I highly recommend you also read the home buying process which is also on the website to give you a perspective on the process and what the buyers’ process is. This will prepare you as well for the steps on selling as well. It is never too early to start the process and you may even want to meet with your agent up to a year before the actual sale to begin to track the market and make repairs or improvements to the property.

     Agent selection is without a doubt an important step in selling your home. Experience is not the main ingredient, though it does not hurt, but there are many newer agents, who are working hard to build their business and will work with you to protect your interests. More importantly than in home buying, the home selling agent should be full time as the process includes day, evening and weekend hours and attendance at closings, appraisals, some inspections, and showings. If anything responsiveness is very key in the home selling process. Prompt return calls means agents and customers who want to see your home get their requests handled efficiently, appraisers who need to get in, and other service providers are handled in a timely manner, to insure your sale proceeds smoothly. Having worked for both large multi national as well as local independent companies, I can tell you without reservation that the agent is far more important than the agency as long as they are in the multiple listing service. Commissions are negotiable, but don’t always make that your key decision. If you are not receiving service, the commission reduction is not worth it. Also note that in most listings the commission is split with the buyers agent and offering  too low of a commission to the buyers agent may deter some showings, especially if there is a lot of homes on the market
     Always have a meeting with the agent to make sure you click. You will go through a lot of decisions together and should be comfortable. Ask for references, some agents have a book of references from previous clients. Look at their listings on the web sites to see how they present a property and leave them a message to see how promptly they return your call. As a team, you will be choosing the proper price for the home, depending on the current market and the amenities of your home as well as the location. Your goals including how fast you need to move will also play a part in your pricing decision. There are many variables in the pricing decision including what type of buyer will be looking at your home and insuring the home will appraise at the contract price. What repairs will probably be requested. You may want to get some estimates ahead of time to prepare for obvious structural deficiencies. It’s a big process and obviously going to affect your financial outcome.
     As part of the tour of the home the agent will point out items that may negatively affect a buyer and how to overcome the objection or repair the negative aspect. Simple things such as prepacking items, or disposing of items, cleaning up the grounds, painting a room etc. will make the selling quicker and better prepare you for the move and the agent will need to be up front with you on these type of items as some of them including pet/smoking odors may be something you didn’t realize existed in your home.
     Your flexibility in showing the home is key as in today’s fast moving society some buyers have limited time to look at properties. By turning down a showing, you may be turning down your only potential buyer at your current asking price, who is probably looking at multiple homes that day and may purchase another home on that day, without seeing yours. Almost all the time you will receive overnight notice, though you need to keep the home in showing condition as much as possible. You should discuss the use of a lockbox with the agent. Most properties will sell much better when it is easy for the other agents to show the property. Each lockbox is individually or electronically coded, so the other agent needs to obtain permission to the property, so you will always have notice and your property will still be safe. Agents are given specific information on gaining access to the property and key features. Special properties with extensive hidden features, security systems and special property features can usually benefit from the listing agent being there.
     What you may not see in the marketing of your property is what may be the most important. What information is in the multiple listing system? If key facts are left out, such as square ft, number of bedrooms, rooms sizes, etc., a buyer or other agents searching for a property, may never see yours. Their search is usually predicated on specific physical characteristics of properties and if the listing is put in improperly, you may be out of luck. The property should have flattering pictures as well as these photos are used by internet consumers searching for properties to determine if they want to see a property. This is the main source of showings nowadays, probably running neck and neck with other agents searching for their clients on MLS databases.
     There are several over rated items nowadays as well and one of them is web sites. It is very important that your presentation is great on the web site, however you need to know that multiple listings database feed all the major websites including REALTOR.com,Coldwell Banker, Remax,Raveis and on  and on, including the search mechanism on this web site. With all the bells and whistles many web sites brag about, the important part of it is how the listing agent described the property, entered the information and presented the pictures. Just make sure that your homes information is on MLS and the information is complete as well as the pictures being flattering.
     With the advent of the internet, it has increasingly diminished the effectiveness of print advertising. It is now the absolute lowest source of buyers. It is also very cost prohibitive and in some cases doesn’t do a property justice. It is still important to have some paper presence, though in some markets, paper advertising has been altogether eliminated. With the fact that most buyers will use an agent who will search MLS and more will use the internet, the days of waiting for the Friday paper to come out to see the new listings is gone. Paper advertising is still effective for open houses, but even then some web sites are slowly taking their place. Open houses are marginally effective as well as most buyers will go see homes on their schedule and a low percentage will buy at an open house. In complexes or subdivisions they are an effective source of buyers and they are nice for us Realtors to meet buyers as well or for your neighbor to see how you decorated your kitchen.
     Believe it or not, signage is very high on the effectiveness of selling homes. Folks driving around to check out neighborhoods call on signs all the time. The sign should show the agents name and phone contact and as impressed upon in the first part of this article, if your agent is sharp at returning calls, it will result in showings. Corner signs showing that a home is for sale on that street is also effective although some of our local towns now; including Ledyard and Stonington have ordinances against them. Brochure boxes in front of the property, not only listing the virtues of that specific property, but also containing other properties in the inventory, which would include yours, is also effective in reaching those who may not know about your property. In some instances use of a “talking house” machine that transmits specific information about a property to those that tune in on a specific radio station are effective in giving potential buyers more information on a property than can fit on a brochure.
     I think to sum it up, you need a bag of tricks, especially in a tough market to be successful. Pricing is still the king though and if you are not priced right, you won’t sell. It is important that you price your home in relation to homes that sold recently and your competition as buyers are few and far between. It is also important to talk at least weekly with your agent and track the competition on an almost daily basis, which can be tracked through, you guessed it, the internet and MLS.
     I once again urge you to read the section on the home buying process on this website. It will give you the process that happens from the time you go under contract to the closing and prepare you for the steps. And if you have any questions, feel free to call. Your call will be returned promptly!