If you are looking to sell your home in Texas, choosing a perfect listing agent should be at the top of your list. Choosing the right listing agent may be all you need to sell your home quickly and for the right amount.

Being able to choose the right listing agent will not only help you sell your home quickly but offer you a stress-free selling process. Before hiring a listing agent for your home, there are several factors to take into consideration.

Choose an Agent Who Possesses Plenty of Experience

Experience is one of the most important factors to consider when choosing a listing agent for your home. You should find out if they have adequate experience in selling your type of home.

If you are selling a residential property, it is ideal that you hire the service of a listing agent with ample experience in selling residential properties. You can ask your intending listing agents the following questions:

  • How long have you been in the listing business?
  • What is your experience in selling residential or commercial real estate?
  • How many homes have you sold or listed recently?
  • Are you a part-time or full-time listing agent?

You should hire a full-time listing agent since they will be fully committed to selling your home. Part-time agents will be less available and usually (not always) not be as good as full-time agents. There are still exceptions, though.

Ask for a Listing Agent Referral from Family and Friends

A Referral is one of the easiest ways to find a perfect listing agent with excellent skills. A simple, “Hey John, who was the listing agent that handled your last home sale?” will help you find the right one for the job.

Ask everyone you know:

  • Family
  • Friends
  • Co-workers
  • Neighbors
  • Social Media

Did your neighbor recently sell their home? Or are they in the process? Stop by and knock on the door, ask a few questions, and get some insight. They may refer their agent if they are satisfied with their experience too.

Find an Agent Who Has Your Best Interests at Heart  

If your agent is all about their commission, then they are not the perfect agent for you. You need someone that really hears what you are trying to say and is asking the right questions.

They should offer suggestions, examples of other house prices, explain the whole process, and be honest with you.

If at every meeting all your agent does is to talk about their commission fee or try to coerce you to reduce your selling price ridiculously, get a new agent. You can ask questions such as:

  • Will you help me stage my home?
  • Do you offer a service guarantee? (that is, allow you get out of the agreement before the expiration date if they are under-performing)
  • Can I see statistics or examples of other home sales in the same neighborhood?

If you feel like your questions are being ignored, and you feel like your being manipulated, that’s a huge red flag to find another listing agent.

The Best Agents are Amazing at Communication

Would you prefer a listing agent that rarely returns your calls or emails? I bet you wouldn’t. Before choosing a listing agent, take into consideration how quickly they respond to your emails, text messages, and your calls.

You should choose a listing agent that you are comfortable communicating with and replies in a reasonable time. You should not feel intimidated by them; they are your ally in this process.

Remember that during the listing process, you will need to have steady communication with your chosen agent to allow for a seamless experience. Most importantly, you should choose an agent who possesses great listening skills and matches your communication style.

If you feel like you are always out of the loop, and have to bug your agent to reply to you – move on.

Agents Should be Familiar with your Local Neighborhood

You need to hire a listing agent that is familiar with your local neighborhood and its real estate market trends. Choose a listing agent that understands your local housing needs, market price, and key selling points.

You don’t want to hire a listing agent that cannot identify critical pieces of info like:

  • Amenities in your neighborhood
  • Supporting numbers from other house sales

A listing agent familiar with your neighborhood will have essential local knowledge and bring more connections to the table.

They can Spread the Listing with Excellent Marketing Skills

If you are like any other home seller, your most important goal is to find a listing agent that can help you effectively market your home to the right buyers. When choosing a listing agent, find out the effectiveness of their marketing strategy. You should ask for proof of analytics from their past campaigns.

Remember that your potential agent marketing plan should go beyond placing “for sale” sign in your yard or speaking to one or two persons. They must be proactive with their marketing. You should ask your potential listing agents the following questions:

  • Will you help me stage my home as part of your strategy?
  • What was the result of your last real estate marketing campaign?
  • How long did it take you to sell the homes you advertise or advertised?
  • What platforms do you normally advertise on? Zillow, Multiple Listing Service (MLS), Facebook, or a combination of all.

Social media has become so powerful, it is a red flag is they aren’t on some form of social media. You want someone who will work hard for you, not lazily hoping for an easy sale.

Always Research the Web for More Information

Selling your home will definitely be one of your biggest decision and requires all the information you need. Research the internet for listing agents around your location or home location.

If you don’t like a listing agent, swap them out with a new one. This is a big deal.

Just because your best friend or family member suggested an agent doesn’t mean he or she is the right person for you. If you are considering working with an agent, read about them on Google and Yelp.

Scour the internet for people’s reviews about them and their firm. Learning more about them will help you make the right decision.