Choosing a Bonita Springs Listing Specialist Agent
If you have be researching listing specialists or looking for advice to list and sell your home in the Bonita Springs area, here are a few tips. These tips are offered as advice from a local, Bonita Springs listing specialist and my own personal experience of having recently sold my own Bonita Springs homes as well as a second home I owned in Northern Arizona.
If you’ve own your home in Bonita Springs for some time it may help with familiarity of listing agents in Bonita Springs. You may also be in contact with the agent who helped you purchase your home and also have confidence in their ability to also list your Bonita Springs home. You may have also received several mailings over the years from real estate agents in the area or in your neighborhood. Cross referencing the information you have with information on the internet is the most useful tool tool for consumers.
Neighborhood Web Presence
Check the listing agent’s web presence: Internet presence is the single most important selling tools in real estate; especially a destination location such as Bonita Springs, Florida. Listing specialists need to have top notch web presence. Home sellers should Google “your neighborhood by name” such as “Bonita Farms” or “Bonita Farms Bonita Springs” to see who has high ranking Google presence for that search term. Ninety-two percent of home buyers uses the internet to search for homes and you want to be certain that there is a strong presence directly related to local searches.
Listing Specialist Web Presence
Next, Google the real estate agent’s name to see their own web presence and if they rank well in search results for their own name. If, for example, you search for the name “Chris Griffith Bonita Springs” you would find my website LifeInBonitaSprings.com ranking first as well as a few real estate industry websites such as Realtor.com, Zillow.com, Trulia.com and ActiveRain.com. The individual presence should rank above the free sites or phone directory sites if your real estate agent has invested properly in a website well heeled enough to market real estate and themselves.
Think of it this way, most real estate buyers are up north Googling and searching for homes online before they physically arrive in Bonita Springs, Florida. Hire someone to sell your real estate who is leveraging the web and in front of the buyers, already.
Select a Full Time Listing Agent
Be sure to interview the real estate agent and make sure that they are a full time real estate agent. Length of time working as a full time real estate could be a large factor in determining both experience and dedication to the profession. When I researched the real estate agent to sell my own home in Northern Arizona he had nearly thirty years in the real estate business and I had vetted both his reputation and online presence.
Experienced, Accomplished Listing Specialist
Find out if your potential listing agent has any real estate designations. These are the “letters behind their name” such as CRS, ABR, GRI. They represent extended education and often a sales volume dollar figure has to be met in order for them to earn the designation. In my opinion, the CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) designation is one of the most significant designations a real estate agent, especially a listing agent, can hold. It indicates that they have been in the business a while, sell a large volume in dollar figure and have spent a significant amount of both time and money on supplemental education. The agent I selected to sell my out of state property was a CRS. When I help refer agents to friends or family I also use the CRS directory to find the most qualified, experienced agents.
Technology Based Listing Specialist Agent
Technology is important so the person you select as your listing specialist should have a few “must have” tools in their arsenal:
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Either professional photographer or use DSLR camera with wide angel lens and, of course, the skill to use it properly. Check their prior listings. There are agents using cell phone photography. -
Use a supplemental video or photo tour to also include neighborhood or amenity photos.
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Online, electronic contract signing platform such as DocuSign , DotLoop or AppFiles to save you time, money and hassle of printing, signing, scanning documents.
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Be able to operate as a mobile agent with smart phone and tablet.
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Supplement the MLS with documents regarding the home, the community, maps, floor plans, disclosures.
Systems Based Listing Agent
Last, you should be able to speak to the listing agent and fully understand the home selling process from the moment you sign your listing agreement until the day of closing, before you even decide to move ahead with that person. Conversationally, a listing specialist should be able to answer the majority of the questions ask while sitting at your kitchen table or on Skype/Face Time. A great real estate agent will provide, usually without asking, an estimated seller’s net sheet so you fully understand your closing costs and how much you can expect to receive in net proceeds at closing. That specialist will also provide a sample sales contract so you can review it prior to an offer coming in and be able to make more of a stress free decision when the offer comes in.
Information Based Listing Agent
Remember, there isn’t any one item that should be the deciding factor but a culmination of items combined that help you reach a comfort level with the real estate agent who best fits you, the neighborhood and your individual property.
Last but not least, you can review the agent's license history at www.MyFloridaLicense.com to see when they have acquired their real estate license and if there have been any complaints or actions.
To contact Chris Griffith about listing your home for sale call or text 239-273-7430.