buying your first home - what you should know

What Does A Real Estate Agent Actually Do For You As A Seller?

When you're buying real estate, it's fairly obvious why you need a real estate agent. They help you find the best properties, make wise offers, and coordinate with the bank and various insurers. When you're selling, though, the need for an agent may not be as clear. You may figure you just create a listing for the home and wait for buyers to come to you — so why do you need an agent's help with that? As it turns out, hiring a real estate agent as a home seller is more important than you likely realize. Here are some of the key things an agent will handle, or help you handle, when you sell a home. 

Creating an Attention-Grabbing Listing

It's not enough to just write a couple of paragraphs describing your home and snap a few pictures. To sell a home, it's important that the listing is written with the target demographic in mind. What kind of buyer is most likely to show interest in your home, and what details would they like to know? Which terms should be included for search purposes? What order should the photos be in for the greatest utility? A real estate agent will be able to write a better, more usable listing that satisfies these needs, which will help you attract more interested buyers and get more competitive offers.

Set a Better Asking Price

There's a lot involved with setting an asking price. You have to consider comparable homes in the area but also know how your home differs from them and how that affects the price. You also have to consider whether you're likely to get multiple offers and a bidding war, or whether there's likely to be low interest. A real estate agent can price the home in the most advantageous way for you.

Negotiate

When you get offers on your home, you will need to know how to respond. Do you try to negotiate for more? Which offers do you turn down? How do you know when you should outright accept an offer versus waiting? Real estate agents are trained in negotiations, and having sold many homes before, they know how to best respond to various offers. Their help in this regard will help you get more for your home.

Hiring an agent really is wise when you're selling a home. They do more for you than you would think.

Reach out to a local real estate agent to learn more.


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