Whether it is time for you to buy or sell a house, working with a real estate agent is an essential part of the task. Not only do they handle your most important transactions but they also can be the reason you are living in the house of your dreams or are stuck with a house on the market for far too long.
So how do you know when things are going uphill or down? Here are some signs that you might need to have a talk with your real estate agent.
Listing your house for the highest price
This may seem like a good thing but it can actually hurt the seller in the long run. Being a good agent doesn’t alway mean jacking up the price of the home to get the maximum value. More often, houses that are listed with this sort of strategy sell for a lot less in the long run. Buyers will notice the inconstancy with comparable homes in the market and be turned off. So beware of an agent who is choosing to go this route; ask them to come up with a more realistic price for your house in the current market.
Broken promises
It is easy to believe in everything your realtor plans on doing for you when you first meet with them, and plenty of agents have every intent on following through. Where things get tricky is when communication gets lost and plans fall through. Granted your agent should be the one working hard to get your house sold or find you the perfect one to move into, but if you feel like things aren’t working out the way you imagined, try setting up a meeting with them to get everything back on track. If you have no contract with the agent or are able to get out it, try finding an agent who is better suited for your expectations.
Location expert
So much of real estate depends on around knowing your surroundings and becoming an expert on specific zip codes. While this can be great news for buyers looking to purchase within a specific neighborhood or city, someone looking to sell their home has to do extensive research on who is the best agent for their exact location.
If you have already tried to mend the relationship with your agent and you don’t feel like you’re coming to an agreement on how to move forward together, there may be someone else in their office they can refer you to. With any realtor-buyer-seller relationships, there will be ups and downs. If you feel like they are giving you good customer service and are putting effort in, don’t give up because the market is not 100 percent predictable.
