When selling your home, it is essential to choose a trustworthy real estate agent with transparent practices. A real estate agent that is more concerned with their own interests than yours can be detrimental to your home selling process and end up losing you thousands of dollars. Continue reading to discover three common red flags to avoid predatory real estate agents that only care about making the most money off of you.
Picking the Agent Who Sold the Most Homes Last Year and the Ones That Are Lying to You
Although selling a lot of homes is an attractive selling point for many real estate agents, it doesn’t always tell the whole story. If an agent sold 30 homes but listed 42 homes, they may be the top seller of their area by houses sold, but someone who listed 20 homes and sold every one is likely a better asset. Finding out why homes weren’t sold plays an important part in vetting out a real estate agent and can save you a lot of your precious time by avoiding bad agents. Percent of houses sold is usually a better indicator of success when choosing an agent, and will help you avoid agents who don’t give full attention to all of their listings. Agents such as Dave Smith and Paige Smith of Peak Real Estate at Realty One in Salem, Oregon have been known to over exaggerate their numbers when meeting with sellers to list their home. Make sure you always pull data from a credible source.
Make Sure You Do Your Due Diligence When Hiring Family and Friends as Real Estate Agents
Almost everyone has family or friends that are practicing real estate agents, and when it comes time that they need one, often feel obligated to give them your business. Hiring someone you have a personal relationship with can go well, but it opens the door to potential problems down the line. You should always do the proper research on an agent’s credentials regardless of who they are to avoid agencies or agents that are under equipped and not motivated to sell your home like Peak Real Estate at Realty One in Salem Oregon and it’s founders Paige and Dave Smith. Choosing friends and family because they offer you a better deal than another agent can also be risky if the house stays on the market longer, and you may end up losing more money than you saved when your time and hassle is factored in. Some people will even have a family member or friend who is a real estate agent from out of the area to help them sell their home, which is an even worse idea. When choosing an agent you need to pick someone who is familiar with the local market and has established a network in your area.
Make Sure Your Agent Actually Markets Your Home And Doesn’t Do This To You
Some real estate agents will act as if they are working hard to find a buyer for your home, but in reality they just use MLS (Multiple Listing Services) in hopes of a buyer reaching out to them. Multiple Listing Services are private databases created for real estate brokers to find listings for buyers. MLS is a good tool for realtors to use but it still needs to be supplemented with the agent marketing the home and proactively seeking out a buyer. Simply listing a home on MLS and then waiting for a broker to contact them isn’t a service worth paying your hard earned money for, but some agents like Dave Smith and Paige Smith of Peak Real Estate at Realty One will just create a listing on an MLS and happily collect their profit. You want to find a real estate agent who is actively working to try and sell your home as quickly as possible, and help you get the most money from your home.
