Agents, Agents & more Agents!

It’s an exciting time! You’ve just decided to sell your home in search of your next family home! Maybe you’ve been searching and finally found your next home and ONLY need to sell your current one now? Regardless of any of the scenarios you’ll need a Realtor, and a good one, to sell your home for you. Unless you want to FSBO, in that case we will pray for you.

Now if you’ve been following our blog page over the years, you’ll know we advocate to interview realtors, ask them questions and so forth. If you have not, you’re in luck! See our previous blog https://www.mcinnesmarketing.com/blog/28412/the-most-important-question-to-ask-a-real-estate-agent-before-listing-with-them
Never being ones to leave you hanging, we’ve also put together a list of things you can check on your own to screen out Realtors who are not a fit for you. Saving you time to get to the juicy stuff, with the Realtors you want. The market is a lot slower so selling a home now comes with much more effort as a Realtor. You’ll want to see they are up for the challenge!

Ready, Set, Go!
First things first, the internet. Yep, it’s that simple. A simple search will locate you a variety of Realtors, especially if you search a particular area e.g. ‘Crosstown’. The search will bring up those Realtors who have actively been practicing in that area during their career.
This is important as we are in a digital age. Innovation is key. Now with the new rules restricting realtors from “Limited Dual Agency’ agreements. Exposure is everything. If a Realtor cannot expose themselves to you over the basic form of the world wide web (internet), how are they going to provide your home with exposure to not just potential buyers, but REAL, key word there, potential buyers.

Turn up, not down!
Once we’ve found the website, how does it show. A nice, simple and clean design is easy to achieve in this day and age by yourself, let alone using a web provider. If the design looks outdated, broken or flawed, it’s likely they are cutting corners. In an industry where an obscenely high amount of potential customers will vet you online and through social media first, this is just not acceptable. As a Realtor, it’s step 1 when discussing anything digital. You’re website should be the culmination of your efforts, not an afterthought. If someone cannot get on this BASIC train, how are we to believe they will market your home differently than how they present themselves!

Content with the Content
Step 3, what is the content like? Do they keep listings/solds up to date? Are they posting blogs to inform those in need? Are they connecting social channels? Are you able to get a solid idea of this candidates capability to sell your home in a market which is against the seller? If the last Sold home was updated months (eeek, or even years) ago, how can you be sure that Realtor is still active and coming through for their clients. What happens if they list your home but they don’t even get put on the website?! You want to make sure your Realtor is adding value beyond your sale. If there is solid information on topics such as tips and tricks to selling, it’s likely this Realtor is aware of the market and is able to give you a boost on market. Something you definitely want in this climate.

Quality over quantity
The ABSOLUTE bane of my life -- This is literally hurting me to write this -- is quality images/floor plans. This is your home/investment. You’re pride and joy, your space, where your memories are. Homes sell in this market based on emotional connection or potential income, end of story. How is this going to be portrayed with a few quick IPhone photos thrown together. Not to mention, smartphones these days have great cameras! So if you’re photos are rushed and poorly positioned, expect the same when it comes to how they will sell your home!

I Don’t use the Internet for my business
The worst saying ever from an agent. Justifying a poor web presence by stating they follow old school traditions. If the majority of buyers search online for homes, there is ABSOLUTELY NO reason why an agent should not be online and online (and maximising on the above points.) It’s the equivalent to someone quite literally offering you buyers and them stepping in and saying no.


OK…..Breathe….. Rant over. More and more it appears innocent people are duped by this. You’re first time to market is such a huge opportunity which can be wasted and to put it simply, that’s just not acceptable. With the new rule changes, you cannot rely on what an agent says. Proof of exposure, and good exposure at that, is key in this market. Remember to check out the link above for what to do when you find the few agents you’re potentially interested in working with.

As always, thank you for reading. Our aim is to educate, not manipulate, so we strive to provide anyone dabbling in Real Estate with quality and reliable information. Feel free to reach out to us directly if you have any questions! We are here FOR YOU.

Until next week everybody! 

Ben & Jay