Quote:
Originally Posted by Peazoup
If you were to list your house for sale in The Villages, would you choose to list with MLS or The Villages.. and why? Which one do you think would give you more exposure?
|
Find your individual agent, no matter who they’re with.
Many years ago, I had a license for a short time. I took the classes, passed the test, and then went through in-house training with the biggest agency in my northern city.
But all I wanted to do was to learn about the business. I never did much with the license because I had no intention of quitting my day job. I finally let the license drop. It was back in the days when our budget was tight and the costs to maintain the licensing did not make sense.
Throughout the years since, I have FSBO’d 5 houses, but that was a while ago. As our houses got to the point where I wanted lookers qualified, we went with an agent.
I found our agent in an Open House. In the class I had taken back in the 80s, we were told that Open Houses are really for the agent to meet potential clients — not necessarily for the house where they are hosting at the time.
That does not mean that having an Open House cannot be valuable to a seller — done right, of course, it can.
Also, if using an agent, you want one who will round up other agents from the office to give them a quick tour, as a group, to get the word out.
I have found that the best way to find an agent is to go on a reconnaissance mission. Go to Open Houses and eavesdrop a little, watch the interaction with lookers. Listen for lies. Yes. Lies. Or, if I am being kind — omissions. Rarely — but it does happen. I have overheard a couple of doozies. There are a lot of TV agents so there is every type of personality.
As the hosting agent in the Open House gets a lull in the action, chat a bit, ask some questions. You are going to know if it can be a match. I clicked immediately with the agent I chose. She had a lot of experience, knew the territory, was smart, was not a phony, not condescending, or Pollyanna, and had a sense of humor. That worked for me.
If you find a possibility, MLS or TV agent, get their card and after some thought, invite them to your house to see what they think.
In TV it is easy to watch for Open Houses that are similar to yours in model, age, and general location. If you go to those, you can get a real feel for the competition.
(I am north right now so I am not sure if Open Houses are happening much in TV. They are here in Ohio.)
I have thought recently that if we decided to sell, I would be tempted to try a FSBO again and have wondered if people are happy with trying FSBO through Zillow.
Good luck to you. Finding your match is crucial when looking for an agent. Take your time.
Boomer the Mover