Terry Naber, REALTOR® - TERRY'S GUIDE TO SELLING YOUR HOME FOR TOP DOLLAR

so do they.

Your agent can also recommend needed contractors to you based on service providers’ reputation. Agents either possess intimate knowledge about your area, or they have the resources to quickly obtain the necessary information. They can identify comparable sales and find more demographic and statistical information than the average person. For example, you may know that a home down the street was on the market for $300,000, but a professional real estate agent will know the home had upgrades and sold at $265,000 after 45 days on the market. A real estate agent will also have recent local market conditions data, which will affect your selling process, that you do not have access to. Many factors determine how you will proceed. Data such as the average per-square-foot cost of similar homes, median and average sales prices, average number of days on market, and comparisons of list-to-sold prices will have a huge bearing on what you ultimately decide to do. Attempting to sell your home without an agent requires a major effort, resources, and countless hours understanding and organizing all the work to be competent to handle the largest transaction of your life. Professional agents’ careers depend on their ethics and ability to build relationships with clients and the community they serve. Agents looking to make easy money rarely go to the effort of establishing a solid marketing plan or work at strategic pricing; nor do those who do not have heart of a servant and advocate last very long in the business.

Here are some traits to look for when hiring an agent. Is he or

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