How to find the right agent to sell my houses

Question

Hello,

I am currently on my 2nd investment deal and need some help. My first deal was a home I built and sold 3 years later. On that deal I used 3 different agents (14 months!) and neither made me feel that they were actually “selling” my house. Long story short after the 2nd agent I dropped the price and listed FSBO. The 3rd one then called me and talked a big game and I gave her the listing. Basically, I feel strongly that I left a minimum of 40k on the table. I took my first offer in 13 months at 343k and it appraised at 389k. I guess since I was so relieved it sold I used her to buy my next investment... paid full asking. She was on vacatIon durIng both closIngs.  I listed this one FSBO after all of the frustration and had 2 showings in the first 30 days. #3 called me again and I gave her the listing because she offered to do it at 1.5 commission. I agreed, even though she has yet to step foot in my remodeled house 🤦🏻‍♂️. HOW CAN I FIND AN AGENT THAT WILL SELL MY HOUSES FOR TOP DOLLAR IN A REASONABLE TIME FRAME? Thank you in advance.

Jonathan Minerick · Answer

A few things to keep in mind:

A. As the seller, your agent almost never finds the buyer.

B. The 3 things that sell a home are:

• price,
• fair commission offer to the buyer agents, and
• pro photos.

If you are doing #2 and #3 correctly, it all comes down to getting the price right. No showings/offers = priced too high, lots of showings/offers = priced too low.

C. Most agents just want to get a deal done, they are not as concerned about getting sellers the absolute top dollar (or bottom dollar if you are the buyer).

Instead of trusting that your agent is doing the right things, ask them what their plan is to sell your home. Ask them how their fees are broken down amongst the services they are providing - the answer will be eye opening.

Finally, keep in mind that every service that an agent provides can usually be bought individually for a flat fee (e.g. $2500 to do paperwork/negotiations, $200 to list on MLS, etc).

Eric Creel · Answer

@Jacob Villalobos

I believe my expectations are fine. Im trying to figure out how to find the right realtor? I don’t want another one that lists it on the mls and is done. Is there a top producer list out there?

Jacob Villalobos · Answer

Understand completely what top dollar is in that marketplace. Also how long it takes to sell your product type. One month? Two? Ten?  These are simple and easy numbers and agent worth salt can give you.

You may need to adjust your expectations?