Selecting a Real Estate Agent / Company

[mitchjav]

Hi all...

We've been interviewing Real Estate Agents as we're getting ready to sell our home. We've spoken with four agents from some of the popular companies in the area (& perhaps nationally?) - Weichert, Sotherby's, Remax & Berkshire Hathaway. Two of the agents we felt a really good connection with; two of them not so much...

Of the four agents, three of them gave us a pretty consistent range for setting a price - one was a bit higher. They each brought strong marketing plans to the table and commissions were fairly consistent - although one was 1% less than the others. Each had good tips for readying the home for sale (some were consistent, some unique). Overall, each of them told a strong story.

So, given that we feel the personal connection is important, we're inclined to go with one of the two who we feel good about ---but also wondering about the company that backs them. Does anyone know if one of these companies brings something to the table that tips the scales in their favor?

Also, if there's anything we should be looking for in the agent themselves that I haven't mentioned, welcome that feedback.

 

[RunningBum]

Maybe the amount of advertising each company does locally? Will your house get a picture and small write up in the Sunday paper and all the realty magazines in grocery stores, etc?

 

[cbo111]

Maybe the amount of advertising each company does locally? Will your house get a picture and small write up in the Sunday paper and all the realty magazines in grocery stores, etc?

I'm not sure if buyers even look at newspapers or magazines anymore, certainly not young prospective buyers. Realtor.com and zillow are where the focus now resides.
I've had decent success with Coldwell Banker and Remax in the past few years. Although the last agent I used was pretty much unable to put together a sentence. I ended up writing the MLS description for him. One thing to ask about is the split your listing agent will have with the selling agent. Often it is 50/50, but some agents go as low as 2% to the selling agent. Which translates to fewer agents bringing buyers around to look at your property because it is not financially worth their effort.

 

[CoolRich59]

I've found that an agent most familiar with your area is likely to price it right and get you to a sale quicker.

The last time we sold we interviewed 3 or 4 agents. One couldn't even manage to spell our last name correctly and the "marketing plan" he presented looked like something a high school student put together. The other two were good, but the agent we ultimately chose lived down the street from us and I knew she'd sold several other houses in our neighborhood.

She got our house sold in less than a month.

 

[sengsational]

Besides finding one that will work with you, the price is a factor. They all collude to say that the listing agent gets X% and the buyer's agent gets X% (usually 3% each). See how they react if you do the quick math and say, I'm paying you $10K for your half, exactly what will you do for me? If you don't like the answer, or think "It doesn't take much effort to answer the phone", then just pay a fixed fee of $350 to get it in the MLS. If you hire a listing agent, give them a couple of months, at the most. If they don't sell it quickly, you can find another agent. The more time you give them, the less incentive they have to get moving on it (they figure you'll get anxious before they do, and lower the price). Oh, and read the listing contract. Don't let them take both halves (6%) if the buyer shows up without an agent. Every pre-printed contract is designed to make them safe in collecting their commission. Nothing in any of their the pre-printed contracts is set in stone. If they don't like what you cross out, find another agent.

 

[jfn111]

Besides finding one that will work with you, the price is a factor. They all collude to say that the listing agent gets X% and the buyer's agent gets X% (usually 3% each). See how they react if you do the quick math and say, I'm paying you $10K for your half, exactly what will you do for me? If you don't like the answer, or think "It doesn't take much effort to answer the phone", then just pay a fixed fee of $350 to get it in the MLS. If you hire a listing agent, give them a couple of months, at the most. If they don't sell it quickly, you can find another agent. The more time you give them, the less incentive they have to get moving on it (they figure you'll get anxious before they do, and lower the price). Oh, and read the listing contract. Don't let them take both halves (6%) if the buyer shows up without an agent. Every pre-printed contract is designed to make them safe in collecting their commission. Nothing in any of their the pre-printed contracts is set in stone. If they don't like what you cross out, find another agent.

It's called a variable rate commission and is pretty common. The end result is the commission drops if the listing agent finds a buyer. A 6% commission may drop to 4% as an example.

 

[sengsational]

It's called a variable rate commission and is pretty common. The end result is the commission drops if the listing agent finds a buyer. A 6% commission may drop to 4% as an example.

Commonly written into contracts by companies striving to make lots of money on a windfall, I suppose. I heard of a situation where an agent collected 6% when the people selling the property actually found a buyer that had no agent. The listing agent did zero extra work and collected twice the commission. I've since learned it's illegal in some states, but not NC.

 

[jfn111]

Commonly written into contracts by companies striving to make lots of money on a windfall, I suppose. I heard of a situation where an agent collected 6% when the people selling the property actually found a buyer that had no agent. The listing agent did zero extra work and collected twice the commission. I've since learned it's illegal in some states, but not NC.

I'm not sure what your arguing? That's why you want a variable rate commission in the contract.

 

[CaliKid]

The company means nothing. The agents pay for their own advertising. To me it's all about the connection you make with the agent, if you like their marketing plan (most important), and if you like their commission.

Also commissions are negotiable but you have to be careful, in my opinion, as negotiating it too low could effect how buyer's agents present your house.

 

[davebarnes]

The question to ask the prospective agent is: how many sides have you done in the last 12 months?

 

[Retired Expat]

Miles from home?

Do you like to travel? Some airlines will give you bonus miles if you use a broker they refer you to. Or if the broker you want to use is willing to sign up with them. I have done it twice and earned over a million frequent flyer miles out of it....

Using miles to maximum benefit basically covered the brokers fee. How to do that is another thread...

 

[travelover]

I'd second the notion to limit the listing contract to a few months. Agents are salespersons and they can easily fool you, but if they botch it, you'll know because no lookers, no sale. It is not ideal to start again with a new agent, but better than being stuck with a loser.

 

[Scrapr]

I would look at the recent transactions. There are a boatload of agents in it for family & friends. Then another bunch so they can socialize at the "Club" & write it off. Many many agents don't actually produce much. As in make a living. It's more like a hobby.

 

[sengsational]

Right. The barrier to entry is negligible, so anybody that wants a hobby can do it. The number of sales is a double edged sword. You want someone who spends 40 hours a week marketing houses, and getting sales, but it's hard to tell which ones spend 35 hours a week to secure listings and 5 hours a week marketing houses. That's why I'd just pay the flat fee to get it into the MLS and in so doing, cut the commission in half unless the answer to the "how are you going to earn your $10K" is very compelling, and I realize I couldn't do those things myself.


What I'd have a hard time with is being a "general contractor" to get repairs done quickly and cheaply; I tend to overthink these things, so get stuck trying to lock-in a contractor. So an agent that has known, trusted contractors adds value, especially if they manage them (on time, on budget, etc)

 

[sengsational]

The question to ask the prospective agent is: how many sides have you done in the last 12 months?

Could you elaborate?

 

[jfn111]

The biggest problem with being a "hobby" agent is the recurring costs. MLS fees, NAR fees (if you want to be a Realtor), Supra key rental to open electronic lockboxes, Broker desk fees and continuing education costs. 80%+ of newly licensed agents are gone within a few years.

 

[Ronstar]

We met our realtor (Berkshire Hathaway) at an open house where she was showing a condo in our snowbird neighborhood. The condo didn’t fit our needs, but we had a great chat about our desire to sell our condo and buy a house.

Her and her partner later made a proposal to us on how they intended to sell our place and how they could find us a new place. Their proposal was impressive so we hired them.

They had a good plan on how to fix a few things, how to market the place- photos, videos, word of mouth even before they officially put it on the market.

It sold the first day to a client of one of their realtor contacts. They were very thorough through the whole process and through closing. And they were spot on in finding us the new place. (Although we later decided not to buy a new place yet.)

My advice would be to pick a realtor who has the best plan to market the property, who has the most experience in selling property similar to yours, and who has a vast amount of resources and contacts to help in getting the property sold fast for the best price.

 

[CoolRich59]

There are a boatload of agents in it for family & friends. ... Many many agents don't actually produce much. As in make a living. It's more like a hobby.

//Slight thread drift.//

This is what concerns me for when we decide to sell. Our nephew is now a hobby realtor (he has a full-time job and a young family). But, based on the chatter at recent family gatherings, I understand that he's now the *official* realtor for anyone in the family who puts their home on the market.

While I think he's a fine young man, there's no way I'd use him because selling homes is a hobby and not his occupation. This portends to be another example of me being cast as the family curmudgeon.

//end thread drift.//

 

[freedomatlast]

When we recently sold our house at the beginning of the Pandemic, realtors were very restricted on what they could do. So we listed it on Zillow ourselves and it sold in a day and a half and we saved a ton of money. Why not give that a try first at least for a week or two. It’s free and there’s really nothing to lose.

 

[NgineER]

When we recently sold our house at the beginning of the Pandemic, realtors were very restricted on what they could do. So we listed it on Zillow ourselves and it sold in a day and a half and we saved a ton of money. Why not give that a try first at least for a week or two. It’s free and there’s really nothing to lose.

We have also had a great experience with selling our house ourselves. You have to make sure you get it listed on the MLS, this can be done for a flat fee - usually less than $1000. The company we used provided us with a MLS listing, electronic lock box for $500. You'd still want to pay the standard commission for the buyers agent to not have someones real estate agent not showing it to you. Zillow might be sufficient, I haven't tried that approach, but I'd still recommend getting it on the MLS.

We saved $10k when we sold, listed and sold within a week. This approach was the advice of a real estate agent friend.

 

[Aerides]

I'd look at potential realtor's listings on Zillow. Look at the pictures with a super critical eye.

Are they well-styled? Nice angles, well lit? Do they "sell" the house - because that's how most people start shopping.
I cannot tell you how many times I've seen listings with egregious sins: Kitchen with a garbage can wide open, dishes in the sink. Bathrooms with 173 personal grooming products on display. Coffee tables cluttered with family photos.
Home-styling 101 fails. (not bad to live that way, we all do, but not good to try to sell that way)

When I sell it will be with one who understands the value of a really great listing.

 

[Scrapr]

I'd look at potential realtor's listings on Zillow. Look at the pictures with a super critical eye.

Are they well-styled? Nice angles, well lit? Do they "sell" the house - because that's how most people start shopping.
I cannot tell you how many times I've seen listings with egregious sins: Kitchen with a garbage can wide open, dishes in the sink. Bathrooms with 173 personal grooming products on display. Coffee tables cluttered with family photos.
Home-styling 101 fails. (not bad to live that way, we all do, but not good to try to sell that way)

When I sell it will be with one who understands the value of a really great listing.

There are web sites showing RE agent picture fails. Agent in the picture via the mirror, etc. When we sold our home the agent got a pro to take the pictures. They frame it & light it correctly. Move something that should not be in the picture. We had a 3D done where you can look around the room & move between rooms. More & more of the listing sites do something similar. It was money well spent for us. My wife & I joked that we wanted to move back in

 

[socca]

A few years ago a relative asked me for a referral for a real estate agent in the DC area, even though I rented the entire time I lived near DC. This relative was functioning as executor of the estate of an acquaintance and needed to sell a nice condo in a desirable area.

I browsed a listing of DC-area agents and selected the one I would most be interested in dating. I found a nice one - mass of dark hair, dark eyes, fabulous body, multi-lingual, etc. - a perfect match. I passed her name along as my referral.

This agent turned out to be a barracuda. Instead of trying to sell the condo, she made a low-ball offer on the place, hoping for a quick fix-up-and-flip for massive personal profit. My relative fired her and found another agent.

Have I learned my lesson? Probably not.

 

[always_learning]

I'd look at potential realtor's listings on Zillow. Look at the pictures with a super critical eye.

Are they well-styled? Nice angles, well lit? Do they "sell" the house - because that's how most people start shopping.
I cannot tell you how many times I've seen listings with egregious sins: Kitchen with a garbage can wide open, dishes in the sink. Bathrooms with 173 personal grooming products on display. Coffee tables cluttered with family photos.
Home-styling 101 fails. (not bad to live that way, we all do, but not good to try to sell that way)

When I sell it will be with one who understands the value of a really great listing.

There are web sites showing RE agent picture fails. Agent in the picture via the mirror, etc. When we sold our home the agent got a pro to take the pictures. They frame it & light it correctly. Move something that should not be in the picture. We had a 3D done where you can look around the room & move between rooms. More & more of the listing sites do something similar. It was money well spent for us. My wife & I joked that we wanted to move back in

In addition to what everyone else has said, I agree with these posts in particular.

We just sold our home and are buying a home (long distance). The whole "marketing" pitch is a relic. People now first look at Zillow and Realtor.com (there are others, but those are the big guys). As such, photos are the thing that will grab shoppers' attention and make them look at the description.

As we shopped for a home, professional photos and a 3D tour (a real one, not a slide show called a 'tour') are the listings that caught our eye first. The tour is wonderful to give a shopper a real visual on the space of the home because the still photos are taken with such a strange lens/filter that things are distorted and discolored. The video tour gives a more real feel. In the days of COVID and people being so busy, these things help sell a house by allowing them to walk around and not waste anyone's time.

Another thing that we appreciated when house shopping are the listings that list tons of info. Updates are especially invaluable. I don't need to know every amenity in the area if it means the realtor won't have room to say that there is a newer roof, AC, water heater, etc. Things like that. Don't make me ask!

When we listed our house, I made sure the realtor was going to hire a professional photographer and list as much info as possible. The house (much higher than the average sales price in my area) sold fast in the middle of COVID quarantine.

As for choosing a realtor, I would also throw in that whoever you choose should be someone you feel that you can ask questions of/guide you through the process. He/she will know repair persons, lawyers, and simply be there as the middleman in case of glitches. If you're comfortable selling on your own, that's awesome, but it had been 15 years since we last sold and things had changed an awful lot, not to mention our realtor was the go-between, meaning we didn't have to talk to any buyers. People are nuts and we were happy to not have to deal with that. Also, in my area, a FSBO simply means buyers automatically take off that 6% "because the sellers don't have to pay a realtor" another % off for 'bargaining', so FSBOs don't do well here for sellers. Did our realtor make out like a bandit? Oh, yes, but it was worth it for us. We just sat back, answered questions, and signed papers.

 

[JoeWras]

This is what concerns me for when we decide to sell. Our nephew is now a hobby realtor (he has a full-time job and a young family). But, based on the chatter at recent family gatherings, I understand that he's now the *official* realtor for anyone in the family who puts their home on the market.

DW and I don't involve friends or family in the following:
- Physicians
- Lawyers
- Realtors
- Financial advisors

We may ask for referrals.

We've had friends BEG us to be their F.A. Hell no! Great way to lose a friendship. When asked, we simply tell them that's our rule. (And I also don't tell them I'm my own F.A.)

Good luck negotiating your family situation since the nephew is now official. That could be tricky depending on the emotions of the family.