Choosing an Agent - 4 Options, How to Choose?

Question

We're selling our primary residence to capture the equity currently in the home, before more softening in the market. We have lived in our area a very long... time and know/or have referrals to 4 realtors, all of them have years in the industry. 2 are with name brand companies: Caldwell Banker & EXP. 2 are brokers with their own agencies. How do we choose the right one? Here's a little more detail on each:

Caldwell Banker agent came recommended by a friend who used them to sell 3 homes for them about 4-5 years ago. They said this agent was great. Answered all the questions about what % to listing price they were able to sell, etc. Had a great rapport over the phone. Sent an email to book a meeting this week.

EXP agent has a great track record for selling a development area here for several years around 2016, won awards at the time, and has stayed active since. Husband is a personal acquaintance/friend. This person came across as very knowledgeable about the area, followed right up with an email. Seemed like they would get the job done.

One is a broker with their own local company. Personal friend just used them within the past month to sell their property. They were very happy with the performance. Have not contacted this one yet.

The 2nd Broker has been in the luxury housing market in our area for 13 years and sells homes "generally" in a completely different high end market from our home. They have their own private agency. However, they have known us for years, and also have a lot of contacts with investors who would possibly want our property as a vacation rental or other investment (1031 exchange).

How do we choose the right one for our situation, who will get us the best price, in a timely manner, and in the current market conditions? If we hire someone who has known us over the years, does that make it more difficult if there's issues? Also, with the one that usually deals with luxury properties, would they maybe have an advantage of having clients/investors in addition to regular buyers? Or... since our home is not their usual type of listing, would we be better choosing one of the other 3 agents?

Appreciate any direction you can give. This will be the first property we have ever sold, and we want to make the right decision, but we're unsure how to make this choice. Thanks so much.

Russell Brazil · Answer

Interview them all and see who you like the best. Make sure all have a good sales track record.  90% of homes are basically sold by the top 2% of Realtors. Read their reviews. Everyone has a bad review or 2, so make sure to focus on what the consensus is and dont focus in on one bitter person.

Jason V. · Answer

Save the 3% you'd give a listing agent/broker and use a Flat Fee MLS broker.  $150 ONLY... you fill out all the info about the house, all the disclosures that the Flat Fee MLS broker provides (all of which you'd be filling out *anyway*), and you take some pics (ideally within an hour after sunrise, or an hour before sunset)..... and you save yourself THOUSANDS of $$.

No agent is going to help you get a better price or negotiate better, because ultimately they're only going to do what YOU tell them to do.  You'll say, I don't know what to do, and they're gonna say, it's a tough choice YOU have to make, which is the truth. Only thing they can offer is to provide you with comps, which may or may not be accurate today.  Things move quickly when interest rates rise the way they have been.  I simply took the values offered @ Zillow && realtor.com/soldhomes , and averaged them together.  Got a cash offer slightly above the lower valuation, which is better than I could've ever asked for, honestly.  No agent necessary.  Or perhaps I am the agent, for my own property, using a $150 listing broker.  Helps you know EVERYTHING that's happening, both before and after the sale.  Tough to beat that type of service, IMHO.

Lynn Marie Lara · Answer

Thank you Russell. Appreciate the help. I will research their reviews. I had looked at them a bit already. The agent with Caldwell Banker has very good reviews, and is wonderful on the phone, has sold about 12 properties this year.

The luxury broker also has good reviews, and in our call, was immediately talking about the strategy’s they use to market. This agent is very savvy if not aggressive. I don’t know how many properties they’ve sold this year yet.

The personality I like in the first one, but still wondering if the luxury broker would have more investor options. However, that agent is a private firm versus the “reach” of Caldwell Banker.

Hopefully a bit more research will narrow the decision. Thanks again for the advice.

Choosing an Agent - 4 Options, How to Choose?

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