Rocklin Real Estate: How To Hire The RIGHT Agent
Selling Your Home? The Right Agent Makes All The Difference
This post could be one of those “self licking ice cream cone” posts but it’s really not. I mean, sure, I’d like everyone to list with me but the reality is, that wouldn’t be good. Some personalities just don’t mesh and I really like to have as fun a time as possible in my work as I do in all aspects of my life.
Firing a client because it’s clear I can’t get the job done for them isn’t “fun”. It doesn’t happen often but it does happen. Now, with experience, I’ve learned to spot those potential issues upfront and back away more graciously saving everyone time, energy and frustration. It’s only the respectful thing to do if you see it’s not going to work out smoothly.
I’m surprised how many agents will hold onto a listing or work with a client when they know they should just let it go. Odd.
The trick to finding the perfect personality mix in an agent is simple really. Personality is what it comes down to. We like people who are more like us than we do people who differ largely, or slightly, from us. It’s just human nature. That said, there are a few basics you should know.
Step Four – Interview More Than One Agent
Always interview more than one agent. Statistics show that this doesn’t happen often. Something like 75% to 80% of sellers hire the first agent they speak to or meet. Not smart unless
you know them personally or really like them already. If you don’t already know the agent, you need to interview a few. It’s exhausting but well worth it.
The message is hire someone you get the feeling you like and can trust. That is a “gut feeling” and not something one can usually “put your finger on”.
I know it might seem strange to hire someone based on their personality similarities to yours but that’s really the major difference between agents.
Most Rocklin real estate agents are very professional. We all know each other and I can say with all certainty that you’ll be just fine with most of us. You’ll get a similar degree of professionalism and knowledge from each one. Those qualities won’t set any one of us apart really.
That said, you want to be careful with agents who don’t specialize in the area around your home. Which brings me to step two..
Step Three – Rocklin Real Estate Area Specialist
If you don’t already know the agent you’re hiring, you want someone specifically familiar with the area your home is in. Saying familiar with your “neighborhood” is a little too specific, unless the agent lives in your neighborhood, as there aren’t many agents who can tell you what’s going up on your street but they can easily tell you what’s going on in your subdivision or section of that subdivision.
Ask about recent sales in the area and have they seen the home around the corner from where your home is located. Ask lots of questions of the agents you interview..enough to get a feel for how each agent thinks. Ask about the market in the area of your home and what it’s doing.
Beware of the agent who thinks everything is rosy because it seldom is. How fast are homes selling? What’s the average sales price in the area overall and more specifically what is the average sales price of a home like yours and what differentiates your home from others like your home.
All of these questions point directly to the agents knowledge of the area and general knowledge about Rocklin real estate.
Step Two – Clear Licensure
Go to www.bre.ca.gov and do a license check. Click here for the “Verify a License” page of the Bureau of Real Estate website. If there are any issues with licensure, it will be here. Should you pick a licensee with disciplinary issue? It’s ultimately your decision but I would not.
Hiring a REALTOR is of little or no consequence. Here’s why I say that. Virtually every licensee is a member of the Board of Realtors for the county they are in which also means they are a member of the National Association of Realtors. The NAR has a code of ethics that every member agrees to uphold.
Being a REALTOR doesn’t prevent anyone from being unethical if they don’t take the code of ethics seriously. I’ve run into two REALTORS in the last month who treated their clients unethically. The did NOT act in their clients best interest and I’m sure lied to them in the process. I could file ethics complaints with our board of REALTORS on them both and have a case against them both.
And The Most Important Step – Experience
The last thing you want to do is hire your next door neighbor who just got his/her license to sell your home. That is asking for trouble. An inexperienced agent can cost you a few thousand dollars and not even know she or he has just done it. An inexperienced agent doesn’t know what he or she doesn’t know.
For instance, people who sell their own homes lose a nationwide average of 18% on the sale of their home due to inexperience. A new licensee is only marginally better than a for sale by owner. I would know, I was a new licensee at one point.
Selling homes for a living is an “on the job training” profession as every real estate transaction is different. There are things that come up in every transaction I have ever closed that are brand new, something I hadn’t seen before.
Don’t hire a part time agent! Make sure your Realtor is full time, in the business as a business.
An experienced agent knows the pitfalls and where a seller or a buyer is most likely to lose money. You want this person on your side!
Before the real estate market crashed in 2007 ish, I thought I knew a lot about selling real estate. I had been full time for 5 years and had sold a fair amount of homes. Yeah..NOT! The downturn taught me that I didn’t know what I didn’t know. Now, I’ve been in the business for 12 years and I still learn something new with every home I sell. I’m hands on, running my business and not leaving it to my assistant to run for me. (this is the self licking ice cream cone part! LOL)
This means I get my clients calls, texts and emails. I personally respond to all of the above. Communication is critical.
Whether you hire me or one of the other great agents in Rocklin, if you follow the steps listed here, you will be on your way to getting what every client of a Realtor is supposed to get; ethical representation in every aspect of the transaction.
Thanks for visiting!
Buying or selling a home in Rocklin? If so, I’d like to help you. Please call or text me directly at 916-532-7653 or click here, for my contact page.
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