6 Things to Do Before You Call a Real Estate Agent

Whether you’re buying or selling a house, hiring a real estate agent should be top priority for you. However, this doesn’t mean no input from you as you’ll need to put things in place to get the best deal. 

While your realtor is expected to find you potential buyers or properties and handle the paperwork, you need to get your home in order if selling or your finances if buying. For sellers, learn what to do before your realtor arrives.

Setting The Stage Before Calling a Real Estate Agent

A realtor will make selling your home a seamless process, if you have prepared. Here are some things to do before you contact a real estate agent to sell your house: 

1. Research The Market

One of the first things you should do before calling a real estate agent is to research the local market. While the realtor will help with pricing, it is vital to have an overall idea of the real estate market in your city.

Looking for real estate Limassol market prices? Trusted sources on the internet have made your work easier. You can compare your home with the available houses on sale and decide the acceptable range.  The aim is not to fix a price for your home but set reasonable parameters to guide your realtor. 

Studying the market is also true for buyers also as you can size up properties and know which are in your price range. This initial price discovery can help you determine the  property type you can afford. 

2. Get a Mortgage Pre-Approval

As an intending buyer, getting preapproved for a mortgage should be at the top of your list. It controls how much you can spend on a property. Get in touch with a mortgage lender to learn how much you can get in mortgage financing. Typically, they check your finances, debt, assets, and the state of your overall financial situation.

The lender will use all the information to determine the amount available to you, interest rates and term. Remember, this is only required if you need a mortgage financing to buy your home.

3. Prepare Your Paperwork

Paperwork time can be a little frustrating but shouldn’t be if done right. Now, you want to gather all your financial, approval, and ownership documents pertaining to your property. If you have a mortgage on the house, figure out how much is left and prepare the documents showing your payments.

Compile all documents on the property. It is usually better to gather unnecessary files than skip important paperwork. Being thorough pays in this case as you want any potential buyer to get the complete details.

4. Clean The House

Clean and declutter that space before a realtor comes in. First impressions matter and this is valid for your realtor too. Remove personal effects so people can move freely and work their imaginations.

People tend to assume real estate agents have seen the worst and there’s no need to impress them. This cannot be farther away from the truth. Keeping a clean home will immediately show the realtor your property’s potential. Remove extra furniture, stickers from the fridge door, and shoes lying around. Modern home marketing often relies on visual appeal, which is why utilizing Photo and Video Edits for real estate can make a significant difference in attracting buyers.

Tidying the property may also involve some minor repairs and maintenance like fixing damaged door knobs and mowing the lawn. However, you don’t want to go overboard here and incur heavy expenses. Seek advice from your realtor on the necessary repairs to be made. 

5. Choose a Suitable Place to Live

If you’re selling your home, you’ll need to determine where you’ll live. It’s easy to forget this tiny but vital detail. Before you call the real estate agent and schedule visiting, choose a new home. You want to vacate the premises whether you’re doing an open house or not. 

Taking time to choose a new place to live is essential. You should consider the neighbourhood, closeness to your place of work, school, and other necessary facilities. 

5. Make a List of All Repairs

Your real estate agent and potential buyers would like to see an inventory of all repairs and upgrades on the property over the years. Make a comprehensive list with any upgrade to the home which may include a roof change or repainting. Include the dates of these upgrades for more context.

You don’t need to include the cost of these repairs but the idea is to paint the picture of the effort you’ve put in to keep the house in the best condition. 

Conclusion

A real estate agent will make buying or selling your property a seamless process. However, you must set the tone for it by doing the above 6 activities before calling the realtor.