Selling a home involves making major decisions about where and how you will live for many years, and often has very important implications for your financial future. Many sellers enlist the services of real estate professionals to help them with complex real estate transactions. In fact, nearly 85 percent of all home sales are made with the assistance of a real estate professional or real estate broker. Consumers need to know how to choose a qualified real estate agent, what services the real estate agent should provide, and what recourse is available if a real estate professional/broker fails to perform.

If you are selling, the right real estate selling agent can help you realize the best possible price and conditions for the sale of your home. Your agent can protect your best interests and can have a significant impact on whether the home sale closes in a timely and orderly manner. 

Click here for a checklist to help you determine if you need a Real Estate Selling Agent

Click here to find out what you should expect from a top-notch Real Estate Selling Agent

Picking a Competent Real Estate Agent

Real estate services are not inexpensive. Home sellers may pay a five to seven percent commission to the real estate broker, who in turn compensates the real estate professional on the sale of the home. The vast majority of the time the real estate professional who sells the home is not the listing real estate professional, therefore the commission is also split with the buyer's broker and listing broker.

IMPORTANT: As in all professions there are competent and incompetent practitioners. Nowhere is this more true than with real estate professionals. The average real estate professional sells less than 3 homes per year, works on a part time basis, and relies on referral business from family and friends. Everyone knows someone who is a real estate agent. Uncle Mark, father-in-law Jim, cousin Mary, your mother's best friend Doris, the list goes on. Be very wary of those types of referrals. The social pressure to conduct business with them can be intense, but in many cases those real estate agents are the incompetent real estate agents you do not want to work with.

A good real estate professional / broker can help you determine how much your home is worth, devise a strategy to price and market the property, negotiate a purchase offer, help judge whether prospective buyers are financially qualified to purchase your home, and coordinate many of the financial and transaction details involved in closing the deal.

While there are a number of things to look for in a real estate professional, ultimately, the decision is a personal one. Be sure that you find a licensed real estate professional and a reputable real estate broker who can provide the range of services that are important to you, and with whom you feel comfortable.

Any real estate agent can stick a for sale sign in your yard, put your home information in the multiple listing service and prepare brochures. Most home sellers thinks that the real estate professional's primary value is their ability to market their home. The fact is that in today's active housing market any home that is priced right, is in good condition, and has a favorable location will sell without a lot of marketing effort on behalf of the real estate professional. Even incompetent real estate agents are successfully selling houses in today's market. So why do you need a real estate professional you ask? Because a truly competent real estate professional's value occurs not only during the marketing process, but also from the time of an offer until your home sale closes. After an offer is presented is where the "truly competent" real estate professional excels, earns their real estate commission, and can potentially save or make the home seller thousands of dollars. 

Finding Successful Real Estate Agents

Suncastle specializes in matching home sellers and home buyers with highly qualified real estate professionals. Our network of affiliate agents comprise some of the most successful agents in the country. We review the experience and qualifications of all real estate professionals before they are accepted into our referral network. Suncastle does not charge home buyers or home sellers to be referred to a qualified real estate professional. 

You can also find qualified real estate professionals by talking to friends, neighbors, and co-workers who have recently bought or sold homes and ask them for referrals. Ask them about the real estate company and real estate professional they used, and whether they were satisfied with the service they received. Perhaps the best question to ask is: Would you use the same real estate professional or real estate company, again?

One way to determine which real estate company has a good track record in your area is to observe the "For Sale" signs in your neighborhood, and notice which homes have sold quickly.

Restrict your search to residential real estate professionals and companies that work in your area. The most effective real estate professional is one who knows about the neighborhood and can answer questions, important to potential buyers of your home, about schools, places of worship, medical facilities and other services available in the community.

Interviewing Prospective Real Estate Professionals

Once you have found three or four prospective real estate professionals or real estate companies, start contacting them to arrange interviews in order to ensure that your personalities and goals are a match. If you are selling your home, each real estate professional will ask you some basic questions and may request to see your property before giving a formal listing presentation.

Each real estate professional will make a listing presentation to try to convince you to list the house with his, or her, company. During the listing presentation, the real estate professional should show you a competitive or comparative market analysis, including data about comparable houses in your area that are on the market, have been sold recently, or are expired or cancelled listings.

Use the listing presentation as an opportunity to rate the real estate professional's preparation, competence, and professionalism, as well as the company's services.

Be ready to ask each real estate professional several questions. For example, make sure that he, or she, is a licensed broker or real estate professional, and ask how long he, or she has been working in your area or neighborhood. You will also want to know about the real estate professional's track record. Ask for references and ask how many home sales he, or she, has closed.

Also, you will want to know if real estate professional works at the business on a full or part-time basis. Ask each real estate professional how he, or she, will actively work to find buyers for your house. A good real estate professional will have a well-thought-out marketing plan for your property.

Remember there is more to a real estate professional's job than marketing your home. A real estate professional's true value often occurs after the marketing when a purchase offer is presented. Be sure you question the real estate professional about their negotiating skills and training. Do they employ a negotiating strategy? Can they articulate their strategy to you? Is their negotiating strategy connected to their pricing strategy? Do they have a pricing strategy? Do they have an overall strategy to marketing and negotiating the sale of your home?

Remember to "interview" the real estate company, as well. While you probably will be working directly with a single real estate professional, remember the real estate professional brings with him, or her, the resources or limitations, of the real estate company (broker), for which he, or she, works. This means it is important for you to ask each real estate professional about the real estate company with which he, or she, is affiliated.

You will, also, want to know about the marketing tools the company makes available to the real estate professional, such as television programs or specialized advertising campaigns. Also, make sure that someone will be available at all reasonable hours to show your home to home prospective buyers.

Be sure to ask if the prospective company participates in a Multiple Listing Service (MLS). MLS is a computerized central registry of properties on the market and virtually every area of the country has such a service. It makes information about your property available to other real estate professionals, and allows other real estate professionals to bring in prospective clients.

Hiring A Real Estate Broker Who Suits Your Needs

Look for a real estate professional with enthusiasm and a positive attitude - not the fast talker. Do not automatically hire the real estate professional who promises he, or she, can sell your house at the highest price. Look instead, for the real estate professional that provides the most realistic and optimistic assessment of the marketability of your home, based on current home sales data.

Be wary of the real estate professional who presses you to sign a listing agreement because he, or she, has a prospective buyer who will most certainly be interested in buying your home.

It will be your decision whether to use an experienced real estate professional with a proven track record, or a new  real estate professional. A new real estate professional, often can bring added enthusiasm, drive and time to the job; a veteran real estate professional provides the benefits of years of experience. If you decide to work with a new real estate professional, make sure that he, or she, is working with the guidance of an experienced real estate professional.