How to Choose a Realtor to Sell Your Northern Virginia Home

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How to Choose a Realtor to Sell Your Northern
Virginia Home
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Northern Virginia Home

• One of the most important decisions youll make
  in the process of selling your Northern Virginia
  Home is which realtor you will work with. This
  person will help you make most of the other
  decisions, such as pricing, accepting offers and
  creating counteroffers. If you make the right
  decision, the process will go much smoother. Here
  are a few tips on how to choose the right person
  to sell your home.

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Get Recommendations from Friends and Family

• Utilize your resources and ask people you know
  for recommendations. Studies from the National
  Realtors Association show that 42 percent of
  people selected their real estate agent from
  referrals by friends. You probably know someone
  who has bought or sold a house recently. Ask them
  who they would recommend and why. The why is
  just as important as the who because it tells
  you something about what this person is like.
  Your friends may say the real estate agent was
  easy to work with or sold the house fast. The
  more information you can get, the better decision
  youll make.

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Dont Rely on Recommendations

• At the same time, you dont want to rely solely
  on advice from others. Your personality is
  different and your home is different, which means
  you must find the person who is right for you.
  Dont feel obligated to select an agent because
  you know them as a friend. Any reputable agent
  will understand the difference between friendship
  and a business decision.

http//michaelputnam.com/
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Focus on Credentials

• Find out if the agent is a realtor who is
  licensed by the National Realtors Association.
  They will have the term REALTOR behind their name
  on business cards and on their website. This
  means they have gone through an even more
  stringent process, they must abide by a strict
  code of ethics, and they must continue to update
  their education each year.

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Ask About Marketing Northern Virginia Homes

• The goal of any listing agent should be to sell
  the home, and as quickly as possible. To do this,
  the realtor must be adept at marketing. They
  should combine offline methods, such as open
  houses, with online resources, such as social
  media. They must also understand the latest
  marketing methods and know when and how to use
  them effectively. According to a 2012 report by
  the National Realtors Association, only four
  percent of realtors use YouTube to post a video
  of a house for sale. A total of 14 percent use
  videos on websites and listing sites. And yet, 90
  percent of buyers look for videos when comparing
  houses. An agent who is willing to try new
  marketing strategies, such as video, in
  combination with traditional methods will be
  ahead of the game.

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Look for Realism

• While you want an agent to promote your Northern
  Virginia Home to buyers, you want them to be more
  realistic with you. The agent who gives you the
  most compliments on your house may not be the
  right person for you. Instead, you want someone
  who will give you a dose of reality. They should
  let you know which great features will make your
  home a good sell, but at the same time, they
  should show you areas for improvement. Very few
  Northern Virginia Homes are perfect, and yours
  likely could stand some changes to enhance its
  salability.

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Look for Experience

• You want an agent who has some experience in
  selling Northern Virginia Homes, but more
  importantly, they should be experienced in
  selling Northern Virginia Homes similar to yours
  in your neighborhood. An agent who knows the
  neighborhood will know how to reach buyers and
  what information theyre looking for. If your
  home is unique in some way, youll want someone
  who knows how to make that uniqueness stand out
  in a good way.

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Ask Questions

• Remember that youre hiring a realtor to help you
  sell your home. Treat your first meeting like any
  other job interview. Ask questions to get a feel
  for the agents personality and to get concrete
  answers on their capability and experience. Some
  good questions to ask include the following
• How many Northern Virginia Homes did you list in
  the last year? How many of them sold?
• What is the average difference between the list
  price and the selling price?
• How will you market my Northern Virginia Home?
• What recommendations do you have to help my home
  sell faster?
• How often should I expect communication from you
  and in what form (phone calls, text messages,
  emails)?
• Based on the answers and other information youve
  gathered about the real estate agent, youll know
  whether you are ready to move forward or keep
  looking. Dont be afraid to interview more than
  one agent. You want to find the best person for
  the job and more options is better than fewer.
  Selling your Northern Virginia Home is a big
  decision. Start the process out right with the
  best real estate agent for you.

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Questions?More Information?

• Website http//michaelputnam.com/
• Michael Putnam
• info_at_michaelputnam.com
• 703-928-6514
• Sources
• http//www.realtor.com/advice/sell/interviewing-li
  sting-agents/
• http//articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-05-24/clas
  sified/sc-cons-0523-realestate-videos-20130524_1_y
  outube-video-online-videos-buyers-flock