Thinking of selling your home this spring? If so, it can be beneficial to stop and think about some of the problems you face as a home salesperson. Planning to sell for sale by owner or list your home with a real estate company? Did you know that you can do both at the same time? Not many people know that …

If you plan to hire the services of a real estate agent, the keyword is caution. Keep in mind that selling your home is a BIG deal and you want the best real estate agent you can find to represent your project. Finding a professional real estate agent can be a difficult task if you don’t know the basic questions to ask. Many agents work part-time with a toe in the bathtub and simply cannot represent a homeowner as well as a full-time agent. Beyond this, you have to ask yourself (and the agent) how much trading experience do they have? Do they have a business degree? What is your experience in marketing and sales? Are they full or part time? How many houses have they personally sold? When you hire the services of a real estate agent to sell your home, you are the employer and have the right to ask these types of questions. You will pay a real estate agent a HEFTY commission for selling your home, IF it sells. Your job is to ask the right questions to select an agent who will do the job professionally.

One of the main things you want to avoid as a home salesperson is entering into long-term listing contracts with any real estate agent or company. Keep listing contracts limited to 90 days at a time so you can review the performance of the agent and your company. Among the things you want to negotiate when you are listing your home and having it displayed on the listing contract as legal (appendix or addendum) is a detailed marketing plan stating the exact marketing activities that will be used to sell your home. You want to see a marketing plan that details where and when your home will be advertised, how many open houses will be held, when those open houses will be held, and how they will be held. You want details about the ad campaign surrounding the sale of your home. Many agents will list a home and basically a new agent will spin their wheels to sell for them. The old saying among real estate agents is “if you don’t list, you don’t last.” What this basically means is that an agent will do and say almost anything to get a listing agreement from a seller. Then, they toss the house onto the MLS (multiple listing service), keep their fingers crossed, and wait for another agent to find a buyer for their property. Most sellers don’t know the publicly traded agent and their business will get the majority of the commission, whether they sell the house or not. Experienced agents often make lists and let new agents pull tires on their cars that show ownership; The key to success for real estate agents really lies in obtaining listing contracts, not necessarily selling them. Do you want some advice? Keep an eye out for these articles because there is more to come and get your copy of the report below before you rush out and sign that legally binding listing contract; It will help you meet your basic legal and financial interests.

Our e-report: 101 Tips for Home Buyers, Sellers, and Money Borrowers will help you learn more about this article. Just click the link below and request your copy and we will send it to your email address within 24 hours, absolutely free. Another Ezine Article Exclusive! Until next time …

Copyright © 2006

James W. Hart, IV

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