How to Choose a Good Real Estate Agent?

Did you pick "List and Pray that it Sells" Realtor?

If you choose a good real estate agent rest assured that he will do a lot to sell your home for the top $$ and for the shortest period of time. But...not every Realtor does the same things to market and sell your house. A lot of the Realtors prefer to do the bare minimum as long as they can get away with it. And the results are obvious: home is too long on the markets...no showings...no offers....no communication...and finally - house expires on the market! If you want to sell your home for the top dollar and in the timely manner please, avoid these type of Realtors.

Instead, choose the Agent who is willing to put in the time and the effort it takes to sell you home. Good Realtor knows that just putting your home to the multiple listing services (MLS) is not going to do the job.

 Signs of a bad Realtor:

Not Using Professional Photography to market the listing

A lot of realtors think they can get away with unprofessional photos...There is nothing that is more true in real estate sales than the famous saying " a picture is worth a thousand words". The photography on your home can make or break a sale. The truth is that most buyers will skip on home that does not look appealing online. They won't even read about all the great features of your home if the pictures turn them off. It just ridiculous what can you see... from having only a few photos posted, to only exterior shots, to blurry photography, to something that looks like it has been shoot from a Polaroid camera. And the reality is this "great" marketing goes on daily in the real estate industry.

Complacency on Home Descriptions

The other common thing that does not attract buyers is the complete disregard of an effective and clear description and poor marketing materials. Many of the listing services give realtors an advantage by giving them the opportunity to post attractive descriptive words into the system. Descriptions are as important as photos and videos because they give a clear presentation of the beautiful features of the house, giving them a summary of what the house could offer. A bad realtor skips this process. They would instead call it a day and forget to offer a potential buyer some helpful marketing materials such as brochure and pamphlets.

The Absence of Great Marketing Materials

A successful realtor understands that marketing materials are great components to achieve profits and impressive results. When you see a well designed brochure with a company logo, contact details and attractive images. You would automatically realize that your realtor has taken some time to think about the marketing structure of selling the house. He also clearly understands that advertising is the key part of modern business.

Lack of Direct Communication 

An open house is the best way of presenting a house for sale. Hosting a successful open house requires great conversation, some wit and nice sense of humor. It is also great to know what the buyer thinks about the home. During the process, a good agent keeps you updated and gives you feedbacks. He

would always spend some time out of their busy schedules to call you and inform you of any issues, corrections and major changes that might affect your financial status.

Making Use of the Internet

Online marketing is one of the most useful and effective marketing strategy. Advertising your home to people through different search engines is a great and a fast way of doing business. As long as your website ranks well on major search lists like Google and Yahoo and belongs to a well-known database, it could be a good exposure. However, if you place your ads on search engines which are rarely visited by people, your marketing strategy clearly did not serve its purpose.

A Real Estate Blog is Useful

Blogs, just like any great looking website could also serve as effective advertisements. When a realtor creates blogs and posts them on a regular basis, it helps people know your knowledge and expertise and would be eager to trust your career-related experiences.

Make Effective Use of Social Media Marketing

With social media having a great influence on our day to day living, it makes sense that a good realtor is active in every famous social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Google Plus and Instagram. Connecting with people is very powerful and is a great way of advertising an open house. Thus, a good marketing specialist who knows how to utilize these famous channels attracts lots of buyers for your home.

Effective Ways for Choosing a Great Real Estate Agent

• Take a look at examples of photos and videos of houses they have currently listed for sale.

• Take a look at their listing descriptions.

• Observe how a realtor communicates and gives feedbacks.

• Take a look at the agent’s websites and see if they provide detailed information.

• Find a blog that has been written by the Realtor and check out the contents.

If you are keen in doing these things, you are on your way to hiring a good realtor who is an expert in marketing strategy. One last thing, keep in mind that a good realtor always has a minimum rate.