OAKVILLE NEIGHBOURHOODS AND HOME PRICES
OAKVILLE NEIGHBOURHOODS AND HOME PRICES
Choosing Your Listing Agent
As a Seller, you are looking for a REALTOR® you trust and whose intelligence and judgement you have confidence in.
You want to have a good gut feeling of "personal fit" - as you are going to be spending alot of time
together! As in the game of golf, follow-through is all important.
There are lots of agents with great listing presentations, wonderful videos and beautiful marketing brochures. That's OK and very nice BUT you need to be confident you won't simply be another listing in that person's large inventory, passed on to junior staff and part of a 'factory 'approach. You want someone whose focus is on you and your interests.
You need in-depth market analyses for homes similar to yours, an honest appraisal of your home's weaknesses and strengths, and a frank discussion of what's currently happening in the market.
There are many excellent Listing Agents out there - I am one of them! Plan on spending an evening interviewing a few. Tell the ones you meet with that you're going to "sleep on it" before making a decision.
Here are a few open-ended questions which may help in your decision-making process:
1. What makes you special as a REALTOR®?
2. How will you prepare my home to show its best features?
3. What properties similar to mine have you sold in my neighbourhood, with how many Days on Market and at what Ask -to Sale ratios?
4. Who do you see as being the likely Buyers and in what time frame will they show up?
5. What steps will you take to keep me informed of other listings we are in competition with?
6. Where will you advertise and what are the marketing plan components?
7. How will you ensure I understand all the legal documents when an Offer comes?
8. Why do you think your negotiation style will work for me?
Every home will sell in a 'price range' determined by its location, condition and improvements, influenced, of course, by the current market conditions for this type of "product" (good, bad, indifferent). So, be very careful - don't choose a REALTOR® solely based on the asking price s/he suggests - start from the position that you need to be convinced it's not 'way off the mark' of what the market will absorb!
You want to have a good gut feeling of "personal fit" - as you are going to be spending alot of time
together! As in the game of golf, follow-through is all important. There are lots of agents with great listing presentations, wonderful videos and beautiful marketing brochures. That's OK and very nice BUT you need to be confident you won't simply be another listing in that person's large inventory, passed on to junior staff and part of a 'factory 'approach. You want someone whose focus is on you and your interests.
You need in-depth market analyses for homes similar to yours, an honest appraisal of your home's weaknesses and strengths, and a frank discussion of what's currently happening in the market.
There are many excellent Listing Agents out there - I am one of them! Plan on spending an evening interviewing a few. Tell the ones you meet with that you're going to "sleep on it" before making a decision.
Here are a few open-ended questions which may help in your decision-making process:
1. What makes you special as a REALTOR®?
2. How will you prepare my home to show its best features?
3. What properties similar to mine have you sold in my neighbourhood, with how many Days on Market and at what Ask -to Sale ratios?
4. Who do you see as being the likely Buyers and in what time frame will they show up?
5. What steps will you take to keep me informed of other listings we are in competition with?
6. Where will you advertise and what are the marketing plan components?
7. How will you ensure I understand all the legal documents when an Offer comes?
8. Why do you think your negotiation style will work for me?
Every home will sell in a 'price range' determined by its location, condition and improvements, influenced, of course, by the current market conditions for this type of "product" (good, bad, indifferent). So, be very careful - don't choose a REALTOR® solely based on the asking price s/he suggests - start from the position that you need to be convinced it's not 'way off the mark' of what the market will absorb!
