|
We have recent experience - we listed our home about a month ago, and after a short settlement period, we moved out this past weekend.
My advice:
Talk to at least two agents who are well known in your area.
Ask them what they think your property is worth - don't tell them what you think it is worth before getting them to give an estimate of a realistic selling price - remember, they are supposed to be the experts! (Note - they may well ask for a day or two to come up with a "firm" estimate range - this is reasonable, because they will want to compare similar properties in the area, and get input from a few different reps - even though the agent will have a rough number in mind before they even knock on the door, and they'll firm up their own estimate within a couple of minutes.)
Don't treat their figure as a guarantee, but hopefully, it will be realistic. Ask them if there are any "special" factors that make it hard to narrow down (e.g. yours is the only 4-bedroom house in the neighbourhood, so there is nothing directly comparable) - they should be able to give you an estimated range to within +/- 10% or better, say. If they can't give you a reasonable estimate range, and assuming your property isn't truly "unique" (getting a firm selling price estimate for Buckingham Palace could be tricky!), then I would suggest that they aren't as expert as they claim!
Ask them how they propose to sell the property (e.g. listed price, "by negotiation", auction, etc), and get a firm quote on all of the marketing costs, etc. Check that they list on Domain.com and RealEstate.com - this is probably more important these days than an ad in the local newspaper.
Ask for their opinion on what maintenance / upgrade jobs are worth doing before listing, if they will add more value than they cost. (E.g. if the house is in pretty good shape, but the paintwork is looking tired, is it worth getting a quick repaint first? Replacing a worn-out moth-eaten carpet with a cheap new carpet would only cost a couple of thousand, but might make a huge impact on first impressions.)
Then - pick the agent that you feel most comfortable with over-all, even if their estimated selling price isn't the highest, and / or their commission / fee price isn't the lowest of the lot. Never forget - they are working for you, not the Buyer, so you want an agent who will squeeze every last cent out of the prospective Buyers, rather than trying to convince you that you, the Seller, need to lower your expectations. Their fee will be almost the same if you drop your price by 10%, and it is in their interest to sell as quickly as possible (less work for them to sell in 1 - 2 weeks rather than 4 weeks or more), so there is no substitute for having a good trusting relationship with your agent.
For what it's worth, the agent we chose listed our property with an asking price (knowing that we would receive lower offers, but his job was to talk them up), we got 14 "genuine" inspections in the first week (no "open days", inspections by appointment only), we had a signed offer that was acceptable to us on Day 6, and 3 weeks later, Settlement was completed, and we moved out. (And yes, we were happy with the selling price!)
|