[NJblue]

I think one thing that a lot of people here on TOTV have fairly recent knowledge on is selling a home. We are getting ready to put our NJ home on the market and will likely be looking for a Realtor. What words of advice do you have in finding the right one? What questions would you ask during an interview/consultation? None of our local friends or neighbors have recently moved, so asking them for referrals will probably only net their friends who may be Realtors. While friends of friends may be nice people, I'm not sure I'm willing to put such a large financial trust in people whose only known attribute is that they are "nice". I'd rather know how good they are at their profession - something that friends quite often don't know.

I was thinking about going to Open Houses in the area to get first impressions of the agents holding the open house. Any other suggestions for finding and evaluating a good listing agent?

[uujudy]

Originally Posted by NJblue

I'm not sure I'm willing to put such a large financial trust in people whose only known attribute is that they are "nice". I'd rather know how good they are at their profession - something that friends quite often don't know.

I was thinking about going to Open Houses in the area to get first impressions of the agents holding the open house. Any other suggestions for finding and evaluating a good listing agent?

I think your idea of going to open houses is a good one. I'm no expert, but you know how the major real estate companies have full page or 1/2 page ads in the paper with photos congratulating their million dollar agents? I always thought that they must be the real bulldogs of the companies, or at least they must know everybody in town and have the most contacts. Maybe signing up with a veteran $million agent would be the way to go?
If you try it, please let me know how this works!

[784caroline]

NO matter how tempting, this is no market to try and sell your house yourself or with minimal help from companies such as Help-U-Sell. You will need help (Full Time agent..not part time or a friend) not only in trying to sell the house but getting financing and moreso following up that the buyer agent know s what they are doing.

Personally I liked to deal with agents that "worked" our neighborhood but there are agents and there are agents. You need to pick one not only that will sell your house but someone you (and spouse) will be comfortable with. Some agents (alot of top producers especially from agencies such as REMAX) sell houses in this market by programing price cuts every 30-45 days...is this what you want? Let em tell you, after a while the price cuts start to become personal...and unless you are very lucky there will be cuts! WE absolutley hated an agent that we interviewed and gave a very agressive presentation but had no concern or idea about our house other that what the stats showed..ie 4 bedroom 3 bath house on a 1/2 acre in a planned community. The fact that he/she was already treating OUR HOME as PROPERTY turned BOTH my wife and I off and could not wait until he left the house. We fully accepted the agent who offered suggestions about changing out the "orange carpets" adn fixing up the front by trimming the weeds or painting the house but I am not talking about that....at least these agents were trying to learn more about the house from the owners and offering constructive advice..the guys to stay away from are the ones who only want listings, will price the house mid range to high (to make you feel good)and then lower the price every 30-45 days. HOW they lower the price is also tricky..."Well Mr Jones sorry your house has not sold but the market is tough out there and you are facing some stiff competition...why do you think your house has not sold?" Of course they want you to say "Price is TOO HIgh"..and they reposnd Well mr Jones what do you think a right price is...and they either wait for a response or a good agent brings out comps. BUT they have you for at least the listing period and i would not list for more than 90-120 days. (you can always extend at 30 day intervals) If you get wrapped up in a 6 month contract you pretty much have the entire season with that one agent good or bad. PRICING your house right the first time is key..and you have to know the competition in terms of price, Days on Market, the number of foreclosures in your area. So you need COmps....comps of house now for sale with asking prices, Houses that "recently" sold with asking vs settled price (plus any incentives offered ie closing or financing). When an offer does come in ,You will not only be faced with a low offer, you will be asked to pay the buyers closing costs (in N VA it was close to 3% of sales price), and where they really can get you is at home inspection. (I mean are you going to not close on a house that you have been trying to sell for XX months just because the buyer is asking for an additional $2-3000 to cover a home inspection issue? A good agent should agree up front that they will accompany the bank appraiser and the home inspector just in case something goes wrong. For ex the appraiser may not be familiar with your area or something peculair about the sales price of a near by house...a good agent can point this out to the appraiser far again in N VA the appriaser had the first crack, but all appraisals in N VA were going through a second review to protect the banks interest......and the appraisal does not come back saying the house is worth $300 or $400 thousand..it come back saying the house is appraised at a value that meets the requirements of the lending institution to provide a loan as requested on the property in question. This is because of a decling market, lenders have been hurt bad and this type of language minimizes alot of lawsuits ! AS far as the home inspection, the inspector will find things wrong..thats his job and believe me your home is not perfect but you wnat the items marked as MINOR not MAJOR and therefore you have more negotiation power. Remember you are still in a buyers market!!

Another question to ask the agent is how will your house be marketed...MLS, realtor.com, zillow.com, Militarybyowner.com or where ever. ON-line marketing is really a key tool in todays market and BE AWARE even in realtor.com not all listings are the same and ask for a "Showcase" listing. Will the agent have pictures of your inside and outside of your home posted on both MLS and REaltor.com....Very important. Does the agent plan to have OPEN HOUSES..how often, will they be advertised and where?? What do you expect in terms of communication with the agent get his/her cell number. Will he/she follow up with other agents who come through your house to get feed back...how will this happen. Will the agent take you through nearby houses that are on the market allowing you to get a first hand perspective of your competition.

Im tired and all I know is 18 months was a L-O-N-G time to try and sell a house and I used 2 agents!

Good Luck!

[NJblue]

Wow, thanks for your very detailed post. There were many things that you mentioned that I hadn't thought of. And, PLEASE, don't even mention the possibility of it taking 18 months!!!