Episode 2

002 How to hire a realtor - tips from Shelley

In our first full episode Shelley breaks down her best tips for hiring a realtor to help you buy or sell a home in Sarasota.  Many of the tips are applicable in other markets.
The show opens with Ed enthusiastically sharing his newest obsession with having groceries delivered from Publix via a service called Shipt.  There website describes their service as: "Through a user-friendly app and a local network of reliable shoppers, Shipt connects members to fresh groceries and everyday essentials. Saving time, fuel and headspace, next-hour, same day grocery delivery is quickly becoming an everyday necessity for people looking for an extra few hours and intentional food choices."
Once Shelley gets Ed to stop chatting about food she shares these tips for hiring a realtor in Sarasota, Florida.  She begins by describing the difference between real estate agents and realtors.  Realtors belong to the National Association of Realtors (NAR).  Realtors have a code of ethics they are required and can receive additional training and professional designations.  Also the Florida Real Estate Commission (FREC), part of the Department of Business & Professional Regulation (DBPR) oversees real estate agents behavior to ensure fair and legal practices are followed.  These organizations matter to home buyers and sellers because they help determine an agents expertise and qualifications to assist with their transaction.
 
 
Here are some questions Shelley suggests for interviewing a real estate agent before hiring them:
  1. Are they a full-time agent?  Is being an agent their primary occupation so they will be able to be actively involved in the transaction and available for responsive communication?
  2. Do they have a written marketing plan?  Selling a home involves more than just taking a few photos and posting online for sale.  If the prospective agent doesn't have a written out plan with specific steps describing how they successfully sell your home.
  3. Ask previous listings whether they are currently on the market or sold.  This will give you some idea of how they will list your home.
  4. Ask how they will represent you.  Are they a transaction agent or a single agent?  Shelley briefly describes the similarities and differences between the two types. We will be doing a full episode covering this topic in depth in an upcoming episode
  5. Ask for references.  Beyond asking for written testimonials ask if they will let you speak directly to their past customers.
  6. What do they know about your area or the local market?  They should be able to provide detailed information regarding homes that have sold in the area similar to yours.
Ed then takes a short break to share a few of the social media "bumpers" (voice over with music).  Our poor voice over artist Sean never knows what to make of the scripts we write for him.  Our theme music was purchased on Audio Jungle - a great source for sound effects and music files for sale at reasonable prices.
Shelley wraps up our show relisting her tips for hiring a real estate agent.
 
 
And as stated by Sean in his closing comments - we do give out FREE HUGS for great reviews on iTunes!
 
Links in this episode:

 

The information contained in this episode has been obtained through sources deemed reliable by Shelley Panas and / or any guest on Selling Sarasota Podcast, however, we cannot warrant the complete accuracy thereof subject to errors, omissions, change of price, rental or other conditions, prior sale, lease or financing, or withdrawal without notice. We recommend to our listeners that any information, which is of special interest, should be obtained through independent verification.
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Selling Sarasota

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About your hosts

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Shelley Panas

Living in Paradise! After running a successful company in Colorado Springs I decided that although mountains are beautiful, it was time for beaches. I relocated to Florida and joined the highly successful team at CENTURY 21 Beggins Enterprises -- the #1 C21 in Florida! I love it here! There is always something new to experience. At the end of the day, it is so nice to hop on my bike and head to the beach. The feel of sand squishing between my toes, listening to the waves crash on the shore while watching the sun paint the sky beautiful shades of gold, red and purple as it set is the perfect way to end my day. So I ask, why just come visit when you can stay?

I believe there is something profound in owning a home. This is your personal place to dream big dreams, relax in comfort, and be with the ones you love. I became a REALTOR® to help people have a better life.

We started our podcast in 2018 after Ed spent most of 2017 developing ideas for launching a podcast, only he didn't like any of the show topics he was testing. To test his audio gear he started "interviewing" me about my work in real estate. Needless to say, these test recording sessions became very silly very quickly and that's we realized we had our show. Ed brings his technical expertise in web development and digital marketing to complement my skills and experience in real estate to the show.
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Edward Panas

I have been a huge fan of podcasts since before they were even called "podcasts"! I remember listening to talk radio shows as far back when I was a kid through my college years. My frustration was always with getting a good signal or catching my favorite shows when they aired. When "Internet radio" shows started in the early 90's I used to listen to streaming shows from college & public radio stations, but connection speeds were limited. When podcasting started in 2004 I knew this was going to be a significant change in audio entertainment. As my weekly listening time increased over the years my interest in starting my own show grew as well.

I started kicking around the idea of starting a podcast shortly after moving to Florida in 2014, so in 2017 I joined Florida Podcaster Association in Tampa and learned how I could start my own show. As Shelley mentions in her bio, my ideas all sucked. (She says it much nicer than this.) I either lost interest very quickly or the ideas were just plain bad. She agreed to work with me testing out my new gear and audio production skills talking about her work in real estate. We were having so much fun doing these practice recordings we realized that this was our show. After a few months of learning about audio production and working out our content plan, we launched Selling Sarasota Podcast at PodFest Multimedia Expo on February 9th, 2018!