• Was the property advertised in the right places?

• Was the description offered to the public appealing?

• Were attractive feature sheets continually available?

• Were there sufficient open houses and did your agent properly follow up on contacts made at the open houses?

• Did you have frequent and helpful communication from your agent so that you felt knowledgeable about the marketing of your property?

• Did you listen to and follow up on the Realtor's advice regarding preparing your home for sale?  Was there any advice?

• Lastly, was it listed at the right price?  (Whose price was it, yours or your Realtors?)  

If you feel able to answer yes to the above then there is no reason to change. Loyalty to good service is valued by everyone. If you have different feelings or would like a different approach then look for another realtor. Consider it an interview for a new employee who should demonstrate that he is worthy and likely to do the right job for you.  

Please switch for the right reasons.  The following are among the wrong reasons:

• "The company is too small and a bigger one will do a better job."  Wrong.  All realtors share a common database with the same information.  Nearly all Realtors, whether with a large company or a small company work as "independent contractors" paying the advertising and promotional bills themselves.  In the end, while technically you sign a contract with a company, you hiring the person.

• "My agent didn't have an open house every weekend."  Less than 10% of homes are sold through open houses.  Most Realtors value open houses for the contacts they make with new clients.  Besides, your Realtor has other homes, and a family life.  

• "He didn't have big newspaper ads."  Advertising is important, but not as important as the Multiple Listing Service exposure and secondly, the sign on your front yard.  Newspaper revenues from real estate ads are falling as their effectiveness is diminished by other ways of exposing your property, such as the internet.  I once gave into a Fonthill client who asked me to put an ad in the Toronto Star.  I paid $1,200 for the ad and had one phone call - from Welland.  Still, ask for an advertising strategy and a rational for the approach.

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