Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Real estate (Clicky Poll) (long... sorry)
So we had 2 different real estate agents come and look at our house this week since we are planning to sell it this spring and move to a bigger place, once I figure out the job situation after the baby comes. (If I'm going to have to be a SAHM for a while, we'll be staying put.)
Anyway... agent #1 walks through our house, is thoroughly impressed by our renovations/DIY work and tells us a couple minor things that we need to do. I asked him about painting the exterior trim (it's starting to peel) and chimney (the cap is rusty) and he says don't do it - it's unnecessary and you want there to be something for the home inspector to find and that's one that isn't major and if the buyer really wants it done, you can do it then. He also said get rid of the candles, air fresheners and such. The candles I agree with, I wouldnt want to risk burning them during a showing and having the agent forget to blow them out, etc. and I understand that not everyone likes the same scents. But we have 2 dogs - our house doesnt smell like dog because I have air fresheners - mostly in neutral scents like "clean linen" but he says toss them. He also told me not to bake cookies (something I figured would be a nice touch) since it will make people think about the house and not the food. He says they try to hold an open house the 2nd week of the listing.
Agent #2 - basically the same opinion of the inside - looks great. She says we need to box up some stuff in the closets to make them seem more spacious and put it in storage (I agree although it will be a PITA). She says paint the trim outside - you want the buyer's 1st impression to be positive or they may never even call for a showing. She says keep the neutral air fresheners and baking cookie sounds like a great idea. They don't like to do open houses (she says its just nosy neighbors and unqualified buyers and dont amount to much) and prefers to do lots of prospecting and private showings.
So in the end, I like #2 better and DH likes #1 better (I think because he doesnt have to paint the trim outside but he says that's not a big deal). They both would list the house for the same amount and charge the same commission. #1 uses a professional photographer (no extra charge) but #2 is a part of the biggest real estate company in town and therefore her listings would be "showcased" with more pictures on websites like realtor.com.
If you've made it this far sorry this is so long...
[Poll]
Re: Real estate (Clicky Poll) (long... sorry)
They are both about even on experience -- been the business 12-15 years, I can't remember which was which. In the past 2 years, #2 has sold a house in our subdivision, #1 has sold 2 houses in the neighborhoods right around ours but never one in our neighborhood. #2 has sold more houses in total in the past year. Both of them sell about the same amount of houses in our price range. Both of them specialize in listings in the immediate area of our house and #1 lives within 5 miles of us.
The 3rd agent that I think we would interview was recommended by friends of ours but generally has listings that go for about $80 - $100k higher than what we would be selling for so I'm not sure he's a good fit. Of course we could also just pick a random one to interview. Both of the ones we have picked so far were recommended on Dave Ramsey's website -- DH likes him and wanted to go that route, I didnt really care because I dont really buy into the whole DR thing.
HomemadebyHolman
Follow me on Twitter
Become a Fan on Facebook
Married
Did you get a feel for one agent being more gung-ho about selling? It seems like a selling REA should be kind of agressive and give the impression that they're going to do a lot to market the house, rather than just post in in MLS and wait for a buyer to come along.
Was one easier to contact than the other and got back to you quicker?
I like that agent 2 is in a bigger company and would be able to put your house on a higher viewed website.
I think this is the main reason I like #2 better -- she was all fired up and excited and talked about their prospecting strategy. #1 told us their market plan but I didn't hear much beyond websites/MLS/Facebook/Twitter which seem like he's just sitting in his office. DH is much more laid back about things so I'm thinking that's the other reason he relates better to #1, he thinks #2 might scare first time buyers because she talks to fast.
Both of them were easy to get ahold of, #1 showed up an hour early for our meeting by mistake (although I'm not sure if it was really his mistake or DH's since the DH changed the meeting a couple of times so I'm forgiving that).
HomemadebyHolman
Follow me on Twitter
Become a Fan on Facebook
Married
I wouldn't worry about her scaring first-time buyers--she'll only interact with the buyers' agent.
In this market, it seems you need an agent to market and advertise your house, so if Agent #2 has a plan that is more agressive that merely listing it (and that's all Agent #1 has to offer), I would go with Agent #2.