Real Estate Question

We have our house on the market right now and we listed with someone we like and trust (has sold several houses for our family). Interview agents- in this market the agents are competing for your business too! When you find someone who you feel in knowledgeable and familiar with YOUR area, go for it!

When the house sells, she will also help us find a house, so she will be the "Seller's Agent" for us when we sell and the "Buyer's Agent" for us when we buy. IF one of her current "buyers" wants to purchase our home, she will represent us b/c she knows our "bottom line" financially and the manager of her office will represent the "buyer". Most people will not represent both buyer and seller in the same transaction b/c they know "too much" about both parties. They will, however, get commission from both ends of that sale!

As for making your house "show worthy"... like you said
- declutter! Lliterally put EVERYTHING away so that your home looks like a model home, not just "tidy and clean".
-neutralize anything that might be distracting like paint colors, throw pillows/rugs, large or unusual art pieces, overdone window treatments, etc.
- make small "fixes" where you can do so... touch-up the paint, scrub off scuff-marks, dust every few days, straighten pictures, towels, etc. If your home looks like it has been "maintained" buyers will not start immediately deducting "fixes" from their offer!
- Maintain a list (that they can take with them) of upgrades, updates and other things you have done to your home. We had our furnace serviced and certified in January and have done numerous upgrades since we built the house. We have them listed on a 2-sided flyer for buyers to see!
- Keep the lawn mowed and the landscaping maintained regularly... sometimes you only get 2 hours "warning" before a showing- enough time to tidy, but not to landscape!

BEST ADVICE WE RECEIVED: Once you put your house on the market, it's not "yours" anymore. It's the future buyer's home... depersonalize it and don't worry that it doesn't feel like "your home" anymore... hopefully it won't be very shortly!

A friend of mine is a realtor and when she was helping us look for houses (kicking the tires) she mentioned that most offices have listing and selling agents and they are completely seperate I may have the acutal titles messed up but basically, listing is the one who you'd put your house under and who shows for you - selling are the ones who help you find a home. They keep seperate so there is no conflict of interest, etc.
So you could list with the same company, but maybe more for ease.

You need to find a real estate agent that you like and are comfortable with.

Get a home inspection done prior to listing the home as well as an appraisal - so you know what needs to be done and what the market is saying your home is worth....so you have it priced to sell...and not sit on the market for months.

There have been plenty of dual agent/listing/selling - so it's just a matter of negotiating their commission.

As to other things to help your home sell - they say to ensure that everything is staged...it appears that many buyers (not all) have been dumbed down and now need to be shown what a room is to be used for instead of having an empty home...

They say to take your personal pictures off the wall and put up art work that is not "personal"....

if you have something that needs repaired - fix it.
if you have the money to update something - do it - something as simple as washing your kitchen cabinets and adding new pulls on them - can change it up...

GOOD LUCK!!

I would recommend having an exclusive buyer's agent to protect your interest in the transaction and allow the listing agent to represent the seller. Your agency agreement changes to a Transactional Broker if the same person has both the listing and the buyer. Basically they oversee the contracts, etc.

Bottom line - have a different agent represent you in the transaction

I'd advise listing with someone else and having that second agent represent you in buying the house you like. If you use the listing agent from the first house to also buy it, the agent will have split loyalties- they will work for the seller and you, the buyer.