SELLERS

 1. EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE

You don't need to know everything about buying and selling real estate if you hire a real estate professional who does. When selling your home, your REALTOR® can give you up-to-date information on what is happening in the marketplace as well as the price, financing, terms and condition of competing properties. These are key factors in getting your property sold at the best price, quickly and with minimum hassle. Often your agent can recommend repairs or cosmetic work that will significantly enhance the salability of your property.

2. AGENTS ARE BUFFERS

When a property is marketed with the help of your agent, you do not have to allow strangers into your home. Your agent will generally prescreen and accompany qualified prospects through your property. Agents take the spam out of your property showings and visits. Your agent will filter all those phone calls that lead to nowhere and try to induce serious buyers to write an offer immediately. 

3. NEIGHBORHOOD EXPERTISE

REALTORS® have a general expertise of various neighborhoods in a specific area and can provide you information on schools, crime and demographics. Certified Nocatee Agents possess intimate knowledge about 35+ communities and the latest developments in your neighborhood! They can identify comparable sales and hand these facts to you, in addition providing information on schools, demographics, upcoming development, community events, and more. 

4. MARKETING SPECIALIST

Your REALTOR® markets your property to other real estate agents and the public. In many markets across the country, over half of real estate sales are cooperative sales, which means, a real estate agent other than yours brings in the buyer. Your agent will provide recommendation for professional staging before showings and open houses, and develop first-class marketing material with eye-catching photography, videography and property description to make your listing stand out.

Your agent acts as the marketing coordinator, distributing information about your property to other real estate agents through a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) or other cooperative marketing networks. Your agent will know when, where and how to advertise your property. Advertising alone does not sell real estate! NAR studies show that 82% of real estate sales are the result of agent contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, family and personal contacts. 

5. PRICE GUIDANCE

Agents do not determine prices for sellers. However, an agent will help to guide sellers to select the right price for their house. If a listing is at 7%, for example, an agent has a 7% vested interest in the sale, but the client has a 93% interest. Selling agents will prepare a FREE Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) and ask sellers to weigh all the data supplied to them and choose a price. Then based on market supply, demand and the conditions, the agent will devise a selling strategy.

Your REALTOR® can help you objectively evaluate every buyer’s proposal without compromising your marketing position. This initial agreement is only the beginning of a process of appraisals, inspections and financing – and a lot of possible pitfalls.

6. MARKET CONDITIONS INFORMATION

Real estate agents can disclose market conditions, which will direct your selling process. There are many factors that determine how you should proceed. Having data available such as the average per square foot cost of similar homes, median and average sales prices, average days on market and ratios of list-to-sold prices, among other criteria, can have a significant impact on your decisions.

7. PROFESSIONAL NETWORKING

REALTORs® network with other professionals, many of whom provide services that you will need to buy or sell. Due to legal liability, many agents do not recommend a certain individual or company over another, but they do know which vendors have a reputation for efficiency, competency, and competitive pricing. Agents can, however, give you a list of references with whom they have worked in the past and provide information to help you make a good selection.

8. NEGOTIATION SKILLS & CONFIDENTIALITY

Top producing REALTORs® negotiate well because they are skilled and, unlike most buyers and sellers, they can remove themselves from the emotional aspects of the transaction. It's part of their job. Successful agents are not just messengers, delivering buyer's offers to sellers and vice versa. They are professionals who are trained to present their client's case in the best possible way and agree to hold client information confidential from competing interests.

9. HANDLING PAPERWORK 

Purchase agreements can run ten pages or more. That does not include some of the required federal- and state-mandated disclosures. It’s not uncommon to see real estate files that average thicknesses from one to three inches of paper. One tiny mistake or omission could land you in court or cost you thousands of dollars. Your REALTOR® can help you write a legally binding, win-win agreement that will be more likely to make it through the process. Issues may arise between the initial sales agreement and closing (also called settlement or escrow), for example, unexpected repairs might be required to obtain financing or a title problem is discovered. Your REALTOR® is the best person to objectively help you resolve these issues and move the transaction to closing hassle-free.

10. DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS FOR FUTURE BUSINESS 

Successful REALTORs® are not only consistently drumming up new business, but they are also dependent on referrals. This emphasis gives agents strong incentives to make clients happy. It also means that a REALTOR® will be there for you when you need to hire an agent again. Many will periodically email/mail market updates to you to keep you informed and to stay in touch.