I dont know about you but I am more than ready for the snow to melt, the rain to wash away all the dirt and the weather to warm up.  I love Minnesota but enough is enough.  So the spring housing market is upon us and you’re looking to sell but when you look on line and in the newspaper it seems like everyone and their brother is a Realtor right?  I know when I took the classes 11 years ago the rooms were filled all day long and it seemed like the whole state was there.  According to the National Association Of Realtors there are over 18,000 licensed agents in the state.  That’s a pretty big number so who do you choose?

What I have found from being in the business over a decade now is just like any business not all Realtors are created equal.  No matter who you choose (ok, shameless plug here – of course I would love if you contacted us even if it was for a second opinion) select a Realtor using the following guideline to help:

1. Make sure they are full time – that’s crucial to this business, part time agents just don’t work.
2. Make sure they know your area – that’s key.  I see so many out of town agents both overpricing homes and underpricing homes because they just don’t know anything about the area and the simply guess.
3. Ask how in depth they are on the Internet.  Google your area using a few different terms and see if the agent even comes up at all.  People do not say “hey lets look at homes today, I will go up to the gas station and grab a paper” or “lets find a Realtor, grab the phone book please”  its just silly.  The web is where you need to be and “NOT JUST THE MLS, while the MLS is a great tool you need to be marketed all over the web so ask in detail what does the agent do for Internet exposure.
4. Ask how many homes they have sold in your area – if they say none but they’ve been in the business for 3+ years that may be a warning sign – if they say one or two you may want to keep looking.  For instance in Rockford I have sold over 160 homes to date.  That matters because you want your agent to know the area, know what the other homes look like inside, how they smelled, if they had issues and so on because that’s what you’re comparing yourself too.
5. Feel comfortable.  That may sound dumb but you’re going into business with this person.  You don’t need to be BFF’s as my daughter would say but you do need to see eye to eye and have a relationship that is good for business so the communication stays open.

There’s way more to selling a property than placing a sign in the yard and walking away.  Use the tips above to select the Realtor that best fits you’re needs, your desired outcome and knows the area.  Your equity is important and should not take a back seat to an agent that does not work the area.  Best of luck – feel free to contact us anytime here or call 612-282-7653 or stop by our Rockford office at 8010 Hwy 55 anytime.