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This story is brought to you by John Salkowski via the USA Herald Platform

My upcoming book Sold: Listing to Closing – The Ultimate Home Sellers Guide is an insider’s guide to real estate. I wrote it to give anyone thinking of selling a home the straight goods on what to expect. In the first part of the book the focus is on whether or not to sell in the first place and the things to consider as you make your decision. As we take a closer look at this section it should become apparent that the advice being offered is common sense, but as many first time sellers find the process a little intimidating it’s a guide that should be on anyone’s virtual bookshelf.

Should You OR Shouldn’t You?

In the first section of part one the best reasons for selling a home are laid out in detail. They include: relocating, up-sizing or down-sizing, and financial stress. The key point here is to remember that selling a home is “a process, not an event.” Once the decision’s been made to sell, it’s important to ask the right questions during the process such as: when’s the best time to sell, what are market prices and trends like, do I need money to invest in renovations, and does the name and size of the real estate company matter?

The answer to the last question it turns out is a resounding “No” – the more important factor in deciding what real estate agency to use is the reputation of the individual broker that will represent you. There’s no one size fits all approach to selling homes, but some of the bigger agencies try to suggest there is.

Another important point revealed in section one is that choosing the right agent to represent you is critical.

“Hiring a real estate broker is just like any hiring process - with you on the boss’s side of the desk. It’s critical that you make the right decision about who will handle what is probably the single largest financial and emotional investment you will ever make.”

How well a seller does financially from the sale relies largely on this one decision – so it’s important to take the time and get it right. That means a thorough background check of potential agents including: how many homes they’ve sold, do they have a solid marketing plan, and, most importantly, how close do they get to the actual asking price when they make a sale?

In this guide to selling homes I also touch upon the idea of a seller representing themselves when selling a home. Not surprisingly, this isn’t the best decision for a number of reasons: lack of safety, liability, lack of real estate knowledge, lack of online exposure, lack of interest from realtors, and lack of pricing knowledge. A company like The JRS Realty Group has years of experience in all these areas, which makes us much more likely to get the best possible price for the seller.