Don’t put the sale of your home in the hands of just anyone. To know how to choose a real estate broker, you can first check some important criteria: training, experience, references, etc. But to save you wasting time, know that in addition to his in-depth knowledge of the market, a broker must demonstrate other qualities.
Three tips for choosing the real estate broker who will sell your house
1. Meet several brokers
Shop. To choose a real estate broker, you must first take the time to meet three or four people before making your choice. Why? To determine if you are “compatible”. Perhaps you find the word a bit strong, but the fact remains that it is necessary to know if you are made to get along. During this meeting, pay particular attention to:?
Your level of well-being in his company;
Your impressions of his knowledge of the real estate market;
His degree of commitment, his enthusiasm and his dynamism.
2. Be wary of the beautiful, good, cheap.
How to choose a real estate broker does not mean that you have to sign a brokerage contract with someone who seems ready to give you more for less money. Be especially wary of the broker who:
Evaluate your property from the first meeting;Affirms that classified ads on the Internet, in newspapers or through the MLS/SIA system are not necessary;Is willing to drop his commission five minutes after the first meeting… just so you can sign the bottom of the contract.
A conscientious real estate broker will take the time to do the necessary research on the market value of your property. He will be ready to use all the tools at his disposal to get your home seen by as many potential buyers as possible. And certainly, the broker will be ready to negotiate his commission (this will be a good time to gauge his negotiating skills), but not without having argued a little.
3. Ask questions
Don’t be embarrassed. Do you know our neighborhood well? What homes do you have for sale nearby?How do you plan to showcase our property?Do you have renovation knowledge?What is your commission rate? What commission split will you make if a broker represents the buyers?
What will be the duration of the mandate that will bind us to each other?
Finally, ask him if he belongs to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA), an organization that brings together more than 100,000 brokers in Canada and is distinguished by its standards of conduct.