes for you to sell, for whatever reason, your house is so much a part of you that it is difficult to separate the emotional attachment from the business of actually preparing and selling your home.

But that is what you must do. Besides all of the above, your home is probably also the most significant asset that you own, and it is important to make good business decisions when it comes time to sell. Perhaps the single most critical decision you must make is your choice of real estate agent to represent you. Make the correct choice and you should have a smooth transaction and maximize your profits from the sale. Make the wrong choice, and it can cause much grief, and/or many thousands of dollars. So how do you go about selecting the right agent? Here are some suggestions:

1. Select a Local Agent

One of the most frequent mistakes sellers make is to list with an agent who does not regularly sell houses in their neighborhood. They may have a friend or a relative in the business and feel obliged to give that person the listing, or they may get a referral from a friend, or they may just shop around for a discount broker (more on that later). Whatever the reason, it is the wrong choice. We are all familiar with the microclimates that the peninsula is so famous for. The real estate industry is full of microclimates (micro markets) as well. Every city or sub area a city has its own nuances, and using an agent who is unfamiliar with those may be a costly mistake. The agent may not know how to price the house realistically, how to market to the local agents, how to "sell the neighborhood". And each of those insufficiencies can cost you money.

2. Select an Experienced Agent

Even if you chose a local agent, make sure that agent is an experienced agent. If you were going in for heart surgery, would you want to be your surgeon's first patient? Don't set yourself up as a guinea pig! Real estate is a complex business, and no two transactions are exactly the same. I have been selling real estate for over 24 years and I learn something new with each transaction. An experienced agent brings a lot of knowledge to the table every time, and clients benefit from that. Experience helps at every stage of the transaction, from preparing the property ahead, to marketing, negotiating the contract, resolving unexpected problems that sometimes crop up during the escrow period. All of these are important to a successful sale.

3. Select an Active Agent

This is simple. Don't select a part time agent or one who has been retired for years and is just coming back into the business. Again, this is a complex business. It is constantly shifting and you will benefit from using an agent who is in tune with the most recent developments in the community and in the business. Ask the questions: How many homes have you sold in the past 12 months? What is your area of specialization? Your agent should answer all of your questions to your satisfaction.

4. Look at the Agents Qualifications

The only requirement for an agent to list your house and sell it is that the agent must be licensed in the state of California. However, a good agent will take the time and trouble to expand their knowledge and expand their education so they can serve you better. Ask your agent what additional qualifications he or she has? GRI? CRS? ePro? Certified Home Marketing Specialist? Your agent should be able to explain to you what each of these means and how it can benefit you and your bottom line.

5. Look at the Marketing Plan

Every agent is going to tell you the same things. They will put your house in the MLS, on agent tour, hold open houses, and advertise in the newspaper and on the Internet. That is all superficial. You will be in competition with other homes on the market. Ask probing questions and find out just exactly how that agent is going to make your house stand out above the competition. There is a lot more to selling a house than just putting a sign on the lawn, putting it on the MLS, advertising, and holding an open house or two. It is what goes on behind the scenes that will make a huge difference in your bottom line. Know exactly what your agent will do for you and hold them to it.

6. Be Realistic

Many potential sellers will interview more than one agent and then list with the person who gave them the highest estimated price for their home. Many unscrupulous agents, if they know or even suspect they are competing for a listing, will inflate the value hoping to get the listing based on just that. It is called "buying the listing".

A reputable agent will be honest in giving an opinion, regardless of the circumstances, even knowing that it could cost the listing. Who do you want to list with? The honest agent or the unscrupulous agent? Remember, you are the one who will set the price. You are merely asking the agent for his or her opinion of the value of your home. It is but one piece of the puzzle. An agent who honestly believes that your price is too high may choose to decline the listing, or the agent may agree to try to market the listing at your original price with the agreement that you will drop the price if it doesn't sell within a reasonable period of time, provided the agent follows an aggressive marketing plan.

7. Don't Cut Corners

There is an old saying: "You get what you pay for". It is true at the used car lot, and it is true in real estate. If you are going in for heart surgery, would you go to the least expensive doctor or would you go to the best? Real estate is a high overhead business, and the commission gets divided a minimum of four ways. Even if you think 25% of the commission is plenty, remember that real estate agents in this area are independent contractors. The commission pays for the ads for your house and the number of hours spent preparing and marketing your house. It also pays for the hours going around on tour to keep up with the market, legal fees, education, car expenses, and a whole list of other expenses. What is left over is the agent's income, used to pay the mortgage, buy food, and basically to live on, and the profit margin is not as high as most people think.

Discount brokers must cut costs in order to maintain their profit margin. This may be in the form of less advertising, less follow-up from open houses and ad calls, pressure on the seller to accept a weak offer, or a tendency to "freeze out" other agents and try to "double end" their own listings (great for the agent but definitely not in the seller's best interests). Any of these may negatively impact the bottom line for the seller.

Also, remember this: One of the major reasons you will be hiring me is for my negotiating skills. If I am weak in negotiating my own commission, how strong will I be when negotiating your price? There may be occasional exceptions, but be sure to think about what you are really asking for and what you are really getting when you try to negotiate the agent's commission.

7. Ask for Referrals

Don't just ask for referrals. Check them out. It always amazes me how often people ask for referrals and then never call the people to ask them how satisfied they were with the agent. A good agent will always go the extra mile for each and every client, knowing that a client who is happy at the end of the transaction will send them referrals and be happy to give them a good recommendation to other potential clients. That is the mark of a true professional, and you should make sure you are hiring a professional!

© 2006 by Lynne Mercer

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