Finding a house can be laborious because there are multiple aspects to factor in before you put in your offer. If you have a good and reliable realtor, then this process becomes easier as you can rely on them to find a house in good condition, that fits your budget, and the location of your choice. If you have a good realtor like dorrmat, then it is half the battle won as they will take over the grunt work of shortlisting suitable houses for you and handling negotiations and paperwork on your behalf. Here are 5 tips on finding the right realtor to help you find “houses for sale near me”.
1. Browse online
Browse online for using search options such as “houses for sale near me”, “apartments for sale”, or local real estate dealers. This will give you an idea of who are the top dealers and the type of houses they are selling. It will also give you an idea of your house’s current market rates and how much you can expect. Take a note of 2-3 real estate agents based on their performance before finalizing the realtor you want to go with.
2. Selection criteria
Invite the agents you have shortlisted from your online research to value your house and among them shortlist three estate agents. To finalize whom to go with among these three, you can –
- Ask neighbors, friends, or references from the estate agents. A personal recommendation can help in invoking trust.
- Compare them based on how quickly they sell property, how close to the asking price they get, and their success rate.
- Look at the quality of pictures they take, clarity and relevance of property description, and the visibility of listings from their webpage.
- You must not feel pressured to hire the same real estate agent whom you bought the house from. If you are unhappy with the deal, you got or their customer service then you are not obligated to go with them.
- Their viewing policy provisions such as will they be accompanying viewers?
- Finally, their standard terms and conditions, commission rate, and typical tie-in period.
3. Estate agents’ valuation
Often, real estate agents give highly optimistic valuations to motivate you to pick them. they will list your property at their quoted rate for a few weeks and then reduce the price due to a lack of views. This is a waste of precious time for you, hence, insist upon the real estate agent giving you a realistic price based on the current market rates. Based on your research of the market, and conditions in which you are selling the property, make a mental markup of how much amount you are willing to sell the property at. If the agent is offering a higher price, then they must have evidence of similar properties being sold at these prices. there are many online instant valuation tools that you can use to get an estimate of how much your house can fetch. You can also check the selling prices on Land Registry for rough estimates.
4. Their property marketing strategy
Online marketing has made property marketing budget-friendly, easy, and imperative. Your real estate agent’s marketing plan for your property must ensure that it gets maximum visibility on all the prominent platforms, including its own website. Understand their plans and ask some questions about –
- The portals they will use to list your property
- Will they use premium listing alternatives such as virtual video tours to showcase your house?
- Will there be any additional charges for premium listing features?
- Will they take out ads in local newspapers? Which ones?
- Will your property feature on their window?
5. Read and understand the contract
Read the finer points of the real estate agent’s contract to understand the provisions. Check what benefits are included in the charges – whether you will have to pay extra for professional photos or sales board, and what will comprise the commission fee. If they include a term that insists on “sole selling rights”, then even if you find a buyer yourself you will have to pay the agent’s fees. Ensure that even if you sign up for the sole selling rights it is done so for a limited period.
With the right real estate agent, your house or apartments for sale will go through smoothly.
