What is the Seller’s Role in the Listing Process?
There are many steps in selling your house, and a listing is one of them. In 2017, 89% of sellers used a real estate agent when selling their home, but successfully selling a house requires a partnership between a seller and an agent. Here’s what you can do to fulfill your role in the listing process. . .
When preparing to sell, it’s important to find a listing agent who will put your home on the market and looks after your financial interests. The first step you can take to hasten the listing process is to understand your agent’s policies before entering in the partnership. You’ll want to make sure you know how commission and fees will be paid before signing a contract with an agent, as this will be the monetary motivation for your realtor. Also, before you decide on the commission, be sure your agent can explain the pros and cons of paying a higher commission than competing properties, especially when there are many competing homes.
The agreement you sign with your agent should mention the duration for which your home will remain listed on the market. It is not good for either party to list a house that will not go quickly, and no real estate agent will take on a home that is not ready or in a condition to be picked up by buyers. This is where you come in.
If you want to make sure your realtor takes an interest in selling your house, you must work on your home to get them hooked first. If you’re going to sell a house fast, you will want to make your home desirable for potential buyers. Before actual buyers come in, you’ll need to create a good impression on your listing agent. Of course, home seller resources play an essential role in improving the condition of the house. In fact, home selling strategies used by the listing agent are significantly based on how well the owner has prepared the structure.
You know your home best. Use this expertise to pique the agent’s interest and show off your home’s high points. Think of preparing your home for a mini-staging. Begin with a deep clean and declutter. If you want to make your house attractive, there is seriously no substitute for cleanliness. Clean the floors, walls, windows, kitchen cabinets, appliances, furniture items and the carpets in the house. You want to present a sparkling clean home to your listing agent. Decluttering by removing unnecessary, large and unwieldy furniture items from your house, will also accentuate or create the impression of a larger living area.
Be prepared to disclose the less-than-desirable points about your home so that you can seek your agent’s council on how to proceed. Your agent will be able to advise you on what repairs are essential and what can be “fixed” with a little staging magic. You should also be prepared with general information about your home such as year built, size in square feet and records of previous major renovations. You must ensure that all details about the house are recorded, with no potential issues such as structural instabilities going quietly under the radar. If so much as a single problem is missed, you run the risk of either having to lower the asking price or even suffer legal consequences.
No one knows your home better than you. Use this to your advantage by being open and honest with your agent during the listing process. Once you’ve given them as much information as they need, let your realtor take the reins. A real estate listing agent has the necessary insight and experience to sell a house quickly, so let them do all the hard work. Leave the research, marketing and negotiating in their hands, and bask in the excitement of making the sale. After all, it’s what you’re paying them for!
Is your home ready to be listed on the market? Talk with a listing agent today.