When it’s time to downsize the task of selling your house, the home where you’ve created a family and lived a good life, can be an emotional roller-coaster.
Clarissa Brandt from senior move management experts Care to Move says working with the right real estate agent can be the difference between a stressful or smooth transition to your next chapter.
“Finding and choosing a real estate agent that you like and trust is a big decision that warrants time and effort,” says Clarissa.
Tthe first step is to do research on agents in your area.
“Having an agent with local knowledge and experience is key, not only will they have a good understanding of the value of your property, which might be important if you are looking at other places to purchase, but they may well have a list of buyers who are looking to buy in to your area.”
Care to Move recommends making a short list of agents and then popping into a property they are selling to see how they present an open house and deal with potential buyers.
“This is a great way to see if you like the way they operate,” says Clarissa.
“It’s important you feed comfortable with an agent as you will need to have some very open and honest conversations during the sales process.”
Once you’ve narrowed the potential list to three agents ask them to your home to outline their local knowledge and recent sales records.
“Ask for the hard facts, sale prices, time on market and so on. They should also be able to give you an idea of the sorts of buyers looking for homes in the area.”
“Make sure you ask for the names and contact numbers of other recent clients. Hearing from the horse’s mouth is invaluable. Don’t be shy! Ring them up and ask about their experience working with the agent.”
Clarissa says a good starting point to finding an agent is your local area is searching on realestate.com.au/find-an-agent.
“Alternatively contact us at Care to Move, we have connections with real estate agents across South East Queensland who understand the needs of clients who are making a sale to transition to retirement or assisted living.”