Selling a house is challenging. You may be selling a house to pay your debts or make more money, but being prepared will ease the process. One way is to hire a real estate agent who can assist you while making the process super-convenient. Again, sorting the wheat from the chaff is difficult. You must choose a reliable and reputable realtor who can actually make a world of difference. Do your research before you decide to hire a realtor.
Once you’ve decided upon a real estate agent to help you with your home-selling process, you should put all your doubts and queries before them before you close the deal.
Here are eight such questions you must ask your real estate agent when selling your home:
1. When Is The Best Time To Sell A House?
While it’s entirely a matter of personal preference, there are certain factors that may affect the house selling process. Certain months (and even weeks) can make home selling easier, more profitable, and even faster.
For instance, you can expect faster-selling results during the summer and spring months. However, the sales may slow down during fall and winter. It is advisable to ask your realtor about the same.
2. What Will Be The Overall Expenses?
It goes without saying that expenses will be your foremost concern. There are numerous costs involved in selling a house, which you may not be ready for. Hence, it is always good to discuss with your realtor how much selling a house will cost you overall.
Asking about the overall cost to your realtor will help you understand whether you are ready to accommodate the expense or you may want to wait for a while. Remember, a hasty decision can take a toll on your bank account and mental peace.
3. How Do You Decide The Price Of A House?
Another important question to ask your realtor is about their knowledge of a specific area and the prices. Ask them about their criteria for deciding the price of your house - what all have they considered to make an estimate?
Make sure to ask your realtor for evidence to back up the estimate for your property. The evidence should be in the form of sold prices for your area from the last six months, comparable homes, and general property market trends.
4. What Can I Do To Increase The Value Of My House?
There are always possibilities to enhance the worth of your house. And your realtor is the best person to assist you on the same. Ask your realtor to give you some pointers on how to improve the potential sale price of your home before putting it for sale. They may ask you to get some minor repairs and renovations to bump up your property’s sale price.
5. What Is The Best Approach To Selling My House?
How you should sell your house is an important consideration. There are different approaches you can opt for - auction, private treaty, or expression of interest. Based on the property and the market, your realtor should be able to suggest to you the best approach for property selling.
They will take into account certain factors, such as urgency, demand, and how private you would prefer the sale of your home to be.
6. What’s The Average Time On The Market For Your Listings?
When selling or even buying a property, have realistic expectations as you may want to wait for a little more to close the deal. Ideally, your real estate agent should be selling houses at a rate that’s comparable to the average time on the market for your location.
7. How Often Will I Get Updates?
It’s often a misconception that if you have a realtor on board, they will take care of every single thing, and hence you can relax. It is often necessary to be always in touch with your agents to see how things are proceeding. You may want to know what's the current status of your selling process or if there’s more needed from your end.
It is advised to keep yourself updated and communicate with the real estate agent often. Ask them as many questions, but with faith. Ask the agent to update you on everything, be it good or bad.
8. What Should I Expect During The Selling Process?
Ask your realtor to walk you through the entire process - the different stages and respective outcomes. Right from the initial property appraisal to preparing for the market to inspections, and settlement, your agent should be able to explain everything.
The Takeaway
Asking questions to your realtor builds a level of trust as it sets open and honest communication throughout. Remember every question matters when it is about selling a house. Also, knowing what to ask can help you understand the selling process and sell your house at its greatest potential.
