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Selecting an Agent
Here are some tips about selecting an agent. These tips are based on the
recommendations from the National Association of REALTORS®.
Look for an agent who:
- Listens attentively, instills confidence, works and communicates in a
professional manner, and has a personality style that you are comfortable with;
- Is a member of the local board or association of REALTORS®;
- Explains and discloses agency relationships (the role of the agent, i.e., who the
agent is representing--the buyer or the seller) early on in the process, at "serious
first contact";
- Advises you on how to prepare your home for the market;
- Has researched your property in the public records and the MLS; and
- Brings data on nearby homes that have sold (or failed to sell) recently.
Some important questions to ask a potential agent:
- Are you a REALTOR®?
- Do you have an active real estate license in good standing. (To find this
information, you can check with your state’s governing agency)
- Do you belong to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and/or a reliable online home
buyer’s search service? (Multiple Listing Services are cooperative information
networks of REALTORS® that provide descriptions of most of the houses for sale in a
particular region.)
- Do you cooperate with buyers' brokers? What share of the commission will
you offer a cooperating broker who finds the buyer?
- And in addition to the criteria mentioned above, there are number of very
important reasons you will typically prefer to work with a REALTOR®.
What a
Realtor® Should do for You!
Not all real estate agents are REALTORS®. A REALTOR® is a member of the
National Association of REALTORS®, or "NAR." REALTORS® adhere to
the NAR’s highest standards of ethical conduct and professional training.
There are many important reasons to use a REALTOR®. Some of the duties your
REALTOR® will perform for you include:
- Walking you through the process of selling your home from beginning to end;
- Providing information about the prices for which "comparable"
properties have sold and analyzing data for you to gain a true comparison;
- Supplying information regarding local customs and regulations you may want to
consider;
- Sharing information about your home through the Multiple Listing Service and on
the Internet;
- Placing advertisements for your home;
- Working by e-mail, on the telephone, and in person with potential buyers and
agents of potential buyers;
- "Qualifying" potential buyers to make sure they would be financially
able to buy your property;
- Negotiating the sales contract;
- Alerting you to potential risks;
- Complying with the disclosures required by law;
- Providing you with an estimate of closing costs you will incur;
- Keeping you informed, every step of the way; and
- Helping keep your blood pressure down by working to assure that your purchase or
sale goes as smoothly as it possibly can.
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1999 Jerry Cox
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