The Biggest Mistake A Homeowner Can Make When Interviewing Agents

Most homeowners have absolutely no idea what criteria they should be utilizing when choosing the best Realtor to sell their house. They have no pre-determined questions to be used during an interview, and they have no qualifying standards to decide which agents are even qualified to sell their property correctly. Most home sellers admit that they don’t know how to choose an agent.

These homeowners are hoping for “promises” from a salesperson that may or may not actually become true. As an example, many uninformed home sellers will simply interview 2 or 3 agents and go with the one that says they can sell it for the most amount of money, with the lowest commission charged. This almost ALWAYS ends in disaster. More on that later.

If you are selling your home, it’s one of the most important financial decisions of your entire life. It’s crucial to have a pre-determined set of questions and qualifications you can use during the interview to choose the best agent for the job. You certainly don’t want to mess up something this big in your life by choosing an agent based on their personality or a low commission. Frankly, if they can’t negotiate for themselves, they certainly won’t have the ability to negotiate for you. This means you may end up with a very low sale price. And if their sales success percentage is low on the listings that they represent, your home may not sell at all.

Below, you’ll find a list of the selection factors to consider as you weigh each agent against each other to ensure that your home sells quickly, sells correctly and sells for the highest amount of net profit with little hassle.

Selection Factors For Real Estate Agents

Selecting the right agent for the job of selling your home is crucial for maintaining high standards of service and ensuring continued success in the competitive real estate market. As an experienced Broker with over 30 years of negotiation expertise and a proven track record of selling hundreds of properties, I understand the importance of assembling a talented team. This guide aims to provide you with a comprehensive framework for selecting the right agent who will complement your goals, enhance your selling experience, and contribute to obtaining top dollar.

1.   Experience and Track Record

• Seek agents with sufficient experience in the real estate industry

Julie has over 30 years of experience and has sold many hundreds of homes

• Look for agents who have a history of successfully closing deals in various market conditions.

Julie has sold in multiple market conditions including up market and down-market conditions.

• Prioritize agents who have a strong track record of cross selling.

Because Julie works with many owners and agents, she often is able to cross sell your property to other buyers.

2.  Strong Communication Skills

• Seek agents with strong communication skills who can demonstrate their commitment to keep you informed throughout the entire process, from listing to negotiations to closing.

Julie believes that communication is key in real estate. She strives to prioritize keeping you informed and engaged throughout the selling process. Julie will remain readily accessible to address any questions or concerns, providing you with the peace of mind and confidence you deserve as we work towards a successful sale.

3.  Strong Negotiation Skills

• Seek agents with strong negotiation skills who can demonstrate creativity, adaptability, and assertiveness in negotiations. The agent should be able to navigate complex transactions and resolve conflicts amicably.

Negotiation is a cornerstone of successful real estate transactions, and Julie’s expertise in this area is unparalleled. With a history of negotiating hundreds of deals, she possesses the acumen to secure favorable terms on your behalf while safeguarding your interests every step of the way.

Julie has averaged a list-to-sales ratio of 103%

4.  Market Knowledge and Insights

• Choose an agent who is committed to staying informed about local market trends, pricing dynamics, and changes in the real estate landscape.

Julie studies homes and prices every day in order to understand the dynamics of the ever-changing market trends. Julie’s in-depth understanding of those market trends, pricing dynamics, and buyer preferences empowers her to position your property effectively in the marketplace.

• The agent should be able to articulate what strategies they employ to ensure that your listings stand out in a competitive market.

Julie will leverage her knowledge to devise a tailored marketing strategy that maximizes exposure and generates genuine interest from qualified buyers, thus ensuring a sale for ultimate top dollar.

5.  A Consistent Plan of Action and Technology Integration

• Look for agents who can demonstrate a plan of action that they follow to enhance efficiency, productivity, and client satisfaction.

Julie has a 23 Point Plan of Action that she follows in every sale to ensure consistent results, high sales volume, and the satisfaction of her clients.

In today’s digital age, technology plays a vital role in marketing properties and reaching prospective buyers. Julie stays ahead of the curve by utilizing advanced tools and platforms to showcase your property in its best light, ensuring maximum visibility and engagement in the online marketplace.

Choosing the right real estate professional to represent your property is a decision that can significantly impact your selling experience and ultimate success. With Julie’s extensive experience, strategic approach, and unwavering commitment to excellence, you can be confident that that your property will sell for maximum value.

Facts About Selling Your Home

FACT: According to many industry experts, one of the biggest reasons a homeowner doesn’t sell their home for their desired price or within an acceptable timeframe comes down to the agent they hire for the job. Selecting a “discount” real estate agent may cause you to sell for far less than the homes are selling for in the immediate area, if you eventually sell at all. If the agent you select plans to simply take some photos, put a sign in the yard, advertise it on a few websites and hold an open house, frankly you can do that yourself and experience the miserable results it creates. Why would you pay someone to do that? A good question to ask the agents you interview is “What can you do to sell my home that I can’t do on my own?” If they don’t have several good answers to that, they aren’t worth ANY fee. You get what you pay for and if you aren’t going with a full-service marketing professional; it may cost you tens of thousands of dollars as well as months and months of stress and disbelief as to what’s happening with your home.

FACT: An agent must understand the art and science behind pricing a home correctly. Pricing the home in such a way as to create the most interest as possible is an imperative skill for an agent. This is a great test to see if your agent understands today’s marketing world. If they don’t, you should remove them from your home immediately.

FACT: Listing your home at an unrealistically high price will nearly ALWAYS result in a sale price that is far below the area average comparable sales. When a home is priced above the competition, it will oftentimes sit for months and months generating “lowball” offers. And frankly, even if you could get a buyer to agree to pay what you are asking, if there are no sales within the market area that are comparable, the home won’t appraise that high, and the contract is dead. The buyer can’t get financed.

The 3 Biggest Reasons to Try to Convince Julie Miller to Accept Your Property Listing

SELL YOUR HOME FAST:

Julie Miller and her team of professionals are all working on the sale of your home together, rather than simply a lone agent trying to do it on their own. In hot markets and slow markets, our homes are selling faster than the national average, and we many times end up with multiple offers on our listings, driving the sale price ABOVE the offering price. Selling your home quickly will allow you to make your housing transition under your terms and most importantly, net a higher sales price. Trying to pinch pennies by hiring someone that’s “cheap” may cause you to have your home listed for over 6 months, ultimately getting an offer at 15% to 20% under the value you originally wanted. This is tens of thousands of dollars to your bottom line. Speed of sale is critical to your home sale success.

SELL YOUR HOME FOR TOP DOLLAR:

The only thing that affects value on any given object is supply and demand. An agent that can demonstrate how to attract a huge supply of ready, willing and able buyers can increase the demand on your home significantly. This may ultimately drive up the final sales price of your home by tens-of-thousands of extra dollars. The net profit you’ll end up with once your sale is completed will be directly affected by the quality of the agent that is marketing your property.

SELL YOUR HOME WITH LESS HASSLE:

Let’s face it. Selling a home is one of the most complex transactions you’ll ever experience. With all of the forms, disclosures, disclaimers and contracts, this takes a professional that handles home sales on a regular basis. Selling your home quickly will eliminate the inconvenience and hassle of preparing your home for showings day after day, week after week and month after month. Less hassle actually comes down to getting TOP dollar with FAST home sales. Only the best agent will do.

So, What Happens Next?

If you would like to sell your home fast and for top dollar, simply call Julie at (530) 370-0673. After a brief phone consultation, and if it feels like a good fit to work together, we will arrange for an appointment where all of your questions can be answered, your home evaluated and if we accept your listing, the agreement can be reviewed and approved by both parties. Most importantly, we can consider timing, pricing and marketability to ensure that moving forward would be in the best interest of your family’s immediate housing goals.

Please Do NOT Call Julie If ….

If you are planning to interview dozens of different agents and choose someone because they promise you millions of dollars or low fees, you needn’t bother calling our office. We do not participate in such auditions or interviews. You should only call when you’ve made the decision to try to retain Julie Miller‘s representation on your home. Interviewing a couple of other agents will usually bring you to that realization very quickly.

We are more than happy to meet with you with absolutely no obligation on your part or ours.

This is a good time to answer any of your questions, demonstrate how we can net you a MUCH higher figure on your home sale than any other agent and of course provide our own “Realtor Appraisal” for the true value of your home when using a superb marketing plan.

We’d simply schedule a no obligation, in-home meeting to take a look at the home and discuss several different options for you. But we simply do not have the time to meet with uncommitted home sellers or “agent shoppers”. As an advanced warning, some weeks will prove to have a waiting list for an appointment and we’re unable to schedule the first meeting immediately. Plan accordingly. If you do plan to shop agents, please do so before calling us. You can simply use this Agent Selection Guide to ensure you’re hiring an agent that’s qualified to sell your home fast & for top dollar.