3 Things to Consider When Hiring a Realtor
Everyone has a friend, or a brother or a cousin, or a friend of a friend who is a real estate agent in Knoxville. It can often be hard to select the right agent, especially when you have to wade through the thousands of real estate agents in and around the Knoxville area. How do you determine which is the right one to help sell your Knoxville home, or to help you find your dream home.
There are three things we urge everyone to consider when choosing a Realtor:
History
In theory, it is nice to give that rookie agent a chance to make it big in real estate, and if they are working under a seasoned agent or broker, that may be an acceptable decision. However, take time to do your research. How much do they actually know about the real estate market in Knoxville. Do they know the price that certain zip codes, or neighborhoods, command? Do they have a reliable track record that proves their ability to buy and sell real estate? This is one of the biggest financial decisions you will make, you want to be sure you aren’t overpaying, underselling, or leaving money on the table. Will your agent be able to accurately write an offer, a legal contract that hinges you to a potential home purchase or sale? You don’t want to be days away from the closing table to find out your agent made a drastic error on a legal contract and now you’re not going to close on that dream home, or your buyer is going to walk away because the washer and dryer don’t convey. Check an agent’s recent sales and reviews. What does that show about their history?
Not Just A Salesman
Just because an agent gives you a high number for the sale price of your home, or promises they’ll find a buyer in under 30 days, doesn’t mean the market will justify that price tag, or that they can actually guarantee they have a buyer. In fact, we urge you to be overly cautious with anyone who makes promises. Such as, “we promise to sell your home faster and for more money” or “we will sell your home, guaranteed.” The only promise an agent should make is to strive to provide you with exceptional care and service! You are trusting this person with a huge financial responsibility that can have great impacts on your life and future; you want to be sure they take the care that is needed to protect you and that investment. An agent should pull comparable homes and be able to mathematically justify the price of a home. They should have their hand on the pulse of the real estate market– and be willing to explain their method for determining price.
Marketing
Real estate agents get blamed all the time for simply throwing a sign in a yard and uploading a listing to the MLS, and for some agents this may be the case. However, a 5-Star Realtor will be able to justify their commission. Be sure when you select an agent you know how they plan to market your home. They should provide real estate photography and professional staging. They should have a digital marketing strategy and be able to put your home in front of people through digital platforms and social media. Can they test the market with a Coming Soon campaign? Do they plan to use prime images to best attract a buyer to your home? Are they active on social media, and do they understand how to digitally market a home? If not, you may want to consider what else they are doing to go above and beyond to sell your home.
In a field where there are so many choices, it is important to really invest some time and research potential agents. Have consultations with more than one and gauge how knowledgeable they are in the current real estate market. How many Zillow reviews do they have and how active are they on social media? Are they a professional or just someone who does this on weekends?
