If you want to sell your home soon, you will probably want to start looking for an experienced realtor to help you with this. Not only do realtors list, advertise, and show homes, but they also help homeowners prepare their homes for sale. When you initially meet with a realtor, he or she is likely to give you a lot of advice, and taking the advice the agent gives is vital if you want to sell your home. Here are the reasons this is true.

Realtors Know What Buyers Look For

The first thing to understand is that realtors help people buy and sell homes every single day. This is their job, and experienced realtors are great at their jobs. Because of this, realtors know what people are looking for. While all buyers have slightly different needs and desires in homes, most people have similar things they are looking for. Here are some of the top things people look for when shopping for a home:

• An open concept – This is something that is very popular today, but it was not popular a couple decades ago. If your home does not have this, the agent might suggest knocking down a wall or two to achieve this.
• A modernized kitchen – The kitchen is one of the most important rooms to home buyers. If your kitchen is outdated, it might be worthwhile to update it.
• Remodeled bathrooms – Buyers also look for homes with remodeled bathrooms, and your agent might recommend making a few minor changes in your bathrooms to improve the way they look.
• Neatness and cleanliness – Buyers can easily be turned off when they look at homes that are dirty, cluttered, or messy. Because of this, you may need to do some extra cleaning or decluttering before listing your home.

These are just the basic things your agent might talk to you about, but he or she might also suggest some minor types of home staging tips too.

Realtors Know Loan Programs and the Requirements of Each Type

Secondly, realtors know a lot of things that relate to safety in a home and loan requirements. For example, most loan programs require that homes have GFCIs in them by all water sources. If your agent notices your home lacks these, he or she will suggest getting them. If you don't do this now, you will most likely have to do this later.

Another example would be a loose stair rail. If you have a loose stair rail, the agent will tell you to fix it. This is a safety issue, and there are certain loan programs that prohibit sales if there are issues like this.

Realtors Know the Going Rates of Homes

When the agent shows up to your home, he or she may bring a comparative market analysis (CMA), which is a report that shows the values of other homes in your area. Agents use these to find out the best asking prices for homes that will be listed on the market. While you do not have to agree to the price your agent suggests, you should keep in mind that agents know the market. If you price the home too high, you might experience trouble selling it.

In some cases, hearing the advice of a realtor is not always easy, especially if your house needs work, or if you feel your house is worth more money than the agent thinks; however, the advice agents give is great advice. If you are ready to prepare your home for sale and get it listed on the market, contact an agent today to learn more about the process.

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