Choosing a realtor

getting closer to putting the house on the market. How does one choose the right realtor??

 

We weren't looking for a realtor but met one at an open house. He is a straight-shooter, no bs, calls or texts when necessary with updates. He is pretty much cut and dry, and tells us what we need to know without fluff. He knows the local market well and has plenty of contacts. Handshake kind of guy, he does not send fru fru e-mails.

 

Do it yourself. Seriously. Most realtors don't know crap.

No offense to any realtors on FHC, but my mom was one for 28 years. With the internet, you can do it yourself and not get charged a crazy amount.

 

Isn't swags a realtor?

 

Cage match?

 

Don't limit yourself to the local market using a local realtor . Use one that is nationwide with a website. Even local realtors with websites may not use SEO to capture all web searches .
I used Real Estate and Homes for Sale - ERA with great results on several properties.IIRC all sales were under 6 weeks to contract.
You could also try it yourself .
If you use craigslist sell as a dealer and pay for ads as they cannot get flagged. Seems these days people with too much time on their hands get on CL and do nothing but flag ad after ad.
Make sure to use keywords like your town county and local attractions. If you're rural put proximity in ad to major stores, restaurants ,and hospitals.

 

Realtor's are too lazy to work and too stupid to steal !! ................................... I put them on the same rungs of the ladder of life as Lawyers, Used Car salesmen, tele marketers, and insurance salesmen. Do yourself a favor and market it yourself.

 

I agree 100%!! I just went through this few years ago and it was word of mouth through my in laws ! 1st off always always understand they do not care about you one bit. They are completely and utterly useless, all they can do is get you the key to the house, they know jack chit, and just want the sale!!! Of course there are always exceptions to this and no offense to anyone on FHC who is a realtor.

rottiman you took the words out of my mouth, I've said that exact same thing many times to my wife, they are useless and in the same class as all you mentioned above and worse, pond scum! I had many things they didn't follow up on I asked about or wasn't clearly told by the Mortgage Co. Mortgage Co and Realtor worked together and all they both care about is that SALE SALE SALE......!

If I go through it again, which is a good possibility soon I will look into how hard it is to buy/sell on my own. I know it can be very overwhelming doing yourself with having a full time job, family, and not having the knowledge and understanding of how to do this type work.

 

Well the quote others a realtor is a lot like a lawyer. When you need one you want a good one! I have a good one but it only took like 15 bad ones to find him.

It really depends on your Market, what you need for the house, and what you can do to increase sale price.
Just realize that most people nowadays do not want a fixer upper.

 

Well put Canadian border VT !! Am sure there are some really good realtors that do their job well!!! Your right most people and today's younger generation do not want a fixer upper. I sold my last house to a young couple and some of the questions I got and some of the things I see when I drive by (my sister lives across the street) I scratch my head.

But the fixer upper is where you can score big if you know how to do some odds and ends. Even if it's just materialistic stuff like paint, trim, floors, doors, new lights, etc....most people don't want to do that as well.

 

When our timber business was gangbusters 15-20 years ago we were constantly placing ads for large parcels wanted to purchase . Had 2 realtors constantly calling with million $ lake front properties. I explained to both what we were looking for.
They'd keep calling . I got ignorant pizzed at both and letem have it. They still called with property of no interest. Thank his for the call blocker on the last couple phones I've had.

 

I had a great realtor in Portland, ME sell our house in Jackman. We got a buyer in a week, thought it would take a year. He was great, went the extra distance, even bleached the septic. He handled everything, I didn't even have to go to the closing.

 

Totally depends on the market. Houses in my neighborhood go up for sale and are usually gone within a week, most going above asking. Now if someone is completely unrealistic with what they are asking then it may sit for a while. We may be selling soon and will do it ourselves. We bought our last house from a for sale by owner, and we went in without a realtor, worked out well. In our market I can’t afford to pay a realtor for basically doing nothing. Now if it was a down market and I had to go through months and months of showings and listings then a realtor would be a option for us but the way the market is I just can’t give up the percentage that they charge. Have a lawyer write up the contract or even better there are tons of free services through most counties that will walk you through the process. Sorry to any realtors out there who won’t agree with this, The majority will still want your services I’m sure.

 

If you're going to list, list with someone who sells a lot! You can take a quick count of realty signs in your area to find out the answer.

 

I’m not sure that I have the patience to list it myself...
I’m now getting depressed.... lol

 

Get hooked up with the wrong "Agent" and you will have something to be REALLY depressed about !!!!!!! Don't ask me how I know.....................

 

To be fair, not all are like that, but when my mom, who actually followed up on what the buyers and sellers wanted, and earned her pay, still missed things that she shouldn't have .We bought our house though my mom, and she sold my friends their first home as well. It's stuff we can mostly laugh about now, but still.