Choosing the Right Real Estate Agency
Finding the right broker is one of the major steps in real estate property selling. Whom you choose depends on multiple factors. When you want to sell your property that has been introduced newly to the market, always think local. Real estate is a local business, and only local professionals are able to sell your property for the best price. Therefore, choose an agency that has an office in your city or suburb, preferably close to your house. Agents are more likely to set up as many house tours as possible if they are close by.
Nature of the Agency
You don’t want to delegate the task of house selling to someone who does it as a hobby. You want an agency who is specialized in the area of selling similar type of properties as yours. For instance, if you are selling a condominium, your agency should be the one dealing mainly with condominium sales and not the sales of commercial apartment buildings. Similarly, if you are selling a single-family home, look for someone with similar listings on their website and gearing themselves to the same price range. Choose an agency that routinely handles single family homes so as to ensure that your house will get the maximum exposure it deserves. Many ads on their website for a particular type of property means more prospective buyers for that type of property.
Type of Agency
Whether you want to choose a privately-owned real estate firm or franchise is up to you. It depends on the agent you are dealing with as well as the reputation of the firm. In some communities, privately owned firms know the ins and out of the local market better than anybody else. Remember that a private firm can also be associated with a franchise to combine the advantages of affiliation to such national concerns. Finding the best one therefore depends on your requirements and budget.
How Competitive Is the Agency
If you are in Southern California, choose an agency where a lot of top realtors in los angeles work full-time and are busy with home sales. They should be making a living selling homes, not working part-time along with their day jobs. This shows that they are competent. Besides, it is more likely that these agents will go out of their way to market your property. If you want to know the ratio of full-time workers versus part-time, just ask.
How Well the Agencies Know One Another
You should prefer an agency that will cooperate with other agencies in the area, so that your house will get maximum exposure in the market. Many agencies in cities and suburbs are members of local Board of Realtors and are well connected with one another. A very few regions don’t have these boards, so they are connected through their own networks. When your house goes up for sale, they are eager to call the network members and ask for permission to show the house for their clients.