What does a real estate agent do?

If you’re currently in the process of selling a home for the first time, you might be asking yourself that very question.

You’ve likely heard about people bringing a real estate agent on board to help them sell their home. But you might not be familiar with what it is that they do to assist them.

You can attempt to sell your home without any assistance from a real estate agent if you want. But the truth is that it’s very hard to sell a home successfully without relying on an agent to help you through it.

Here are some of the things a real estate agent will do when you call on them to sell your home.

Suggest Improvements You Should Make to Your Home Before Selling It

The first thing a real estate agent will do when you call on them to help you sell your home is walk through your home for a quick inspection.

During this inspection, the real estate agent will point out things you can do to make your home more valuable than it is at the moment.

That might include remodeling a kitchen or bathroom. Or it might include staging your home so that it looks better to potential buyers.

Whatever the case, real estate agents have experience when it comes to suggesting improvements that can really pay off in the end for home sellers.

Help You Come Up With the Right Selling Price

After you’ve made some of the changes a real estate agent has suggested, the agent will then help you generate a selling price for your home.

This is actually one of the most difficult parts for many home sellers. Most sellers have an emotional connection to their home and struggle to put a price on it.

A real estate agent will check out comparable homes in your area and see how much they’ve sold for in recent months. This will help them come up with a price for your home.

You have the right to increase that price if you choose. But real estate agents will usually base their price on extensive market research they’ve done on your home and homes like it in your neighborhood.

Market Your Home to Potential Buyers

Once you agree on a selling price for your home, your real estate agent will list your home for sale and begin marketing it.

At this point, a “For Sale” sign will pop up in your front yard, and your real estate agent will start communicating with other agents in your area to create interest in your home.

Agents come up with all kinds of ways to market homes effectively. Some will place advertisements in local newspapers to let people know a home is for sale. Others will use their social media accounts to market properties effectively.

It’s a good idea to speak with your real estate agent about how they plan to market your home before you agree to work with them in the first place. It’ll give you some idea of how committed they are to selling your home.

Host Open Houses and Schedule Showings for Your Home

In addition to finding ways to market your home, a real estate agent will also host open houses for it and schedule showings for your home with other realtors.

This will give those who might be interested in your home a chance to come and check it out for themselves. Your real estate agent will handle all the logistics of setting up showings for your home.

The only thing you really need to do is keep your home clean and make sure it shows well to those who come to see it.

Make Sure Interested Buyers Are Qualified to Buy Your Home

If your real estate agent is doing their job, it shouldn’t be long before interested buyers start beating down your door trying to buy your home.

The problem is that not all buyers are going to be qualified to do it. Your real estate agent will work to see who’s actually qualified to buy your home and who is just blowing hot air.

The last thing you want to do is agree to sell your home to someone who isn’t actually qualified to buy it. It could leave you in a bad spot in a few months when the deal falls through.

Your real estate agent will work to make sure you don’t end up in this position. They’ll talk with a potential buyer’s realtor to see if they qualify to buy a home before negotiating a deal with them.

Negotiate on Your Behalf With Buyers

Once a real estate agent finds someone who is qualified to buy your home, they’ll begin the process of negotiating a fair price for it.

In some cases, you’ll have so much interest in your home that you might get more than you originally asked for. In others, you might not get much interest at all, which can put you in a position where you have to accept less than you wanted for your home.

Either way, it’ll be up to your real estate agent to get you the most money possible for your home. They’ll negotiate on your behalf to get you top dollar for it.

Represent You During a Home Inspection and Appraisal

Before you can sell your home, it’ll likely need to undergo an inspection and an appraisal. A home buyer will usually want to inspect your home for any signs of trouble, while a buyer’s lender will want to obtain an appraisal to see how much the home is actually worth.

Your real estate agent can attend both a home inspection and an appraisal and represent you during them. They’ll serve as your eyes and ears and alert you to any potential problems that might arise in the late stages of selling a home.

They’ll also be there for you once it’s time to hold your closing and officially sell your home. You’ll be happy to have them by your side through it all.

Answer Any Questions You Have as You Sell Your Home

Above all else, a real estate agent will help to answer any questions you might have as you seek to sell your home.

As you might imagine, selling a home can be a stressful process that can take a lot of time. Your real estate agent will reduce the stress you feel and allow you to focus on moving on to the next stage of your life.

What Does a Real Estate Agent Do? A Little Bit of Everything

Now that you know the answer to the question, “What does a real estate agent do?”, you can feel better about hiring one to assist you.

Your real estate agent will go to bat for you when you’re selling a home and make sure there aren’t any unexpected hiccups. They can also help you buy a home so that you have somewhere to move once your house sells.

Read our blog to learn more about the importance of hiring a real estate agent when buying or selling a home.