Orangeburg SC has many real estate agencies to pick from. Finding the right agent to sell your home doesn't have to be a hard process. With inventory high, and buyers low, use your power and that pre-approval letter from your bank to allow you to not settle for less than your deserve.
Take your time- When meeting your agent, take time to see if you like them in general. Are you comfortable with them? Does their personality suit you? Do they listen, and are they positive? Do they take the time to explain things to you? These are so important because if your personality clashes, communication will suffer and they will be less enthusiastic about selling your home, and this is not good.
Know ahead of time what you want- Know what you want and make sure your real estate agent listens. There is nothing more aggravating than being taken to see 12 houses and all of them are not suitable. Have an idea in advance about age, condition, location, square footage, no. of baths and bedrooms, etc. Do not see any more than 3 homes in a day, otherwise you will get confused with what you saw. Bring a pad and pen and make notes on each one.
When selling your home- Ask your agent beforehand, what improvements you can make that may impact your homes value and asking price. Some agents will set your price and then suggest a lot of improvements after the fact. If your agent has arranged to come by to take photos, ask them if there is anything special you need to do, or have them walk through your home first to give you a chance to change something you may have overlooked. Your home is going to be shown on websites all over, potential buyers may be turned off by the pictures and deter them from even viewing your home. A good agent should know this. Also, ask to see any photos your real estate agent intends on using. Just because they sell houses, doesn't always mean they are great at photography. In some cases you may wish to take your own and have them use yours.
Before signing anything- Prior to committing to your real estate agent and his/her company, make sure you tell them that any home you are interested in that you expect to be able to make an offer on the property. If for any reason this is something they discourage in any way, don't sign on with them. You are the boss! Its your money. You have the pre-approval, you have the power! Better to move on and find another than to suffer regret later.
Put it in writing- Make sure your real estate agent knows you may need more time to move, and have it written into any contract. In some cases the buyer can charge you rent by the day for every day it takes you to move out past the closing-especially if it is in your contract that they can take possession at closing. You want to get all of this clear before you sign any agreement to use that real estate agent or his agency.
Comments
Great article. As a former real estate agent in Chicago, I think you covered all the things you need to know before you buy or sell a home. One more thing I'd like to add though--since I sold homes near Chicago O'Hare Airport, recommend to a potential buyer of a home to spend time near the home they wish to purchase and get a feeling for the type of noise is in the neighborhood. Nothing like moving into a great house and listening to jets fly over your home every 52 seconds!
I hear so many concerns about this very topic lately so this article is very well timed! I'm going to print it and post it on my resource center bulletin board. Thank you so much, Dawn, for your great suggestions!
I hope to buy a home in a few years. Picking the right real estate agent will be important. Thanks for the advice.
All excellent advice! Having lived in 10 states and more cities than that, I could write the "How to find the wrong real estate agent" article. My mantra seems to be, "wish I'd had your article then".
;-)
Fer some reason, ain't nobody wants to bye my trailer..sure, its a fixer upper, but dang! whut?
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