North Carolina Real Estate Listings

Shiny Sign You Put By Your Mailbox

Shiny Sign You Put By Your Mailbox
The bright, shiny sign you put by your mailbox, reading “For Sale by Owner,” hasn’t brought in much business. Plus, the time you’ve wasted on fruitless showings just to skip an agent’s fee is starting to make you and your spouse bicker. You gave it a good shot, but it’s time to call in a professional real estate broker.

“An industry survey found that people who sell their homes through a real estate professional sell their homes for almost 15 percent more than people who sell their homes themselves,” says Paul Wells of RE/MAX of Barrington in Barrington, Illinois. “So even if an agent charges a 6 percent commission, you’ll probably come out ahead.”

Of course a real estate professional would tell you this, but we agree that the chance of selling your home increases if you hire one. But don’t hire just anyone: Interview at least three agents, get three references from each, and see how they meet these criteria:

How long has this person been on the job (look for upwards of a year), and were they full- or part-time? “While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate, like many other professions, is mostly learned on the job,” says Stephanie Singer, a spokesperson for the National Association of Realtors.