Main Line Realtor John Flanagan

What Does A Main Line Real Estate Agent Do for You?

If you're looking to buy or sell your first house or you're a real estate veteran, you may be wondering what exactly a real estate agent does for you buying or selling a home on the Main Line.

I've been selling real estate on the Main Line for nearly 20 years and have seen the highs and lows of the market. The last three years have been the most challenging in my career with our lack of inventory due to the pandemic and the surge in demand from Millennials. In a difficult market it's even more important to hire the best possible agent to help you navigate the changes in our market.

A good agent will spend the time to educate you on the market and develop a sound strategy in which to buy or sell with the best possible terms in order to protect your interests. Most people think that prices have exploded over the last year on the Main Line, but that's not the case. The average sales price the first half of 2022 was only up 4% from the same period in 2021. The median sales price was exactly the same as last year. We're starting to see some price reductions and longer days on market since the boom ended in late Spring. The days of 30+ offers on a single listing have pretty much come to an end.

 

When you're SELLING your Main Line house the listing agent's responsibilities include:

  • Meeting with you in person to discuss the selling process, learn what your goals are.
  • Developing a custom marketing plan designed to sell your home for the best possible price.
  • Hiring a stager to meet with you to offer suggestions on how to present the house in the best possible light to maximize value.
  • Arrange for professional photography and videography to showcase your home.
  • Pre-market your home as a "Coming Soon" listing to build interest in the house before the showings begin.
  • Create a Comparative Market Analysis report detailing current and past similar sales to determine the market value for the listing.
  • Schedule a Broker's Open so that local agents can tour the house to see if it's right for their buyers.
  • Schedule an public Open House (if you're agreeable to having your house open).
  • Solicit feedback from agent's who've shown the house and make adjustments to the house (if necessary).
  • Negotiate offers received. A good agent will review the advantages and disadvantages of each offer with you so that you understand the differences and make an informed decision.
  • Process buyer escrow deposits.
  • Negotiate any inspection requests for repairs or credits.
  • Coordinate with mortgage company to be sure the buyers are on target to settle on time.
  • Coordinate with the buyer's title company to be sure all questions are answers prior to settlement.
  • Communicate with conveyancer to be sure the school county, townships, water, sewer payoffs have been made.
  • Make sure that the use and occupancy certificate is ordered and completed prior to settlement.
  • Request buyer escrow deposit funds be made payable to title company.

 

When you're BUYING your Main Line house the buyer agent's responsibilities include:

  • Meeting with you to discuss your goals, plans, wishes, and timeframe.
  • Review the current market conditions including inventory matching your desired criteria, inventory, days on market, etc.
  • Design a custom home search that includes instant MLS listings, coming soon listings, private exclusive listings, and off-market homes.
  • Monitor the market and update you as the market changes.
  • Contact other local agents to see if they have upcoming listings matching your search criteria.
  • Previewing new listings for you at weekly Broker Tours and advising you of good fits.
  • Scheduling showings for you at times that are convenient to you.
  • When you find a house you love, a good agent will create a market value analysis for you to determine if the house is priced correctly or is over/under priced.
  • Discussing an offer strategy to increase your changes or winning the bid (if there are other offers). It's not always the highest price that wins in a multiple offer situation. Asking the right questions of the listing agent can be the difference on getting your offer accepted.
  • Negotiating the terms and conditions in the offer with the listing agent on your behalf.
  • Executing all of the required paperwork so that your fully under contract.
  • Scheduling inspections (if they're conditions in the agreement).
  • Reviewing the inspection reports and discussing what items to ask for credits or repairs.
  • Submitting a Reply To Inspections  to the sellers on your behalf.
  • Recommending contractors to obtains quotes for inspection repairs.
  • Negotiating the inspection contingencies.
  • Ordering a title search for the property.
  • Following up with mortgage and title companies to be sure everything is on schedule for settlement.
  • Scheduling settlement time and location.
  • Ordering any power of attorney or deed packages needed.
  • Helping you with mover or contractor recommendations.

 

If you have any questions about these steps or about buying or selling your Main Line house, please contact me at 610-256-4435. Thank you! John Flanagan.