Whenever you’ve chosen to sell your home, you need a trusted guide by your side. That means it’s an ideal opportunity to find the best real estate agent in California!
Here we’ll show you how to locate this important personal help you pull off this most important of all transactions. Since not all real estate agents in California are equal in terms of skills and experience. You can rely on Izabella Lipetski as she has almost 20 years of experience in the market and she can provide you the best real estate deals in California. Here’s how to find a real estate agent in California who’s right for you.
Gather Referrals, But Take Them with A Grain of Salt
There are a lot of agents out there. So how do you choose? Go ahead and ask your friends for referrals, but don’t fall into the trap of picking an agent purely because of admiring reviews. The old mantra of location, location, location applies to real estate agents as much as homes.
You want an agent who is very familiar with your area, says Izabella Lipetski, a Realtor in East Bay Area., TX. The reason is simple: If they’ve spent time in the area, they’ll know how to market your house there.
A better question to ask your friends than “do you know any real estate agents in East Bay Area?» or, “do you know the best real estate agent in California who’s sold many properties in my area in the past few years?»
Test Their Communication Skills
Once you have some potentials, email them or call their office, then sit back and wait. This is your first test of a key component: how responsive will your agent be? Ideally, he/she should get back to you that same day.
If it takes longer than four business hours without a decent explanation, I would be a risk to hire such a real estate agent in California. Imagine if you’ve got competing for offers on the table, or if some problem comes up with the home inspection. You don’t want to wonder where your agent is and whether you’ll hear back from him/her!
Probe Their Experience
Your initial conversation with a prospective listing real estate agent in California should be like any job interview. Don’t be afraid to ask the tough questions right off the bat. A best real estate agent in East Bay should know his/her stats, and any dancing around these numbers could mean he/she’s hiding something. According to experts, you should ask the following:
- How long have you been in business? Aim for agents with at least twenty years of experience, enough time to learn the ropes and finesse their marketing and selling plans. Time (on the job) is money (in your pocket). The good thing is Izabella Lipetski has more than 20 years of experience in the field of real estate in the East Bay area.
- How many houses did you sell last year? Look for agents with double-digit sales. “I wouldn’t consider an agent unless they had 20 or more sales a year,» as per experts.
- What percentage of your listings do you sell? Ideally, you want a real estate agent in East Bay who has sold an average of 60% to 80%.
- What is the average list price to actual sell price ratio for your listings? This can fluctuate by market, but you should still look for high numbers. “I would set a low bar of 95% to be acceptable for even the worst market conditions,» as per experts.
Assess Their Marketing Skills
Everyone knows that to sell a house quickly (and get the big bucks) you need to reach as many eyes as you can. And the way to assess an agent’s ability to do that is to ask these questions:
- How will you market my home? A real estate agent in California should use at least a good brokerage website to showcase your listing, national listing portals such as IzabellaLipetski.com, and an email subscription list.
- How will you use social media? They should use at least Facebook and Twitter to market listings; they get bonus points if they post photos on Instagram.
- What offline materials do you use? While most marketing is done online now, your agent should still make use of tried-and-true methods such as fliers, yard signs, and brochures, especially at an open house.
- How much do you spend on advertising? “Don’t stop asking until you get a solid dollar figure,” as per experts. Advertising costs vary widely by area, but agents should consistently spend a portion of their business expenses on advertising. By asking for a set amount, you’ll know if they’re doing that or not.
Don’t Shoot For Cheap
Finally, don’t assume the most inexpensive agent is the one for you. While real estate agents work at different price points and some may take a lower commission, they should be confident enough in their abilities to stand by their prices, according to experts. When you’re talking terms, your real estate agent in California, you need to ask their prices and all the above questions. We are sure you will find Izabella Lipetski as the best real estate agent in California and East Bay Area.