Home is where the Real E$tate is by Fergus

WORKING WITH A REALTOR/THE LISTING AGENT Before listing a property, most realtors, myself included, will schedule and pay for a professional photographer to photograph the home for the purpose of highlighting the home's attributes. As the saying goes 'a picture is worth a thousand words'. Once the photography is complete, the agent or their assistant will select and upload/label the best images (typically 30) to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service),  a private database that is created, maintained and paid for by real estate professionals to help clients buy and sell property. Meanwhile, if the home is not occupied or partially furnished, refer to blog number 1 in this 3 part series which includes some information on staging. THE MLS  For both real estate professionals and clients alike, a local MLS plays a critical role when it comes to marketing and selling a home. Each listing has mandatory fields (some are optional), such as the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, total square ...

Representation The most common choice is to work with a realtor or real estate professional, either by referral, word of mouth or reputation, or of course a combination thereof. The advantage of working with a realtor for any seller is that they will get full representation on the back of what is called a listing agreement which I will go into in more detail, but for now lets just say that a listing agreement is encouraged and or required in all fifty states.  In essence the duties of a contracted 'realtor' include the following... Obedience (within reason) Loyalty Disclosure Confidentiality Accounting  Reasonable care  If you are that rare seller (around 1%) who is considering going with the for sale by owner (FSBO) option, keep in mind that you do not have access to the myriad tools a realtor has to find a buyer, or for that matter a plug and play support system to help you navigate your way through what can be a very complex process. Similarly, when it comes ...

Introduction Like all professional client relationships there are two sides to consider, beginning of course with the client.  For my part, I like to begin the conversation with the fundamentals as in why, when, and how? Statistically the number one reason a seller will be looking to sell is family but there a great many other reasons too, such as downsizing or a change of location/job change, or perhaps they need to raise cash going into retirement. Regardless of the reason, it behooves the agent to take an interest in their client’s goals and expectations, particularly as it points to motivation and need.            For instance, I have worked with sellers who are just looking to test what the market can bring them and conversely I have worked with sellers who had to sell due to medical reasons, the latter of which are considerably more motivated as far as the timeline. Irrespective of the reasons we are in the relationship business and the mor...