The real estate market bobs and weaves with home values and interest rates. First-time home sellers wonder about the first steps in the process. First, find a high-quality real estate agent to guide you through legal and efficient house-selling procedures.
We are Four 19 Companies Properties with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau (BBB). We buy houses Arlington owners want to sell and strive to provide them with the best service during this in-depth process. So, you can rest assured that you can receive a cash offer without an agent or receive the help of one as you sell your home.
Questions To Ask a Realtor When Selling a House
As you browse cash home buyers in Texas, here are the four best questions to ask your agent.
1. How Did You Get to This Suggested Home Selling Price?
Ask your real estate agent how they decided the suggested listing price for your home. The agent analyzes the house’s current condition, the previous selling prices, and what the buyer has to repair when it becomes theirs.
Even if you spend $30,000 to revamp the master bedroom, it does not mean the listing price will increase by that exact value per se. However, the better the overall condition, the higher the listing price.
Ask your real estate agent which home renovations can enhance the list price more rapidly than others. This way, you can focus on investing in these renovations before selling.
Otherwise, you can sell your home as is so there is no more investment needed if you are okay with the current listing price. Your real estate agent can help you to weigh the pros and cons of selling your home as is or making renovations to increase home value.
2. Of Your Sold Listings, How Many Have You Represented the Buyer?
While this person will be acting as the seller’s agent for you, it’s good to know their experience of representing prospective buyers amongst their previous clients.
Knowing both sides of the equation will help real estate agents to know what buyers are looking for in a home. From there, they can create an effective marketing plan that will get your home into the eyes of buyers.
These are some of the features that homeowners prefer to have:
- Neutral colors are more welcoming than bright ones.
- Home buyers prefer an open floor layout.
- Modernized HVAC system.
- Modernized kitchen.
- Bathroom on the first floor.
Work with your real estate agent on a powerful description of your home’s features. Post the description on social media venues and multiple listing service sites to reach a wider audience.
3. How Will You Vet Potential Buyers?
A real estate agent vetting potential buyers during open houses means they are asking buyers different financial questions that will make them the best candidates as property owners versus other candidates. Most of these inquiries should encompass the buyers’ financial health, how much debt they currently have, their field of work, and yearly compensation.
Your real estate questions should be asking buyers questions like:
- How long have you been with your current affiliated company?
- How much do you have as a down payment?
- Are you doing a cash buy or mortgage the new home? Mortgaging a home means a lender company funds the home purchase. However, the buyers will have to pay that back over the next 15 to 30 years.
- What transaction fees are you aware of concerning doing a home purchase?
4. What are the Exact Costs?
There are many exact costs in the selling process. There are transaction and listing fees involved in the process that will have to be paid on your behalf. Let’s discuss the total costs of selling a house.
Real Estate Agent’s Commission
Trusting a real estate agent to assist you to sell a home means you will have to pay accordingly for their time. A general rule of thumb is that they will receive about 5% of the home’s purchase price at the time of closing. Hence, if you sell your home for $250,000, you will have to pay the experienced agent about $12,500 in base commissions.
Closing Costs
While buyers have to pay some of the closing costs, as the seller, you will be responsible for a portion of them as well. The fees involved in closing costs as the seller include:
- Brokerage fee
- Escrow fee ($2,000)
- Homeowner’s Association (HOA) costs, if applicable.
- Title insurance ($4,000)
- Settlement fees
- Pre-listing inspection fees
- Pay off your mortgage, if applicable ($200,000 or more)
Moving Expenses
Of course, selling your current home means incurring moving expenses to get you to your new one. Depending if you hire a moving company or do the moving yourself, it may cost upwards of $1,000 to get everything moved out of your sold home.
Consider the costs of:
- Packaging supplies such as boxes, packing tape, totes, and etcetera.
- Dues paid for hiring a moving company.
- Rent moving trucks to drive yourself, if you will not be hiring a moving company.
- Hiring a professional organizer to help you declutter before the move, if applicable.
Property Taxes
Since you are the owner until the closing date, you will be responsible for the remaining property taxes until ownership transfers. The amount of property taxes will depend on what you have to pay in your local area.
Optional Costs
Enhance your chances of your selling your home faster with these optional costs:
- Home staging to make the home look cozy during tours ($1,500)
- Home warranty dues ($1,100)
- Pre-listing home inspection ($400)
- Repairs ($3,000 to $5,000)
- Home upgrades ($4,000)
Purchasing a home warranty before transferring ownership to the buyers will encourage more offers to come in to sell the house faster.
Why It’s Important To Ask Your Realtor Questions
There is no such thing as a dumb question when you are selling your home. Be sure that you know all the details that go into the process. If you are not sure of something, your realtor is there to help you by answering your questions. Let’s take a look at the many reasons why it’s important to ask your realtor the right questions.
Separates the Good Realtors From the Bad Ones
Especially if this is your first time selling your house, local agents may seem quality on the outside. However, some want to trick you for quick commission earnings.
Here are the signs of a bad real estate agent. Look out for these red flags when corresponding with your current real estate agent:
- Lack of communication.
- A large client load prevents them from giving you curated attention.
- Remain uninformed of the current trends or technologies.
- Lacks strong explanations to your questions.
- Does not have at least a few years of experience in real estate.
- Lack of a professional demeanor.
Alternatively, a good real estate agent will:
- Return correspondence in one business day or quicker.
- Have many connections to home inspectors and other entities. They can make referrals for other services you need.
- Be highly respected. Look at positive online reviews from prior clients to see their prior performance.
- Knows how to market effectively on social media so they can develop a proper marketing plan for selling your home.
- Multiple years of experience in real estate.
- Has a valid real estate license via the National Association of Realtors.
They Know the State of the Housing Market
The best real estate agents are informed of the current state of the market. Is it a buyer’s market or a seller’s market at the time that you are listing your home?
They can highlight the current trends for you to show you which market you are currently in. Even if you are selling a home at the time of being a buyer’s market with you as the seller, the real estate agent can help you to still benefit.
In a buyer’s market, there are decreased overall home sales, lower home values, and multiple properties listed in the area. Homeowners benefit from a deal on home value while sellers may not make as much as they’d like from selling their properties.
A seller’s market means homes are selling fast which causes heightened home value. Hence, sellers make more profit on their properties as buyers have to pay more to become homeowners.
You Are Thoroughly Informed
It isn’t a good idea to go blindly into selling your home without knowing what’s required every step of the way. As your real estate agent explains the process, if there is anything you do not understand, ask them questions during your telephone or in-person conversations.
Conclusion
We help you to sell a house fast in Fort Worth while following all the steps legally and efficiently. Learning about how your assigned agent arrived at the suggested listing price, how many times they have represented the buyer, how to vet potential buyers, and the exact costs of selling a home are all important elements to know when working with a listing agent.