The idea of selling your home can be frightening, exciting, and a whole lot of other things. It can feel stressful, or it may feel like a relief. There’s no “one size fits all emotion” that everyone experiences when listing their home. Selling a property in Toccoa, GA, or anywhere, can be a lot of things but going in with a little preparation and understanding of the market can go a long way.
During the initial stages of selling your home, you’re more than likely going to interview a handful of local real estate agents who are jumping at the chance to offer their services. While they’re going to be doing their best to persuade you to work with them, having some questions prepared to ask can help you determine which agent is the best fit for your needs.
When considering putting your home on the market, try asking these important Q’s to get your interview with an agent started.
What Does An Agent Do?
Agent representation is many things, but a good agent will go above and beyond to ensure you’re not wasting time with sellers who aren’t serious or may not be able to afford the place. An agent that means business understands the importance of digital media and how to effectively use it to market active listings, and they’ll work with you around your schedule to plan showings. They’ll offer advice and tips on how to prepare your home to sell, and they’ll keep you informed of every essential detail along the way.
Practiced agents understand the market trends, stay up to date with what’s selling, and will have a plethora of ideas prepared to get your home matched with the right buyer.
How Much Equity Do I Have In My House?
It can be beneficial to have an understanding of your property’s value to take into consideration when you’re thinking of selling. After all, you might already have an idea of what you’d like to earn from the sale, and it can be important to find out realistically how much you could sell your home for. Depending on the equity in your home, combined with the current market, you could earn less or more than you’d like.
So, what exactly does equity mean? If you’re unfamiliar with the term, it’s considered to be the amount of home you own outright, outside of your loan. Equity is based on the value of your home after you’ve subtracted what you owe on your mortgage loan.
Now, when you take your property equity and combine it with a comparable market analysis, you can determine what potential buyers would likely offer to buy the place for.
How Do You Market Properties?
Marketing anything in today’s digital world is drastically different than it was 5-10 years ago. The days of magazines and physical newsletters are mostly a thing of the past, and digital real estate is very much a thing.
While an agent might have a potential buyer in mind when they list your property, or a network of potential buyers that are past clients, they’ll likely need to rely on virtual media to market and promote the place.
Who will you market my property to?
Knowing your target audience can make a major difference in selling your home. For example, you don’t necessarily want to market a 70-acre farm to a family from the city that has no interest in farming. However, you would want your agent to market that land to farmers in the area and potential businesses within the agriculture industry.
The same thing goes for a lake home. You’re more than likely going to target potential buyers who are looking to invest in a secondary home if you’re planning to sell a 5+ bedroom house that has lakefront access.
What Can I Do To Get My Home Ready To Sell?
In a high and demanding market, you don’t necessarily have to do anything more than clean your home to get offers rolling in. Many times, potential buyers will want to do things like paint or update appliances with options of their own choosing, so tidying up a bit might be the only thing you really need to do.
However, if there’s a hole in the wall or some boarding on your back deck that needs to be replaced, those are great things to handle before the listing goes live. Always ask your agent for suggestions on what you can do to help the home get market-ready.
What Percentage Commission Do You Get When I Sell?
Every deal and every contract can be different, but knowing what you’ll be paying an agent is a necessary part of deciding who you work with. Keep in mind when you’re discussing an agent’s commission, you’re paying for their insight and experience, licensed expertise, access to a network of customers you might not be able to reach, marketing tools, and so much more.
Discussing the percentage an agent will receive from selling your home is something that you should always do upfront. This can prevent any miscommunication down the road, and give you a realistic idea of what you’ll walk away with financially once those offers start coming in.
Extra tip: It’s typically the seller’s responsibility to pay a commission on the sale of a home unless agreed upon otherwise between all parties of a sale.
Hopefully, these questions have helped inspire you to get ready to list your Toccoa, GA home, or at the very least helped prepare you a little when it’s time to interview agents.