Aaron

Hey Shelly,
Any full time qualified agent should be able to accommodate you with this. It is a service that should be free and without hassle or pressure. What you're looking for is called a CMA or a Comparative Market Analysis.

The way it works is pretty simple. The agent comes over to your place, takes a look around interviews you with regard to amenities, upgrades etc. Then, the agent takes that information researches the recent/current market and attempts to find a handful of recent sales that are similar, a few that are pending (under contract to be sold), and then a few that are active on the market.

The next step is for the agent to present the results in a readable manner so that it makes sense to you. At that point, you should have a pretty good idea of what your home is currently worth, according to the market.

Lot's of people just want to know what their home is worth without being pressured to sell it. Having an accurate idea about your homes value is just as important to keeping track of the value of other investments or accounts.

If your interest in the value is to get ready to sell, then you need to do more than just get a value. You need to have an agent sit down with you and listen and understand what your goals and needs are. Once you have established your goals, then it should be fairly easy for the agent to work with you in achieving that goal.

Most agents provide the same services, others go beyond.

If you're upside down and need to get out of it quick, you're going to want and aggressive agent who is experienced with short sales or other alternatives for you.

If you have some good equity and want to take advantage of the current buyers market, then you're going to want an agent with out of the box marketing ideas that can help get your home sold quick, for top dollar so that you can get out and get a good deal on something else.

There are a many different scenarios that are possible, and the consultation is key.

Signing paperwork at this point is not necessary until you feel confident that the person who you've been working with is looking out for your goals.

Oh, and a tip. If you get multiple CMA's from agents, don't fall into the trap of 'liking what you hear'. Too often, agents will attempt to make your home appear more than it is actually worth in order to gain your favor and get you to sign paperwork. You need someone who can be honest about the market, your homes value and your price!

Contact me for a FREE market analysis for you home and a free consultation! I'll be open and honest about pricing and will not attempt to get you to sign paperwork for a listing.

If you'd like some references from past clients as well, I'd be happy to give you those too!

In the mean time, feel free to check out my blog. It's a good way to stay on top of the issues that are affecting our market and what that means to you as a homeowner...there's also a tool called market snapshot that will allow you to see what homes are selling for your market right now! http://boiserealestatesoup.com


Thanks,

Aaron Catt
O2 Marketing Group
208.724.7602
aaronmcatt@gmail.com - Thu Nov 19 2009, 08:58