When to get a realtor

[MaryMorph]

We are tossing around the idea of moving. We bought at the height of the market and understand that we will ake a hit on our place and OK with that, depending on how much of a hit it will be.

I'm thinking about contacting a couple of realtors in our area to see what they think our place would be worth and what needs to be done before marketing it. Would it make sense to do that before we do anything (ie no touch up painting or carpet cleaning) or should we do some stuff and then call him/her in to assess what else needs to be done. We'd have time to do stuff after the kids are back in school with the intent of putting the house on the market for the spring real estate season.

Does it make sense to talk to someone now?

Thanks!

mary jo

[Gumbeaux]

I would interview several agents now and find one that is familiar with and sells a lot of houses in your neighborhood. In the area where we recently sold, there were a LOT of agents that sold only two or three houses a year. You want a top agent that sells a lot of houses in your neighborhood.

By talking to an agent now, you can get some good comps, find out what houses near you sold for, what the average days on the market was, what buyers are looking for etc. You can find some of this on the internet but a good agent can help you more.

We didn't clean the carpet because so many people in our area want a flooring allowance so that they can get brand new carpet, change the color of carpet, or change floor type (such as carpet to wood).

We sold our house for a little more so that we could pay for closing, inspections, and other stuff so the buyer could buy without much cash. This made our house attractive to potential buyers.

Tell the agent you want only pre-qualified buyers so that your time is not wasted. Don't fall into the trap of trying to make every repair that the buyer requests that isn't customary. If a faucet leaks, or a light doesn't come on that's one thing if they want stuff done that's "stupid" don't think you have to do it sell the house.

Good luck!

[PurplePotato]

I agree. Get someone in now to give their opinion and answer your questions so you can make an informed decision on how to proceed.

We were not going to list our last house as soon as we did. But we ended up talking to a realtor who gave us some valid reasons for going ahead and doing it and I'm glad we did.

[TieKitty]

I would interview several agents now and find one that is familiar with and sells a lot of houses in your neighborhood. In the area where we recently sold, there were a LOT of agents that sold only two or three houses a year. You want a top agent that sells a lot of houses in your neighborhood.

By talking to an agent now, you can get some good comps, find out what houses near you sold for, what the average days on the market was, what buyers are looking for etc. You can find some of this on the internet but a good agent can help you more.

We didn't clean the carpet because so many people in our area want a flooring allowance so that they can get brand new carpet, change the color of carpet, or change floor type (such as carpet to wood).

We sold our house for a little more so that we could pay for closing, inspections, and other stuff so the buyer could buy without much cash. This made our house attractive to potential buyers.

Tell the agent you want only pre-qualified buyers so that your time is not wasted. Don't fall into the trap of trying to make every repair that the buyer requests that isn't customary. If a faucet leaks, or a light doesn't come on that's one thing if they want stuff done that's "stupid" don't think you have to do it sell the house.

Good luck!

Excellent advice.