The posting below is a copy of an article published in Boca/Delray Life Magazine in May of 2006.

Deciding on whom to trust to sell your home can be a difficult task. There are a lot of real estate companies and agents out there spending a lot of money advertising trying to make homeowners aware of their services and how they differ from the rest of the pack. Many times homeowners will choose an agent based on a referral, others based on advertising and some based on interviews of several agents (choosing the one that seems the best).

The first and most important advice I can give is, find out how the real estate business works. This means taking the time to do some research on the inner workings of this business so you can ask intelligent questions and make a more informed decision on who is the best agent. Your goal is to hire an agent that is experienced and knowledgeable about the market, real estate contracts, appraisal issues, home inspection issues, and the many other issues that can and may come up in the course of selling a home. The agent must provide a high level of customer service and hopefully be technologically up to date, making use of available tools to communicate and service your needs in a timely fashion. Finally, the agent must be a good negotiator to get the best possible price as well as the best possible terms and conditions on your behalf.

Many homeowners think that bigger translates into better when choosing a real estate company and thereby agent. The large, ‘chain’ real estate agencies are often, in reality, NO MORE QUALIFIED NOR ADEPT at better-representing you than any other competent and qualified licensed-agent who knows your market (and who indeed may have proven expertise-and-sophistication that far exceeds that of the agents who work for these ‘large-chain’ realtor-conglomerates). So choose the agent, not just the company.

Much of the advertising-dollars spent by real estate companies and agents are aimed at convincing you that they will sell your home. They point to all the ads in home sale magazines, newspapers, postcards or whatever other medium they use as proof they’re out marketing and selling homes. The fact is most of this advertising is for ’self-promotion,’ and ends-up benefiting YOU, THE SELLER, in NO WAY at all!

The truth of the matter is that in the vast majority of cases, it’s NOT the listing agent who finds the prospective buyer! It’s usually a DIFFERENT agent from a competing real estate office or agency who brings the buyer to your home (after seeing the ‘listing’ on the MLS). This is MUCH MORE COMMON than for the ‘listing’ agent to find the prospective buyer.

Bottom line: an MLS-listing is usually the best way to REACH potential buyers (which in turn is accomplished through agents OTHER THAN THE LISTING AGENT)…..so it really matters little WHO posts that MLS-listing for you to begin with! So when you decide on an agent to list your home, base the decision on the agent’s level of experience and knowledge as well as the other factors discussed above. The trick is not finding a buyer for your home, the trick is navigating through the entire process/transaction in an smooth and orderly fashion and hopefully getting the best possible terms, conditions and price. In short, choose the agent who knows what they’re doing and can answer your questions honestly, not the pie-in-the-sky agent who makes promises they may or may not be able to keep.

(Please note that all aspects of this subject cannot be addressed in such a short article. Do your homework and seek the advice of a professional. Our website contains more information on this topic and others you may find useful.)

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