When researching a REALTOR® to represent your home, you’ll usually get a list of benefits and services provided. Sometimes these can sound repetitive or even trite (Local expert! Professional service! We sell your home fast!). This can make it difficult to understand what sets an exceptional real estate professional apart from an average one.
And while it’s important to know what you are getting from your real estate professional, it’s equally important to understand what you’re not getting.
Here is a short list of what you should not get from your REALTOR®:
Stressed. This is probably one of the top reasons people delay or put off selling a home. It’s a lot of work and it can be very stressful. You get a lot of things from a REALTOR®, but stress should not be one of them. Realtors are the shock absorbers of the home sale. Any bumps in the road are handled and managed by us. Appraiser running late? Need to get ready for an unexpected showing? Buyers dragging their feet on financing? These things happen. It is just the nature of the process. While we cannot prevent the unexpected, we can plan for it. A good REALTOR® is there to smooth over the home-selling bumps and minimize the stress.
Stumped. There are ample moving parts to preparing and listing a home that managing the details can quickly become overwhelming. How do you know where to begin? Or what to do next and when? A REALTOR® should be so good at juggling tasks and to-do’s that they could join the circus. And like a good ringmaster – a REALTOR® is center circle, making sure everything is coordinated, negotiated, planned, posted and advertised so you just need sit back, enjoy the show, and await the offers.
Second-Rate Service. There is a reason a great REALTOR® continues to have clients refer friends and family – it’s because they must give 100% attention and effort to Every. Single. Customer. On the flip side, you should never be ‘passed off’ or pushed aside. From a multi-million dollar listing to a one bedroom condo – everyone deserves and receives the utmost time and attention.
Stuck. You have decided to sell your home, but now what? Whether you’re working two jobs or raising two kids, people are busy and the last thing anyone needs is another to-do list. Who will put a fresh coat of paint on the walls? Who will fix that broken window pane? Who will clean it? Who will to stage it so it sells fast? A REALTOR® should – or at least they should have a network of trusted vendors and service providers who could.
But what about the cost of using a REALTOR®, you ask? In Massachusetts, the majority of real estate agent commissions fall between 2% and 3% for each real estate professional, making the average real estate commission rate for selling a home between 5% and 6%. Assuming you are not attempting For Sale By Owner, you’re going to pay about the same rate for any given real estate professional you choose.
So if you could choose one real estate agent, or an entire real estate team – at no extra cost – would you not pick the option that will get you the most bang for your buck?
There is an advantage to going with a team of exceptional professionals who can give you more expertise, more support, the best negotiating skills, the best transactions coordination, the best promotion and advertising, and most importantly – peace-of-mind knowing you got the best price for your home.
It’s not going to cost you more to use the best real estate team around, but it could cost you if you don’t.
