Marianne's Blog

Before putting your home on the market, here are a few questions you should consider asking your potential agent.

Why interview an agent? Each real estate agent has their own marketing strategy, systems, and more. To find the right one for you, try interviewing a few agents from different companies who have a good reputation in the city you live in.

10 Questions for your Real Estate Agent

1. What makes you different? Why should I list my home with you?

It’s a much tougher real estate market than it was a decade ago. What unique marketing plans do you have that will make my home stand out from other homes on the market?

2. What is your company’s track record and reputation in the marketplace?

It may seem like everywhere you look, real estate agents are boasting about being number one. It is important to know their individual performance and see it in writing.

3. What are your marketing plans for my home?

How much money do you have to advertise my home and where will it be listed? Online? Print? Keep in mind that over 89% of home buyers start their search online. Make sure your agent is utilizing that percentage by maximizing your homes online exposure.

4. What has your company sold in my area?

Agents should bring you a complete list of their sales and other comparable sales in your area.

5. Does your broker control your advertising or do you?

Are you in control of your own advertising or will the brokerage firm manage the advertising?

6. On average, when your listings sell, how close is the selling price to the asking price?

7. On average, how long does it take for your listings to sell?

8. How many buyers are you currently working with?

9. Do you have a reference list of clients I could contact?

10. What happens if I’m not happy with the job you are doing to get my home sold?

Evaluate each agent’s responses to these questions and you will be confident that you chose the best agent for selling your home!

Whether you're looking to sell your home in a year, or 10 years down the road, you want to ensure that the money you invest in it is put to good use. Certain home remodeling projects offer a higher return on investment (ROI) than others.

Kitchen remodel - The kitchen is typically the deal breaker (or maker) for most potential home buyers. This is the # 1 top home remodeling project sought after by current homeowners, and the one room in the house that will stand out in the minds of home buyers.

Bathroom remodel - Aside from the kitchen, the bathrooms are the most important rooms to consider remodeling. This is especially true for the master bath. In addition, if your home currently has just one bathroom, consider adding a second one to increase the value of your home and make it more appealing to potential home buyers.

Window replacement - Although replacing all the windows in the home may seem like a pricey investment, it is certainly one that will pay off in the long run. Not only will new windows improve the look of your home and enhance curb appeal, but they will also lower energy costs, which is a definite plus in the eyes of a potential home buyer.

New siding - Vinyl siding is not your only option when it comes to replacing the exterior of your home. Fiber cement siding, clapboard siding, and siding that resembles brick, stone or wood are just some of the alternatives. New siding enhances curb appeal and can help a home sell faster.

Home office - Since more and more people are working from home, a home office is an appealing addition for many potential home buyers. This room can easily be used for another use for home buyers that work outside the home.

We all know there are a lot of decisions to be made before committing to buying a home. Here are a few you may want to consider before making any final decisions:

1. There's no one-size-fits-all answer to the rent vs. buy conundrum. There are pros and cons on every one of the many factors that must be balanced in making the decision.

For instance, Hodges advises that the exit strategy of moving out of a home you rent is low-risk, but also has low reward; conversely, the potential for reward is vastly greater when you buy a home -- but so is the risk level homeownership poses.

And your personal risk/reward preference is just the tip of the iceberg of considerations you'll need to factor in: things like your family's or lifestyle's space needs and how they map to your town's rental or sale listing inventory; your romantic, family and career plans; and the level of cash you have to (a) buy, (b) pay for the property over time, and (c) improve a home to your satisfaction are a few of the other critical elements that Hodges encourages readers to incorporate into their analysis.

2. Sustainable is the name of the game. Hodges devotes some serious page space to the concept of sustainability, but not the sort of sustainability that probably first comes to your mind! In addressing this new flavor of sustainability, Hodges encourages readers to limit themselves to housing obligations that they will be able to afford long into the future, by asking themselves a series of questions, like:

• Does it make sense for me, personally?
• Can I afford it right now?
• Will I be able to afford it in the future?
• Will I be able to save and invest for the future after I rent or buy?
• Do I have an exit strategy: What do I expect to gain, and how much am I willing to lose on this place?

3. Read the real estate news very, very carefully. There is a fire hose of real estate information out there for the consumer who wants to educate himself, but Hodges cautions that much is biased or susceptible to inaccurate interpretation.

She then translates many of the recurring headlines and messages in the national real estate news, surfacing their underlying realities and deactivating their power to drive irrational guilt or overoptimism in the mind of a consumer.

She goes on to offer a decoder for the now-ubiquitous real estate data stories, helping readers understand how to draw conclusions that matter to them from data points like inventory and vacancy levels and price-to-rent ratios.

Hodges closes "Rent vs. Own" out with a smart, comprehensive compendium of all sorts of real estate resources upon which readers can draw, depending on their angles of personal interest -- from real estate memoirs to calculators to listings. If you're wrestling with the decision whether to rent or own your home, "Rent vs. Own" is a strong recommend.

Unfortunately, no book can make the decision for you, but "Rent vs. Own" applies order and sequence to a decision process that can easily grow chaotic and confusing, and is strong when it comes to surfacing relevant stories of consumers you can relate to, and issues and questions that might not otherwise occur to you until you're knee-deep in a serious situation.

To view the original article by Inman News click http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/taranichollenelson/3-considerations-committing-buy-a-home