The Koster Team Seller's Guide

It’s important when selling a house to choose the right real estate agent. The laws on selling houses and the proper paperwork that needs completed during a sale is ever-changing. On average a real estate agent will spend one-hundred plus hours trying to sell your home and when you chose to sell your home by yourself that’s time spent that will take away from your family and other tasks. So, before you make the big decision to sell your home by owner think of the time lose and the hoops that you have to jump through to make the sale happen. Your house is a grand investment and it’s not something left to chance with trial and error.  

There are many things that should be decided when selecting a real estate agent and you should do your research thoroughly. Below, however are three attributes that we think a agent should always have. 

Knows the Market

If you are selling your house chances are one thing has at some point crossed your mind, “How much should I sell for?” Every year people lose money off their houses when they try to sell it themselves because they appraised the value too low for what their market suggests. A real estate agent who knows the market knows the proper amount you should make off of your house and will be able to help you get closer to that goal selling price.

Select a Real Estate Agent with the Right Credentials

Just like you wouldn’t go to your mechanic for a physical it’s important that you don’t chose a real estate agent without the proper credentials such as:

CRS (Certified Residential Specialist): Completed additional training in handling residential real estate.

ABR (Accredited Buyer's Representative): Completed additional education in representing buyers in a transaction.

SRES (Seniors Real Estate Specialist): Completed training aimed at helping buyers and sellers in the 50-plus age range.

Lastly, if your agent calls themselves a “Realtor” with a capital “R” it means that they are a certified member of the National Association of Realtors.

Know How Long They Have Been in Business

With longevity in the industry comes experience and the more experience a real estate agent can offer in their field the safer you as a client can feel, knowing that you are in good hands.  

Your selling consultation with your real estate agent conducted to help your agent better understand what price you are looking to meet by selling your house, what the dimensions of your house are, and the reason you are moving. These questions help your real estate agent to market, price, and sell your home better.  

Now that your consultation is complete it is time to set the listing price or asking price of the house. Like many things in life the cost of something is often determined on various factors, the same goes for the listing price of your home. Factors like market value, depreciation value, area in which your home is in, and whether it is a buyer or seller’s market. However, your real estate agent will work with you to decide the best price and best profit from the sale. 


Staging your home can sometimes mean a little bit more than making sure that the toys have been picked up and the dishes have been put away. Your agent might have suggestions on temporary furniture arrangements in order for potential buyers to envision your space better.

Marketing your home will be up to your real estate agent to use methods that they know works best in your local market. This is where a good real estate agent who knows the market rather well comes in handy. They might also be informed on potential buyers for your home through their networks and connections. Either way your real estate agent will decide the best practices for the marketing of your home.

As you begin to take offers it is important to know that not every offer will be an immediate winner. If that is the case there are two things that you can do with the offer giving.

Reject Offer

If you receive an offer that is way below the listed price of your house and you know for a fact that you can make more. Than you and your real estate agent might decided to reject the offer coming in. Once it is rejected the buyer may try again or they may not.

Counter-Offer

You might also decided to try to make a counteroffer, this is used when the buyer has made an offer and you want to see if they would be willing to spend more. Counteroffers have the potential to go back and forth several rounds before both parties are satisfied.

When you are happy with the offer being made and your and the buyer agree on the offer you can accept the offer. It will then move to negotiation stages, this is the time when you negotiate the terms of the contract and tie up any loose ends before signing a contract. After everything is agreed upon it is time for you and the buyer to sign the agreed upon terms.

After the terms have been set the you, the seller, now have a timeframe to get everything in order on your end. For example, if the contract stated that the buyer has to conduct certain inspections then this would be the allotted time they would have to do it. Everything would be predetermined in the terms and contract. This is often called the “Sale Pending” stage and during this time a you can still be actively trying to sell your property and accept offers, should the offer fall through.  

Once everything is squared away it’s time to pack your bags and say your goodbyes. You’re house is sold and you can move on to your new house.