There are a lot of steps involved in selling most homes and what will be needed is very situational. No two home sales are exactly alike.

Even if you are 6+ months out from selling it’s a good idea to start looking into Realtors now. The more advance time you have the better! I can guide you from the very beginning regarding market timing, home prep, staging, etc. I keep a close eye on the market and what buyers are looking for (which is why hiring a listing agent that also works with buyers is so important!)

More advance time means more ability to prep the home for sale with low cost, high yield improvements that will net you a big return.

I will be able to guide you through the process and all the decisions that need to be made, not to mention help to keep you from taking on unnecessary liability.

Of course, if you’re only a month out from needing to list (or even a week!) don’t hesitate to call, email, or text. I’m always ready to spring into action.

When I first speak to prospective sellers, typical questions I get are:

• What is my home worth?

• What are the costs associated with selling my home?

• What do you charge?

Most sellers don’t ask much more than that and these are all fine questions. The answers to all of these questions are going to vary depending on many factors.

But, more importantly, these are the questions that should be asked AFTER you find a Realtor and decide that you might be a good fit to work together. All too often, people ask these questions first. Then if the answers make them happy (the comparable market analysis is the highest and the commission charged is the lowest), they’ll hire that Realtor with no other questions asked.

Unfortunately, this means that the end result is usually less than satisfactory. If you’ve ever browsed through Redfin/Zillow/Homes, etc and wondered why the pictures are so terrible, why the listing description doesn’t make sense, why basic listing info such as schools, bath count, presence of AC, etc. is wrong… it’s because many sellers don’t take enough care when hiring a realtor.

What’s hard to see when you look at listings is… how hard is that Realtor working to sell that home? Are they answering buyer inquiries? Are they making adjustments to the listing based on showing feedback? Are they checking in with the seller regularly? Are they responsive and strategic or are they just throwing the listing out into the ether and hoping for the best?

If you’ve ever been a buyer (and since you own a home, you probably have), you may have had to deal with uncommunicative listing agents (or watched your buyer’s agent struggle with this). I represent both buyers and sellers and I can tell you that there are a lot of listing agents out there that make the process of selling a home unnecessarily difficult, to the detriment of the seller’s profit. I’ve had situations where it’s taken weeks just to get a simple answer to a question about an HOA that could make or break whether or not my buyer places an offer. And that wasn’t that long ago.

I’ve got stories…

You might think I’m saying everything above to butter you up for a super high commission charge. Fortunately, that’s not the case. I am as fair as possible based on the situation. I also don’t take every listing offered to me. I manage my workflow carefully so that I can provide full service and fast communication to all my clients.

What I care about is assisting sellers to NET the most from the sale of their home in a time frame that works for them.

If you’re preparing to interview real estate agents, here are some additional questions I WISH people would ask:

• Are you a full time Realtor?

• What hours are you available?

• Do you answer questions from prospective buyers/buyer’s agents on evenings and weekends?

• Are you my direct contact throughout the process or will I be communicating with multiple team members?

• Will there be a co-listing (junior) agent that fields inquiries or do all questions go directly through you?

• Will you be holding open houses?

• Who will host the open houses and when will they be?

• Are you experienced on both the buyer AND seller side in my area and for my type of home?

• How does commission work?

• What are the pros/cons of offering a higher or lower BAC (buyer agent commission)?

• Can you help me organize contractors for work to prep the home for sale?

• What is your offer strategy?

• What happens if there are multiple offers?

• If a buyer wants repairs and/or credits, will you take the time to source your own bids for the work?

• Will you help me organize and schedule repairs?

• What happens if an unrepresented buyer wants to make an offer?

• Should I consider full/partial staging?

• What is your communication style?

• Will you be upfront with me, whether the news is good, bad, or ugly?

• Can I talk to some references?

Regarding that very first question: “Are you a full time Realtor?”

I’m not bashing part-time agents and people working multiple jobs and “doing real estate on the side”, but I think this question is of utmost importance for both buyers and sellers. To keep up with the market and stay on top of constantly changing rules, regulations, procedures, financing products, various contractor solutions, marketing techniques, contract language, technology, negotiation strategy… this is MORE than a full-time job. It’s a calling.

Not every Realtor does things the same way, though. There are some Realtors, particularly teams, whose staff only work Monday – Friday during office hours. I can’t imagine leaving my sellers high and dry over the weekend, but this works for some people.

The issue with this is that in a fast-paced market, buyers are viewing homes towards the end of the week and writing offers over the weekend. They often need questions answered so they know whether they should write the offer… and for how much. Engaged buyer’s agents will check in with the listing agent to adjust their offer to maximize the chances of success for their buyers. A listing agent (not an assistant) being readily available to answer all inquiries is CRUCIAL to net the most money for the seller. A smart, strategic listing agent knows how to field these inquiries in a manner that maximizes potential profit for the seller.

On the subject of teams…

There are many different business models for Realtors. There are independent agents who take care of their clients from the initial consult all the way through closing and beyond.

There are independent agents who have licensed or un-licensed assistants, who you may or may not work with directly.

There are agents who solely work with buyers. There are agents who solely work with sellers.

Then there are agents who prefer working on a team, where parts of the process will be handed off to different team members. Usually the buy-side and listing-side are completely separate and handled by different sections of the team.

Teams can be very successful, but it also means they have to operate high volume business in order for this to work. It can sometimes be frustrating for buyers and sellers throughout the process as they aren’t sure exactly who they are working with from stage to stage. They might like the person they initially meet, but will the rest of the team be a good fit?

Also, teams do tend to hire less experienced agents to show homes, hold open houses, and attend home inspections. Should a seller have to suffer through working with less qualified individuals just so the team can handle a higher volume of sales?

On many teams, they have a “rainmaker” who goes out on listing appointments and gets listing contracts signed. Soon after, the listing is handed to a junior agent during the time the home is getting prepped and “Active” on the market. Then, once in contract, it’s often handed to a transaction coordinator for everything other than negotiation.

There are a lot of reasons I’m not a fan of this model. People hire me for my real estate expertise and every aspect of selling a home is crucial. Even the prep work and the paperwork. ESPECIALLY the prep work and the paperwork. I meet with contractors. I work directly with stagers (when appropriate). I perform all research necessary on the home. I host every open house I possibly can.

BTW, if for any reason I can’t host an open or something ever happens where I’m not available (like the very rare times I take a vacation), I have a network of like-minded, highly customer-centric colleagues that are just as awesome as me (okay, maybe not THAT awesome but pretty darn amazing ;)

And one thing people tend to forget about when hiring a listing agent:

Not only do you want to find someone that will NET you the most from the sale of your home… you are also hiring a skilled project manager that will assist you through the pitfalls of real estate. In a litigious society, home sellers find themselves embroiled in law suits entirely too often. Working with an agent helps get you through the mine fields.