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How to Help Your Agent (continued)
3. Price your home to sell. An overpriced home profits neither the seller nor the agent because it probably will sit on the market for a long time and eat up the agent's advertising budget. "I lose interest if the home is so overpriced that I know I'm just spinning my wheels," Weisberg said. 4. Understand the relationship among price, commission and marketing. If you insist on overpricing your home, the agent might insist on a higher commission to cover the added marketing expenses. "[Sometimes, I will say to the seller], 'My commission depends on who sets the price, you or me. If you set the price considerably higher than what I perceive the current market value to be, it's going to cost me more time and resources to move it,' " said Judith Scott, an associate broker with South Bay Brokers in Manhattan Beach. 5. Get a written marketing plan. According to Scott, here are some of the most important questions a seller should ask a prospective agent:
A written marketing plan sets specific standards of performance for the agent and agreed-upon goals and objectives the agent is obligated to meet. 6. Get your home in top condition. A house in good shape is more appealing to buyers and, consequently, easier to sell than a fixer-upper. That's why agents give more attention to the most attractive and best-maintained homes on the market. "Your home needs to be in tip top condition. It needs to sparkle and shine because people buy [homes that are] clean, white and bright," said Wanda Alley, a broker-associate with Seven Gables Real Estate in Anaheim I Hills. If you can't afford to get your home in top condition, you should at least keep the home clean and clear a path through your clutter. "You can't sell what you can't see," said Manning. "I'd rather [the sellers) have a garage full of stuff than have a house full of stuff. Buyers can imagine what a garage looks like, but they can't imagine what a bedroom or living room looks like when stuff is stacked to the ceiling." 7. Make your home available for showings. "Selling your home is a painful process because nobody likes to have their privacy invaded," Alley said, "but inaccessibility really ties the hands of the agent." Access includes marketing strategies as well as showings. "A number of sellers don't want a For Sale sign, which eliminates about 40% of the telephone calls. Or they don't want any open houses," Weisberg said. "Some of my sellers can [get ready] for a showing in an hour. Others, if the wind is blowing the wrong way, forget it. If you want to sell your home, make it available." As does a low commission, an inaccessible home turns off buyers' agents, as well as the listing agent. "If the agents have too many problems getting in to show your property, unless it's the only one, they will show other properties and forget about yours," Weisberg said. 8. Communicate with your agent. Agents do not like being left in the dark any more than sellers do. "A lot of sellers will stew over something for a week before they pick up the phone and call the agent," Manning said. "Communication is a two-way street. "A lot of times, the agent isn't even aware the seller is not happy because the seller may be afraid to express that directly to the agent. You need to call the agent the moment you are not satisfied with the service you're getting." If you get any calls about your property or anyone stops by or fails to turn up for a scheduled showing, take names and telephone numbers and pass them along to your agent. Demonstrate your eagerness to cooperate and your willingness to keep the lines of communication open. If you run into a complete communication breakdown or your agent just disappears, you can ask the sales manager or broker to give your listing to another agent. Use this tactic only as a last resort because you don't want toget a reputation among the agents as a difficult seller.
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