Step 1 To Selling Your Home: Find A REALTOR®

Step 1:  Find a REALTOR®

Many homeowners begin the selling process by checking out popular real estate websites like Realtor.com, Zillow, Redfin or Trulia to see the recent sales prices of similar properties in their neighborhood. While this is a common and understandable approach, it's important to remember:

• These kinds of online sites aren’t 100% accurate, as listings which were never listed in the MLS such as pocket listings or For Sale By Owners will be missing. 
• The information on these online sites is often outdated or inaccurate because not every REALTOR® updates their listings from Active to Sold on these platforms. Unfortunately, many Realtors are not diligent about keeping this information up to date. As a result, a property might still show as Active on Zillow, even though it was sold 9 months ago.
• When professional appraisers conduct an appraisal they only take into account homes that have sold in a particular neighborhood within the last 6 months and with the least amount of possible ‘adjustments’. Unfortunately, it's not possible to sort the data by date on these online sites, making it difficult to specifically search for properties that have sold within the last 6 months.
• Many properties don’t list the square footage so it’s hard to know if you’re comparing similarly sized homes, which makes a big difference when determining value.  

Therefore, step 1 to selling a home should be to interview Realtors to represent you and ask them to provide you with a CMA (comparable market analysis).

Find a REALTOR®

When looking for a good REALTOR®, it's important to find someone who not only excels at their job, but is also someone you genuinely like and trust, as they'll be handling a significant part of your financial future. You can start by asking friends and family for referrals. Once you have a few names, reach out to those Realtors and schedule initial phone screenings with them. Pay attention to how promptly each REALTOR® responds to your initial contact. A good REALTOR® should get back to you within 24 hours; if not, that could be a red flag. In this fast-paced industry, quick responses are crucial for handling showing requests, offers, inspection negotiations, and more.

By all means, by now, we would hope you would contact us FIRST at 609-948-4306 or info(at)quartermangroup(dot)com and we can see if we'd be a good fit for your real estate needs. Remember, not all Realtors are the right fit for everyone, so take the time to find the perfect match for you.

Initial Phone Screening

In your initial phone screening with a REALTOR®, inquire about their familiarity with your neighborhood and whether they have previous experience helping clients buy or sell property there. Ask about their overall experience in real estate. If you have a positive feeling about them, consider requesting a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) for your home and schedule an in-person meeting. 

Be ready for the REALTOR® to ask questions about your home, such as your mortgage amount and any necessary repairs, as this information is crucial for them to conduct an accurate CMA.

Meet In Person and Review the CMA

When you meet with the REALTOR® in person, ask them our Interview questions for hiring a REALTOR® (click here). Go over the CMA (click here for tips on reading a CMA).   Ask them not only what they think your home is worth, but what the average days on market (i.e. the number of days from when your home goes on the market until you have an accepted contract) is in your area. If the REALTOR® doesn’t know this, it is best to move on.  Ask them what they charge, how much the closing costs will be and approximately what will you net if you sell your home for X price. It is very important to be honest with each REALTOR®. If you need to sell your home for a certain amount of money or in a certain time frame, tell them.  Realtors can come up with the best strategy to fit your situation only when they have a complete picture. Lastly, trust your gut.

Sign the paperwork

Once you’ve picked a REALTOR®, expect to sign a listing agreement (click here for an example of a listing agreement and disclosures for NJ & PA) to hire that REALTOR® to represent you as your agent.  That starts the ball rolling to get your home on the market.

We are available whenever you need us!