There are many real estate professionals in the industry today. In fact, you likely know a couple of realtors from within your family or friends. When it comes to selling your home, it’s vital to know what to ask a realtor when selling a house. For this reason, it’s likely a good idea to reach outside your social circle when hiring an agent to represent you. You need to feel comfortable having a direct, business oriented conversation, and it may be more difficult to do that with a good friend you’re planning to have over for cookouts or Christmas parties.

If home buyers or sellers have a good experience with their realtor, they’re likely to recommend that person to you. The thing you want to keep in mind is you’re looking for someone who matches your personality and with whom you feel comfortable handling this very important move in your life. As you begin your search, here are seven questions to ask a realtor before hiring them to sell your home.

How do you plan to market my home?

A knowledgeable real estate agent knows each home must be marketed in a unique way. Your high rise condo that overlooks Center City will not sell to a growing family who wants a spacious yard and a quiet neighborhood. Ask your potential agent what their marketing plan is for your property. Listen for details in the plan that specifically pertain to the unique features of your home – don’t hear any? It’s probably time to move on.  Protect yourself with a sale guarantee see our 90 day guarantee here.

On average, for what percentage of the list price do your listings sell?

You want your home to sell for the highest price possible. Although an agent may tell you they have sold numerous homes over the past six to 12 months, you want to know how many of those homes sold for list price, or close to it. It’s not enough to simply close on your home; you need an agent who will work diligently to market your home to bring in the best offers. Get an idea of fair market value for your home within seconds by using our property valuation tool.

Can you provide a comparative market analysis (CMA) for my home?

Ask any real estate agent for a comparative market analysis, and they should be more than willing and able to provide one. A CMA is a report that compares your home to similar, recently sold homes within the same area. Agents will use a CMA to help you price your home accurately to bring in the most potential buyers. The report should show homes of a similar size, year built and condition to help you understand what to expect in terms of price and time it may take to sell your home. If the CMA provided to you is lacking in the details, it may be a sign your real estate agent isn’t familiar with the market for your area.

Do you work full-time or part-time as a real estate agent?

According to the National Association of Realtors, 23% of realtors work on a part-time basis. It’s important to know if your real estate agent will work to sell your home as their full-time job, or if they will only be able to offer a limited number of hours each week. You may decide that you’re comfortable working with a part-time real estate agent, but if you need to sell your home fast, or you expect aggressive marketing and showing of your home, it’s probably best you sign on with a full-time agent.

Can you provide a list of references?

Your real estate agent should have a list of clients for whom they have recently sold property available for you to call. Ask to see a list of properties that was sold for the references and their phone numbers so you can get an idea of what to expect from your real estate agent.

What percentage of your listings sold last year, and how many did you sell?

Ask your real estate agent how many homes they sold over the past 12 months. While that question can seem a bit forward, you need to get an idea of the agent’s experience representing a seller. For an even better grasp of the agent’s success rate, ask what percentage of all listings the agent accepted were sold in the last year and on average how long did it take from putting the home on the market to signing the closing documents. These inquiries will give you direct insight on a timeline for how long it should take to sell your home.

Will you potentially represent the buyer and seller?

Some real estate agents will only represent the buyer or the seller, some however, have potential to represent both. That’s not to imply hiring an agent who works for both sides is wrong, but it can be a potentially sticky situation if you discover halfway through the selling process that your agent is also obligated to have the best interest of the buyer in mind. So, having this information up front, allows you to make the decision as to whether that’s an avenue you’d like to travel.

Check out our 90 Day Sale Guarantee here.  Your home sold in 90 days or less or we will sell it for free. 

We welcome these questions and more. If you’re considering selling your home and need help on where to start, give us a call at 215-370-1236.

It can be hard enough simply deciding to list your home on the real estate market, but when you’re in a situation where it’s essential to sell your home fast, it can be especially frustrating waiting on an offer for your house. There are certain ways to work with your real estate agent (and your property) to make sure you get the highest offer possible even when trying to sell your home fast. We’ve worked with numerous home sellers who are packed up, ready to go and need to get out quickly. Here are some of the tips we’ve discovered will help you prepare your home to sell (fast!).

Improve your home’s curb appeal

Take a good look at your home. Would you ask your realtor to put it on your “must see” list? If not, let’s jump right into it. You may just need a vibrant new front door color or a few plants, but the first impression you give to potential home buyers – whether they’re checking out your house online or in person – needs to be the best it can possibly be. Your curb appeal needs to say, “Welcome home.”

Price it right – the first time

There seems to be this ideal that when you list your home for sale it should be a bit overpriced to give you “wiggle room” to negotiate. Here’s the truth when it comes to pricing your home – A well-priced home will get far more traffic than a home that seems out of a potential homebuyer’s reach or too pricey for your market. In fact, a lower priced home has the potential to start a bidding war, bringing in a higher offer that you would have expected. While several offers aren’t guaranteed, it’s certainly more likely to help you sell your home fast if the price is right. If you’re not sure what the homes are going for in your neighborhood, or what’s fair market for your own home, check out our free property valuation to see exactly how much your home is worth.

Declutter and neutralize

It’s easy to see why a cluttered home may not sell quickly – livable space within the home seems smaller or homebuyers can’t see past your mess to envision living in the home (just to list a couple) – but how do you actually get rid of the “stuff?” Focus on the space itself. Decluttering doesn’t have to be just removing your indoor plants or picking up toys scattered throughout the living room. What would happen if you actually removed a piece of furniture or two? You want to create a home that is open and spacious for potential buyers. While you’re at it, remove the collection of family photos from the end tables. The more personal items potential buyers see in your home, the less they can imagine themselves living there.

Be ready to show

If you want your home to sell fast, you should be prepared to show the house at a moment’s notice. Being inflexible with viewing times can quickly cause potential buyers to cross your property off their list. In fact, make it as easy as possible for viewers to visit your house. Host an open house, or simply be ready to step out with little notice. You’ll also want to work with your agent to make sure your home is listed on major home selling websites.

Fantastic photos

After you’ve decluttered, depersonalized and moved the pets out, let in plenty of light and snap photos of your home. With 92% of home buyers using the Internet as part of their search, you want to include as many pictures as possible. Give the buyer insight into your property. Highlight the open space, fantastic views, spacious backyard or top of the line appliances. Get your home to sell fast with great photos.

If you’re a suburbanite thinking about heading back to the city, you should begin doing your homework before you begin working on finding your home. Deborah Schultz (left), who moved with her husband Arthur Salter from Bala-Cynwyd to Center City One in June 2015, offers some advice for older homeowners considering a return to the city that should make the process less of a headache.

Prepare to Downsize Your Life
The first thing you should start doing, she said, is downsizing your life ahead of time.

“Begin your downsizing a couple of years in advance. To take a 2700-square-foot-house that you’ve lived in for 27 years” and fit it into a 1200-square-foot package, “there’s a lot of stuff that won’t fit in.”

If, after getting rid of things that obviously won’t travel well to your new digs, you’re not sure what else to get rid of, a knowledgeable Realtor can help you successfully shed items.

Figure Out Where and How You’d Like to Live
But before asking, you should get a clear idea of the type of in-town residence you want. “Make a list of what locations you want to consider and what sorts of places you’d like to live in,” Schultz said.

Then spend some time in those locations. As you do, you may discover that some of the things you thought were important were not and other factors may loom larger. As Schultz put it, “Picture yourself in this place and ask, ‘Do I fit in?’” You may find that the neighborhood you thought would be perfect is not as good a match as another neighborhood elsewhere. Which brings us to the next piece of advice:

Be Prepared to Refine and Adjust Your Expectations
What you say you want may not be possible for you to get. Salter and Schultz had to accept less space than they had hoped for because there were no units as big as they wanted that they could afford. When faced with such choices, you need to determine which of your needs you can bend on and which you cannot.

Because you will most likely find yourself adjusting your expectations as your hunt proceeds, the most important piece of advice may well be:

Be Patient
If you’re lucky, you may find a property that satisfies your expectations, or at least the ones that matter, in a short period of time. But don’t go into the process expecting this, Schultz said. “We never thought it would take this long” to find the right Center City home, she said. Because that might happen to you, be prepared to take however long it may take to find that home. The right agent can make the wait shorter.

But, Schultz added, once you find that right home, “be prepared to move.” Here again, the right real estate agent can make a big difference.

Arthur Salter and Deborah Schultz, ready to unpack their new life as city-dwellers once again.

When you’re looking to make a major transition, such as a move from a large suburban home to a smaller pad in the city, it helps to have a knowledgeable real estate agent who can grasp your wants and needs, knows urban living, and can help you match your own expectations with what’s available on the market

Deborah Schultz and her husband Arthur Salter found that agent in Carmel Archdekin.

The couple had met in Philadelphia in 1978 and loved city life, but when they had children, they chose a suburban home in Bala-Cynwyd, just over the city line, because of the quality of the schools. With the kids having struck out on their own, Schultz and Salter could once again return to the city they loved. They knew that this would mean making some adjustments, and they had already spent time thinking about how they’d adjust.

“We had a checklist of what we wanted,” Schultz explained. “We wanted two bedrooms, and we wanted privacy for those bedrooms; we didn’t want them off the living room. We wanted two bathrooms, we wanted storage, and we wanted plenty of light.

“A balcony was a real desire. At first we didn’t want a doorman, but as we explored, we realized the value of a doorman. We did not want the open kitchen effect, which is the hottest thing going today. And we wanted safe walking; I’m active in my church, and as we looked, I asked myself, ‘What would it be like walking home from church at night?’”

And they wanted all this in a 1500-square-foot package. That would end up being the biggest adjustment they had to make. “We wanted 1500 square feet, but we ended up with 1200,” Schultz said. “We were told early on that there wasn’t enough inventory in our price range and the styles we wanted.”

Carmel Archdekin took this as a challenge and went to work.

Schultz and Salter first met Archdekin when they inquired about some properties she represented. The property flunked their checklist, but Archdekin went about finding others that might qualify once they told her what they were looking for.

“We went to quite a few places with her,” Schultz said. “Whenever she had something, she would show us.”

Schultz and Salter take in the skyline view from their new home in the Center City One condominium.

And she learned more about their checklist with each showing. Eventually, Schultz said, she learned exactly what they were looking for and that they were serious about their requirements. “We appreciated that when she figured out what we wanted, she didn’t show us things she didn’t think would fit.”

Eventually, the couple settled on the Center City One condominium in Washington Square West as their preferred destination, also the result of a process of winnowing out and shifting preferences. “We had looked near the rivers, but eventually decided we wanted to be in the center,” Salter said. And where they had begun their search thinking they’d find what they really wanted near Rittenhouse Square, as their search continued, they eventually decided they should be closer to Washington Square instead. This means a longer walk to Schultz’s church just northwest of Rittenhouse Square, but the walk involves streets that are alive at night.

Schultz and Salter just missed out on a Center City One unit they thought would be perfect; the day before they were to see it, Archedkin told them it had gone under agreement of sale. But she managed to find another one through the art of persuasion.

“The unit was on the market as a rental,” Schultz said. “No one was living in it, but the woman wno owned it was going to rent it. Carmel talked to her agent and asked if she would be willing to sell it at the right price. It was very clever of her to do that.”

What Schultz and Salter appreciated most about Archdekin was the level of service she provided and the attention she gave their concerns. When the time came to actually make an offer, she found financing for them, handled all the necessary submissions electronically and produced a detailed checklist of next steps the couple would have to take.

The whole process took longer than the couple had expected it to, but Salter said that without the services of an experienced and knowledgeable agent, it would have taken even longer. “We were beginning to get desperate,” she said. “That Carmel was able to find this place for us took the pain away.”

By Realtor and Retirement Real Estate Specialist Carmel Archdekin

What are the Center City neighborhoods that appeal most to those empty-nesters moving back from the ‘burbs?

Topping the list is Rittenhouse Square, long the city’s most prestigious address. Its combination of high-end shopping, abundant dining options, and the city’s premier outdoor living room give it lots of appeal, and adding to that appeal are plenty of large elevator buildings to choose from. Most of these buildings are older established properties, but some have been updated and renovated, and newer properties are being added to the mix.

The SLS Lux hotel and residences, now under construction at Broad and Spruce streets, could become a retirement community in the sky as sophisticated retirees return to Center City Philadelphia to live.

The kids having flown the coop and the obligations of work behind them, a growing number of retirees are returning to the city to spend their leisure years.

At least that's what Realtor Carmel Archdekin has seen in her own business over the last year.

"In the past 12 months, I've seen a large influx of this type of activity," she said.

Archdekin attributes the rise in retirees moving back to Center City to two factors, one having to do with the inherent advantages of city living and the other having to do with market conditions.

The inherent advantage is access to amenities that support an active lifestyle in retirement. "Retirees want to be in the city because it's walkable," she said. "They want to ditch their cars and change their lifestyle from a suburban one to that of the city dweller," who enjoys entertainment, dining and shopping options, including shopping for everyday needs, close at hand without having to drive everywhere.

The market-driven factor is an improvement in the overall climate for sellers. "In the recent past, people couldn't sell their homes and buy retirement homes in town because they didn't have enough equity," Archdekin said. Now that home prices have rebounded past pre-market collapse levels, more retirees find they can either sell their homes quickly or borrow against their built-up equity, buy the in-town retirement pad of their dreams, and wait until they're ready to sell their old home.

In both cases, what this means is that many retirees are paying cash for their downsized dream homes. "About two-thirds of my buyers are paying cash," she said. "Either they don't have to sell their old property first or they take out a home equity line of credit on it and hold onto it until they're ready to sell."

Other buyers are choosing their future retirement homes before they're ready to move in and putting them to work in the meantime. "Another thing some buyers are doing is, even if they're not yet ready to move in, they buy and put in a renter for one to five years because prices are going up and they want to buy for value," she said. "Then, when they're ready, they move."

This is good news for Philadelphia and for developers of smaller condominium units who worry that not enough Millennials can afford their product. 

Contact Carmel Archdekin with your questions about relocating to Center City.

What sort of places are older empty-nesters looking at when they contemplate moving (back) to Philadelphia?

Carmel Archdekin says that her clients are looking mainly for new construction or recently renovated properties.

“Most of these people want new. They want beautiful. They want renovated. They’re buying homes with the same mentality the thirtysomethings who are buying have.”

That means that new developments such as Toll Brothers’ 410 at Society Hill (pictured) and 2400 South, both condominiums, get snapped up quickly by more mature house-hunters.

But it doesn’t mean that older buildings get passed over completely. Condominium units in buildings such as Center City One in Washington Square West, Independence Place in Society Hill, and 210 W. Rittenhouse Square don’t stay on the market long on those rare occasions one becomes available, Archdekin said.

One possible reason for their popularity: Pet-friendliness. “Many older established buildings that cater to 55-plus buyers, such as The Philadelphian, the Hopkinson House and Society Hill Towers, don’t allow pets at all.” Of course, older buyers without pets can add these places to their list of sites to consider.

The empty-nesters also place a premium on convenience. “They’re looking for one-level living in elevator buildings,” she said. “They’re also looking for walkability. A lot of these people who come from the suburbs, they’re sick of driving everywhere. They’re getting rid of their cars, and that’s amazing. They’re a little hipper than your typical older person.”

Moving can be a challenge, but choosing a new school for your children doesn’t have to be.

By Carmel Archdekin and Tamer Abouras

Relocation always involves more than just a change of address. For families who have or are planning to have children, moving into a neighborhood with a strong school system is a primary concern. How do the local public schools perform on federally mandated standardized tests? Are there charter schools nearby as an alternative?

For those who have the means and/or inclination, private schools within the city (or beyond) are also potential options. While the return on investment for a private school partially relies on how highly you prioritize the value of a great education, it can also depend on how those in your area compare to their public counterparts.

Using this as a primer of sorts, your family can make a more informed decision about choosing a public, private, or charter school in Philadelphia, how the best schools in the city are measured, and how to find out what catchment zone your prospective address is located in.

Public, Private, or Charter – The Great Debate

Although private schooling has been perceived traditionally as superior to public education, there’s obviously no hard and fast rule to suggest that is always the case. What’s more, those not receiving substantial scholarships are spending thousands of dollars for their child’s private school, regardless of whether or not it’s preparing them for Harvard.

Since we understand that there are always costs associated with private education, the benefits can be tricky to gauge. Quantitative measures such as safety (or number of incidents), smaller class sizes, and standardized test scores are a more objective way of evaluating and comparing schools.

Though private schools are not required to subject their students to standardized testing (thus making some more difficult to assess), there is one popular, emerging type of school that is: charter.

GreatPhillySchools.org [http://greatphillyschools.org/pages/en/user-guides/choosing-a-public-charter-school] has a very informative breakdown of how they operate but essentially:

• Charters are public schools with greater freedom to design classes and hire/fire teachers

• They often have longer school days and can have longer scholastic years

• Many have uniforms or dress codes

The majority of charters admit students via a lottery system, but there are others, called Renaissance Schools, that must admit any and all students living within specified boundaries. Like public schools, there cannot be minimum grades or test scores for admission; like private schools, the educational approach and emphasis of given schools can vary substantially and cater to more specific student interests, such as technology, environmental science, or African studies.

Charters certainly attempt to take the most appealing elements of privatized education and strip them of their major cost obstacle. With that being said, determining which school offers the “best” for your children can be inherently subjective, but a closer look at comprehensive standardized test scores can at least help to provide one empirical point of reference.

Numbers (Almost) Never Lie

Standardized tests have always had their detractors, from in and out of the field of education, but it’s hard to argue that the old saying “where there’s smoke, there’s fire” doesn’t apply; you’ll seldom find an entire school of exceptionally good or bad test takers.

GreatSchools.org [http://www.greatschools.org/], a Silicon Valley based nonprofit, effectively organizes, compares, and rates schools across the state based upon standardized test scores. In addition, there are parent submitted reviews and both gender and racial diversity breakdowns of each school, which helps to add some illustration to the raw data.

Using the Great Schools rating system, we can see how public schools stack up within a particular catchment. Please note though that most private schools do not take standardized tests because they are not required by law to do so. Great Schools can only rate private schools based on any voluntary data they have been able to obtain or from parent reviews.

Great Schools uses a star system for private schools versus the 1-10 rating used for public and charter schools.

• In Meredith catchment (near the Queen Village neighborhood), William M. Meredith Elementary School [http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/m/meredith-school] public school earns a rating of 7.

• In McCall catchment (near Queen Village and Center City), General George A. McCall School [http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/m/mccall/] public school earns a 6.

• In Shawmont catchment (near Roxborough and Manayunk), public Shawmont School’s [http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/s/shawmont/] rating of 4 is dwarfed by Green Woods Charter School’s [http://www.greenwoodscharter.org/] 8.

• In Greenfield catchment (near Rittenhouse Square), public Albert M. Greenfield Elementary School [http://www.albertmgreenfieldschool.org/pages/Albert_M_Greenfield_School] earns a 4 while Independence Charter School [http://www.independencecharter.org/] takes a 5 and The Philadelphia School [http://www.tpschool.org/], a private institution, goes unrated.

• In Mifflin catchment (near the East Falls neighborhood), public Thomas Mifflin School [http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/m/Mifflin] takes in just a 1, while William Penn Charter [http://www.penncharter.com/] is currently unrated.

• In Waring Catchment (near Fairmount and Fairmount Station), Laura W. Waring [http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/w/waring] public school scores a 1 and private Friends Select [http://www.friends-select.org/] is unrated.

• In John B. Kelly catchment, in Germantown, public John B. Kelly Elementary [http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/k/kelly/] rates a 2, Theodore Roosevelt Middle School [http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/r/Roosevelt] gets a 1, and both Germantown Friends [http://www.germantownfriends.org/] and Green Street Friends [greenestreetfriends.org/], private schools, are unrated.

• Finally, in Houston catchment (near Cresheim Valley Park and Chestnut Hill), public Henry H. Houston Elementary School [http://webgui.phila.k12.pa.us/schools/h/Houston] gets a 2 and The Waldorf School of Philadelphia [http://phillywaldorf.com/], a private school, is unrated.

An example of well-regarded private schools just outside the city, such as Conshohocken’s Miquon School [http://miquon.org/], also comes in unrated. As you can see, a number of public schools have their struggles while private and some charters often come in unrated.

The important thing to take into account is that even in places where the annual median incomes are healthy, such as Greenfield catchment (which encompasses Rittenhouse Square and its $67,424), there is no guarantee that the public schools are enjoying the same level of prosperity or success. Remember: the socioeconomic fortunes of your neighborhood are no predictor of a bad school turning around; don’t bank your children’s educational welfare on future prospects.

Dude, Where’s My Catchment?

Actually, your first question might very well be “what is a catchment?” In layman’s terms, they’re specifically drawn geographic areas within the city of Philadelphia that determine which public school your children will be assigned to.

As a prospective homebuyer and resident of the city, it can be helpful to figure out exactly which of these catchments your potential address or addresses are located in. This handy tool [https://webapps.philasd.org/school_finder/] from The School District of Philadelphia requires only the typing in said addresses to find your catchment and the schools therein.

The City of Brotherly Love can be a wonderful place to reside and raise your family if you find the home and neighborhood that are right for you. Here’s hoping this cheat sheet helps to make the process of finding that perfect place just a little bit easier.