Hiring a professional and trustworthy real estate agent is important when selling your home. Check out these tips for finding the best real estate agent.
Are you currently looking to sell your Haliburton home? Do you have an interest in selling your lakefront property? If so, then the success of this process rides on finding the best real estate agent for the job.
Far too many people hire an agent without doing their research. The agent is a crucial part of the process. Your home sale depends on their experience, network, resources, and abilities. It takes finding the right one to ensure you get as much for your property as possible.
See below for an in-depth guide listing several key tips that you can use to find the best real estate agent to sell your home.
1. Search for a Good Reputation
In real estate, the reputation of the agent will tell you everything you need to know about how well they perform their job.
If you’re wondering whether an agent can be trusted, then there are a few key ways that you can gauge the real estate agent’s process and whether they’re the right fit for your needs. You can look through online reviews, customer testimonials, and request client references to speak with.
Start by looking online at their ratings and reviews. While the ratings can be helpful, you’ll get far more insight if you take the time to read through the comments. Be sure to ask yourself a few questions:
- Does the real estate agent service the Haliburton real estate market?
- Do previous clients seem satisfied with the service that they received?
- Do the clients make mention of the agent’s communication skills?
- Were they happy with the amount they received for their Haliburton cottages?
- Did any of the clients hire the agent to sell their Haliburton lakefront property?
You want to make sure that the real estate agent you hire is equal to the task. At the end of the day, you should ensure the agent you hire has a good reputation among its clientele.
2. Look for Experience
You wouldn’t get a car with a person who’s never driven before. You wouldn’t trust an inexperienced accountant to keep track of your records. Why would you do any differently when selling your property?
You need someone with experience. More importantly, you need to find the best real estate agent with experience that’s specific to your needs.
For example, let’s say you’re selling a waterfront property. Hiring an agent without experience in this department can lead to some costly mistakes.
That agent might pitch the prospect of the next owner being able to build a dock in the water when they don’t have legal rights to the lake. That can lead to an interested buyer backing out of the deal at the last second.
An experienced Haliburton real estate agent can use their industry savvy and know-how to help you maximize your return. They’ll help you lower renovation costs on the home to yield higher profit margins when your sale is finalized.
More importantly, their experience means that they have a vast network and database to list your Haliburton cottage in front of the right people.
3. Factor in the Chemistry
Typically, homes can take a few months before they find an interested buyer, agreed, and the sale is finalized. Since lakefront properties are a niche market, it could be a bit longer before your home is sold.
In other words, you want to make sure that you hire a real estate agent you can see yourself working with for a few months.
You can gauge this on the initial call. Do they put the process in terms that you can understand? Do they attempt to impress you with industry jargon that goes right over your head?
How is their poise? Do they seem like they’re organized and prepared? Do you feel as if you can contact them with any questions that you have at any time? Make sure you find someone that you have natural chemistry with. It makes the entire process easier.
4. Hire Local
We touched on this briefly, but it bears worth repeating, you should always hire a real estate agent with experience in the market you’re selling to.
In this case, you want to find an agent with experience and vast knowledge of Haliburton real estate.
Have they sold lakefront properties in the Haliburton community before? How many Haliburton cottages have they worked on over the years? How do they feel that their local expertise can help you sell your home? These are just a few questions that you can ask.
5. Look for a Plan
A successful real estate agent always has a plan. Without it, they can quickly lose their sense of direction, which can compromise the overall sale and give the buyer more leverage.
Make sure to ask the agent what their strategy looks like for your home. What plans do they have to list and market the home? How will they get it in front of your target market?
More importantly, how does their plan differ from other Haliburton real estate agents? How will they hold themselves accountable for the strategy they’ve put into practice.
Find the Best Real Estate Agent for Your Situation
Now that you have seen an in-depth guide with several tips on how to find the best real estate agent in Haliburton, be sure to use them to your advantage.
Be sure to read this article for more information on the 7 real estate tips for sellers and what you should do after listing your property.
For more inquiries, please be sure to reach out via our contact us page and we will be happy to assist you further.