5 Dos and 5 Don'ts when choosing your Real Estate Agent
Choosing a real estate agent can be a daunting task for any home owner. You want the agent that you feel most comfortable with, that you feel understands your position and that will deliver the best deal for your family. A common misconception home owners have is that all agents are the same and that they offer the same service. This article aims to help you to decipher what the differences between different agents and agencies are and how to choose the best agent to sell your home.
Dos
1) Do a thorough online search to see the performance history of your agent.
By going to www.realestate.com.au/find-agent you have the option of searching for individual agents and agencies in your local area. Type in the suburb or postcode and the agents will be ranked by their monthly sales performance. When you click on an agent's profile, it will tell you all the important information you need to know about the agent such as awards they've won, years in the industry and contact information. If you continue to scroll down to the bottom of their profile, it shows you their annual performance history. This is where you can see recent properties sold, how many properties they have sold in the past 12 months, and what they sold those properties for. You can see properties that are comparable with your own and see if they have had prior experience selling a home similar to yours in your area. These results are collected independently by REA so agents can't influence these results - they're purely performance based.
2) Do research the agency's recent results
Visit www.domain.com.au/real-estate-agencies and search via suburb, agency name or postcode. If you want to do an independent audit, search via suburb and the results are ranked by the agency that has the highest number of sold properties. When you click on the agencies you are interested in, a comprehensive snapshot of their results appears including the average sale price of the properties sold by the agency, average days on the market and the total number of sales in the past 12 months.
Once you have a shortlist of agencies that you're thinking of working with, do your due diligence and visit their website, Facebook page and any other online pages they might have. This will show you their marketing style and strategy in action. See how other properties have been marketed and look to see how easy their website is to navigate and find what you're looking for. Your user experience online will be similar to other users experience so if you put yourself in the mindset of a home buyer, can they find your property for sale easily? Are the photos a good representation of the property? Do the words in the advertisement appeal to you? Is the website mobilised for users on phones and tablets or is it only a desktop website for computer use only? If you like the way they present themselves online, this is a big tick.
4) Do ask a friend for a referral
There is no better peace of mind than having someone you know recommend an agent that they have worked with and had a great experience with to you. However, beware of the faceless referral. If you don't personally know the individual giving you the referral, be sure to question their motives for recommending that agent. Is that agent a family friend rather than someone they've actually done business with? Are they getting a commission from the agent for recommending them? You might be tempted to do a generic call out in an online forum to see who people used, but if you don't know these people, it can be hard to know what their agenda is. If this is your only means of getting a referral, be sure to consider what they are saying and why they are recommending that agent or agency. If they can give you specific details then they are more than likely a past client. If they only say "go to this agency - they're the best!" They may never have even used that agency themselves.
5) Do meet the agent face to face
The best test for any agent is to get them to meet you and talk to you about how they can sell your property. You can invite them to your home to do a full Market Appraisal where they will discus marketing, the value of your home and the costs associated with working with them. You will get a feel for how they present themselves in this meeting and you will really be able to see which agents are more experienced versus the less experienced agents. Refer to our Questions to Ask Your Agent section of this article.
Don'ts
1) Don't assume a lower fee will save you money
You may be seeing a couple of agents and getting their proposal for what they can do for you, and you might see commissions as low as 1% and some has high as 3.5%. You start to do some quick maths in your head and think why would I pay a bigger chunk of my profit to Agent B when I could pay a fraction of that to Agent A? The answer is simple. Which agent is most likely to sell your property for the highest and best price? Is Agent A less experienced than Agent B? If your property is valued at $500,000, you may think it will cost me $5,000 to market with Agent A and $17,500 to sell with Agent B. But will Agent A get you $480,000 whilst Agent B can achieve $530,000? It could end up costing you more in the long run to take the discount on fees in the beginning.
2) Don't leave your property lingering on the market for too long
When you enter an agreement with an agency, you give them a designated amount of time in which to sell your property. The longer your property is on the market, the more difficult it is to convince buyers that there's nothing wrong with it. A stigma can start to form as new properties enter the market and your property gets bumped down on listing sites like Real Estate Australia and Domain.
The obvious strategy when your property starts to get a bit stale is to reduce the price. This is why it's so important to get an accurate appraisal from your selling agent before you list your property for sale and if you start to receive offers in that vicinity, you should strongly consider accepting your highest offer. The serious buyers will be there from the get go.
3) Don't assume all agents are equal
You might think real estate agents are a dime a dozen and it doesn't really matter which one sells your property. But your property is your biggest asset, so you need to ensure you've picked the best agent for the job. Some of the signs that you've found a great agent include the number of years they've worked in the industry selling property, the number of years they've worked in the local area, the number of years they've worked for the agency that they are employed by and of course their track record selling property. Any agent that visits you for a Market Appraisal of your property should be able to tell you the answers to all of the above questions. You should be able to ask them to show you their sales history, talk you through any awards and qualifications they have and show you their agent profile.
4) Don't be afraid to ask tough questions
Any agent who knows their stuff will answer all of your questions without hesitation. Real Estate agents can help you with a number of services, not just the sale of your property. If you need recommendations on financial advice, they can recommend the correct professionals to speak to. If you don't know anyone who can handle your conveyancing, your agent should be able to refer you to professionals in that industry also. Agents do so much more than list your property for sale, they also see your property sale right through to settlement and will answer any questions you may have about strata laws, local area questions, development questions and more. There should be no question that's too difficult for the right agent to answer so if you have any concerns, raise them with your agent.
5) Don't be ashamed to ask an agent to provide proof
A good agent should come to a Market Appraisal fully prepared and ready to present a business case to you as to why they're the best agent to sell your property. A lot of talking happens at these meetings and some aspects may get glossed over quickly. If an agent gives you a statistic, such as "our agency has sold 90% of the properties in this area" don't be afraid to ask them for evidence to support their claim. Or take down notes of what they say and be sure to check if their claims are accurate. If they tell you that they sell all of their properties for at least $10,000 over asking price, ask them to substantiate that. If they make a claim that is really impressive, be sure to confirm the facts before making your final decision.
5) Don't be ashamed to ask an agent to provide proof
A good agent should come to a Market Appraisal fully prepared and ready to present a business case to you as to why they're the best agent to sell your property. A lot of talking happens at these meetings and some aspects may get glossed over quickly. If an agent gives you a statistic, such as "our agency has sold 90% of the properties in this area" don't be afraid to ask them for evidence to support their claim. Or take down notes of what they say and be sure to check if their claims are accurate. If they tell you that they sell all of their properties for at least $10,000 over asking price, ask them to substantiate that. If they make a claim that is really impressive, be sure to confirm the facts before making your final decision.
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