Selling your Los Angeles Home? What to Look for in an Agent

If you are thinking of selling your Los Angeles home, part of the process is finding an agent who is a good fit, both for you and the home itself.  After all, you are going to be in a fairly long-term relationship as far a business transactions go, so it needs to be the right one.

In today’s primarily sellers’ market, selling your Los Angeles home would seem like a breeze.  It will sell itself, right!  Not necessarily.  You want to get the utmost exposure for the property followed by the best experience for all concerned so that your home sells for the highest price with the least amount of hassle.

How can you ensure that this happens?  Hire a good Los Angeles real estate agent.  And yes, I consider myself a good agent.  This is my vision of how a transaction should go from start to finish:

• Photos will be taken and added to the listing. Once the contract is signed, your agent will take photos, either themselves or with a professional, and add them to the listing immediately.  You have no idea how many listings come on the market without any photos, or just with one or two.  Unless the property is a tear-down, there is no reason not to profile the property in its best light.  So many sellers lose out because buyers’ agents will move on to the listing that does have photos.  And they may not come back.  The most views come when the listing first hits the MLS.
• Social Media sites will be fully utilized.  Putting the property on the MLS is what every agent will do, and from the MLS the listing will be syndicated to many other sites.  The majority of buyers are finding homes online, so why not increase the exposure by highlighting the property through all the social media venues – Facebook, Twitter, Real Bird, and many other sites.  Not every agent is proficient in social media, so that extra boost will be missing.
• Your agent will make themselves available.  Believe it or not it is sometimes difficult to get hold of an agent.  In today’s rush and tumble, buyers want to see properties when they are available and if your agent is not available, another might be and that is the house that will be seen and, maybe, purchased.  I often don’t get called back by agents even after leaving several messages.  Or they call a few days later.  My buyers have moved on.
• Your agent is going to be personable, respectful and patient.  Buyers’ agents are going to want to work with your agent, not do battle against them.  You have no idea what goes on in the background when negotiations start and the sellers’ agent is difficult to deal with.  (This of course goes for buyers’ agents also, but we are talking about listing agents here.)  Many a deal has fallen apart because the agents could not work together.  It is such a pleasure when you meet one of the good ones.
• Your agent will be great at follow-through.  When in escrow, the seller has their own contingencies which need to be met.  Your agent needs to ensure that you stay current.  They also need to be available for any eventualities that require them to be present at your home.  Nothing should stall the escrow process.
• Communication.  To me this is one of the most important parts of selling a home.  Keeping the Seller apprised of what is going on can make for a much less stressful transaction, and goes back to what I said in the beginning.  This is a relationship, and a huge part of a relationship is communication.

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