There is no doubt that Rutherford County is now in a Buyers' Market and you need all of the help you can get if you want to sell your home for the highest possible price in the least possible time.

The best way to make this happen is by interviewing agents and choosing the most qualified Realtor or team to handle the job.  Following are some questions you may want to ask during your interviews along with explanations about why they are important:

1.) Are you a single agent or part of a team? 

If you are interviewing a single agent, make sure he or she is not so overextended trying to handle all aspects of every transaction--including such mundane time-consuming details as installing yard signs, entering data into the MLS and on websites, ordering inspections, delivering paperwork, etc.--that he or she does not have the time or energy to work buyers interested in your house.  If you're dealing with a team, ask about the roles performed by the different team members.  Determine whether the team actually has administrative people who handle the details of listings and closings to free up the salespeople to do what they do best--sell.

2.) How will you market my home?

Too many agents simply put a sign in the yard, your home on the MLS and then hope for the best.  Successful agents and teams who consistently sell many homes are constantly coming up with new and innovative ways to put homes in front of potential customers.  Ask your interviewees to explain their print, direct mail, and internet marketing strategies and what systems they have in place to capture and convert the leads produced by their efforts.

3.) How many listings do you typically carry at one time?

Whether it is yard signs, homes magazines, or online listings, nothing produces buyer prospect calls like homes for sale.  Agents and teams who carry and market large numbers of listings usually have many more calls from people who want to buy a home.  Keep in mind that buyers rarely purchase the house that they first inquire about with a Realtor.  So it stands to reason that a team with 35 listings will generate about 35 times more buyer prospects than an agent with a single listing.  The more listings your Realtor carries, the more potential buyers for all of his or her sellers.

4.) Which websites will feature my listings?

Most every Realtor has a website these days.  But how much traffic does it generate?  How many buyer prospects does it unearth?  Does it give your home exposure on high-traffic, popular sites like Google, Yahoo, Homes.com, YouTube, Trulia, etc.?  Someone can have the prettiest website ever, but it is worthless to you as a homeseller if nobody ever sees your house there.

5.) What role will you play in helping me to price my house properly?

People who simply tell you what you want to hear may be good for your ego, but they are typically bad at selling your home.  Expect your Realtor to help you choose the correct price by telling you like it is.  He or she should know the marketplace well enough to explain in simple-to-understand terms the reasoning behind any pricing advice, as well as demonstrate an awareness of any market trends that might affect your home sale.  Additionally, your Realtor should back up what he or she says with data and statistics, including comparable home sales, absorption rates, etc.  To learn more about what your home is worth, visit here.

If you are interested in listing your Middle Tennessee home for sale, the Jones Team would love to interview for the job.  Learn why you should list your home with us by clicking on this link.