Is it Worth it To Hire a Real Estate Agent in Cape Coral, FL.?

Selling your home is one of the most important decisions and financial transaction you will ever make. The housing market is now more competitive than ever and you must have the right Cape Coral real estate agent on your side. Is it really worth it to hire a real estate agent in the first place? We’ll address that in a moment, but another question is what should you be looking for in a real estate professional  when you are listing your home?

There are a few easy ways to quickly narrow your search for hiring real estate agents in Cape Coral, Fort Myers and the rest of the SW FL area to help you weed out the best. Besides experience, fancy letters after their names and claiming to have made more money than any other agent in Cape Coral how do you determine who is best?

Here are a few questions you can ask yourself and some guidelines to follow to aid you with your search:

Does it appear the agent has a genuine concern for your situation and appear genuine in nature looking out for your best interests? Do you feel like you are being rushed through the interview by the agent? An agent that seems rushed does not have your best interests at heart. An agent should want a complete tour of your home, want to sit down with you and hear your goals and ask questions first BEFORE a piece of paper and a pen is ever handed to you. If an agent wants to leave and come back at another time to sign the listing agreement that’s okay. Many times after seeing a home the agent will want to run comparables again against your home to be sure their pricing you’ve discussed is accurate for they may not have known you had a separate green house in the back or had converted the attic into an office for example.

Does the real estate agent’s listing presentation consist of not only information about their company but also information about them? Look for an agent that is proud to show you some written testimonials about them, shows you some homes that were recently closed as them being the listing agent, and that can show you they have an internet presence as well.

Look for a written marketing plan. This is where they show you what will be done marketing wise for your home throughout the duration of the listing agreement. It should include things like signage, flyer creation, MLS and major real estate internet sites, open house, virtual tour, etc., things of that nature but written in detail with a game plan.

Interview several agents before you make a decision and you will quickly get a feel for each agent and see the similarities between some and the differences between others. The agent that makes you feel comfortable and have proven to you they are knowledgeable and an expert in their field should be the agent of choice.

Keep in mind an agent with a large inventory of homes on the market may not necessarily be the right choice. Many agents love to brag about their large number of listings, but the amount of time those houses stay on the market and finally close will be a key indicator as to whether the Cape Coral agent can effectively market your home, find a buyer or find another agent with a buyer, facilitate the deal and get you to the closing table or determine if they are merely just salesmen with trophies all around the neighborhood with their name on signs.

Is it worth it to hire a real estate agent in Cape Coral, FL? Absolutely yes. In a seller’s market one might debate that statement but in an unstable market such as the one we are in and will be for some time to come, it is better to have a professional on your side and getting your home to as many eyes as possible. Playing around with marketing the home by yourself can prove to be a costly mistake, with time wasted, unreasonable demands by a buyer that is trying to get too much from you in way of repairs, the price they are willing to pay for the home, making sure the buyer is able to afford the home and so much more. Just make sure you have a professional at your side that can field all the balls coming at you during the marketing and sales process.