[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

Any decent Realtor is not going to quote a price out front. They will take inventory of your home and what's currently on the market and what sold in the last 3-6 months. They will re-approach with their suggested listing price. They should come to the table with printed out comps of recent sales and current competing homes for sale. They (your Realtor) must be professional and look the part. Before speaking with a random Realtor I would network to see if anyone you know/trust has a recommendation. Some of the best folks in the industry don't advertise - don't need to. They get all their work on referral.

edit - as I said I have used the same Realtor for our last 3 home sales and purchases. I would not hesitate to use them again. I think the key is that you need to be educated on the market and what is selling. They will bring the connections and offer MLS exposure. Every single time the wife and I knew more about the local market than our preferred Realtor. The Realtor brought a good name in the business and the connections.

Best of luck Matt!

Absolutely! I would expect them to back up their suggested price with comps and market data. Off the cuff isn't going to work.

Originally Posted by cabmando

Ignore the open house answer as very few homes are sold at open house. The agent should have a very solid marketing plan that includes sending information to other agencies. Ask if they keep the listing in house for a period of time before cooperating with other agencies (some companies do that) Understand what duty the agent will be acting under. AVOID dual agency because at that point the agent is only a paper shifter and a high paid one at that. You want the agent representing only you in the transaction. A good agent should be able to pull comps on your home from their phone or Ipad to base their estimated sale price upon. Ask each agent what the average marketing time is from list to sell. Don't list with the person who shows you the highest estimated selling price unless they have EXCELLENT like kind transactions to back up that price. Many agents will throw a high number to get you to list then as weeks pass by without an offer they'll come to you and suggest a lower price. Ask if the agent only works with Pre Approved buyers (not pre-qualified)

Good advice, thanks. We are absolutely not doing open houses, total waste of time. I don't care to give my neighbors the opportunity to come see my house.

Originally Posted by greglepore

Avoiding the agent with an unsupportable listing price is excellent advice, for the reasons above plus the fact that the house needs to appraise if the buyer requires a mortgage. Don't over-fear "underpricing", if the price is low you'll just attract a lot of showings, and in this relatively low inventory environment perhaps even a quick offer above asking, significantly.

I think that's probably market specific. Wichita has never been a competitive market, so making offers above asking is simply not done.