Temecula Realtor | 5 Questions You Need To Ask Your Agent Before Selling

One of the most important things a homeowner can do before selling their Temecula home is make sure they understand the most important things that will make you more money. Everyone can have an opinion on what is important when selling but more money in your bank account is what ultimately matters. Before you sign on the dotted line for a listing contract, you have to be confident that the Temecula realtor you choose is going to give you the best chance to get the most return on your investment. It’s really black and white, what agent is going to get you the most money for your home?

After selling and appraising thousands of homes in the Temecula area over the last 12 years we have come to the realization that selling homes successfully is truly a skill that is learned over time.  This career has given us many sleepless nights, ups and downs but we have become very good at what we do because of it.

 Here are 5 questions you need to ask your agent before selling!

What separates you from other Temecula Realtors?

This is a great question to ask a listing agent. If all they say is we take professional pictures, and advertise on the MLS as well as hundreds of other sites, run the other way. As a home seller in Temecula you want to know that your Temecula Realtor has experience in bringing unique, ready and willing buyers into your home. In order for this to happen, you really do have to think outside the box and do things that that other companies DON’T DO. The question is, what are those things?

 A great example and something we do at Greenleaf Real Estate is Target marketing through Facebook ads. We set a budget for every listing and find buyers through Facebook that are looking for homes in your specific area and neighborhood. I won’t get into details and how we do it, but Facebook has information on everything and we take advantage of that. The Facebook marketing platform we use gives the home buyer easy access to all information on your specific home and can contact us instantly. Our budget spend for each home is anywhere from $250 to $500. We usually produce 35-75 leads every 2 weeks. Those leads are buyers that see your home, like it and message us about it.

How Do You Properly Value A Property and What Can We Do To Improve Its Value?

One  of the biggest mistakes  sellers make when listing their home is to price it incorrectly. If you price it too low, yes, you will  usually get multiple offers but it doesn’t necessarily mean they will add up to your bottom line. 

 If you price the property too high, it will sit on the market and I can almost guarantee you will not get full asking price after 30-40 days. (This is a little different for luxury properties.)

Because we have a full-time in-house appraiser with Green Leaf real estate we are always spot-on with values. Each one of our selling  clients gets a free appraisal and we discuss from there.( If you would like a professional appraisal on your home you can order one here) 

In regards to improving your property,  your Temecula realtor should be able to name 4-5 things that are inexpensive that will make your home easier to sell and bring you more money. We suggest you don’t do any improvements to your home before you talk to an inexperienced Temecula Realtor. We have experienced countless occasions where sellers improve their home and spending hundreds or thousands of dollars in areas that really don’t see a return on your money.

How Do You Handle The Appraisal Process?

This is another area that we see neglected all the time. How can I specifically say this? Because every time Christie comes back from an appraisal she talks to me about what the agent did or didn’t do. there are some stories that are mind-boggling

These are the steps your agent should be taking

1. Unless the appraiser specifically tells your agent to not be there during inspection. THEY NEED TO BE THERE!
2. Supply comps to the appraiser THAT MAKE SENSE. If your house is 2000 sq ft, don’t be handing the appraiser comps at 3000 sq ft because those are the only ones that prove value. 
3. Your agent should be going over every single upgrade you have done with a dollar amount. Then giving this information to the appraiser
4. Your Temecula Realtor should be keeping on the buyers agent to make sure the appraisal is ordered in a timely fashion. It is not the appraisers fault when everyone takes their time and you are 20 days into escrow and the appraisal isn’t in yet because it was ordered 2 days ago.

Pro Tip- If you live in a rural area  or your house is unique you might think about getting a professional appraisal before you list your property.

What is your philosophy on negotiating? 

This one is really really important and is hardly ever talked about. If you have an experienced good Temecula realtor they should be able to get you more money simply through negotiating.In over 70% of our deals this year we were able to negotiate an extra $5000 to $10,000 for our sellers. Whether it came through not doing any repairs or  having buyer’ up there offer price we accomplish this routinely.

Thank you for reading our blog, if you have any interest in moving to Temecula or the surrounding area please read the  Google Reviews here for Greenleaf Real Estate & Appraisal.

We are licensed as both Real Estate Brokers & a Certified Residential Appraiser. We love what we do and will bring a great deal of passion, experience and expertise to the table for you.