Photo courtesy of Lee Marlow
Lee Marlow is a real estate agent with RealtySouth.
Preparing to sell your home can be a daunting and confusing process.
To lend clarity, local real estate agent Lee Marlow of RealtySouth answered some key questions to consider when starting the process of selling a home.
Q: How should homeowners determine the right time to sell their home?
A: Homeowners determine the right time to sell based on their goals or what is going on in their lives.
But if it's just a want, then meeting with their trusted realtor and talking about the current local market would be very important.
Q: What factors should sellers consider when choosing a real estate agent?
A: There are many factors that go into deciding what real estate agent a seller should hire. Personally, I believe the agent should be a full-time realtor.
I also believe in asking friends and neighbors for referrals.
A good real estate agent should communicate well and view the process of selling a home as a team effort with the seller. It needs to be someone you can work with and trust.
Q: What are the pros and cons of selling by owner versus using an agent?
A: I personally cannot think of a great reason to sell by owner. A lot of sellers believe that by doing so, they’ll save money.
However, it is a well-known statistic that homes listed by a real estate agent typically sell for more and will net a seller more money in their pocket.
Q: What advice do you give sellers about pricing their home competitively?
A: It is so important to review the sold comps in a neighborhood to price a home correctly. If a home is priced correctly, it will get offers. If a home is overpriced, it likely will not get offers.
Buyers don’t usually make really low offers expecting to negotiate back and forth. If they like the property and feel it’s priced correctly, you’ll probably get offers at or near asking price.
If buyers feel it’s overpriced but still like it, they usually won’t make an offer unless it has been sitting on the market for a long time.
Q: How can sellers vet potential agents?
A: If someone is looking to sell their home and does not already have a relationship with a real estate agent, it’s not unusual to get names of several different realtors and have a conversation with them.
Usually, pretty quickly, you can tell if that agent knows the market, is well-educated and is someone you feel you can get along with and trust.
