Hoping to have a great home sale this year? The first step is finding a great REALTOR. Expert home seller, author & Real Estate Broker Brett Furman offers suggestions from getting your house ready to the final closing of your home.

The Internet can provide you with an abundance of real estate tips and advice, but its extremely beneficial to work with a real estate agent who understands all of the nuances of selling a house.

Brett Furman, a Broker/Owner in St. Davids, Pennsylvania, suggests a good real estate professional can guide you through the process and make the experience as simple and quick as possible. A great REALTOR will help you set a competitive price, market your house, and help you with getting it to look its best. Your agent will list your house on a multiple listing, a service that lists homes from all realtors in the area, says Furman.

Furman suggests asking the following 12 questions of a REALTOR who will help you go from getting your house ready to the final closing of your home:

1. How long have you been marketing real estate?

2. Do you have a Brokers license?

3. What do you know about the market in my area?

4. How many people did you help buy and sell houses over the past two years?

5. Am I locked into a contract with you, and, if so, how long?

6. What is your average sale price to list price? (Should be 90 percent or  higher)

7. What is your past average number of days on the market? (Should be 94 days or less)

8. Will you produce a movie/slide show of my home?

9. Do you recommend a pre-sale inspection? (Eliminates need for backend negotiations)

10. Do you recommend a pre-sale appraisal? (Helps set price correctly)

11. Can I speak to some of your previous clients? (Check Angies List for reviews)

12. What do you recommend to your clients about social media? (Stay out during house hunting & selling)

When speaking with a prospective REALTOR, its important to ask questions about their expertise and knowledge about local properties. Most importantly make sure that your personalities mesh.

Youll save hours of trying to figure out what steps to take to sell your house if you have a realtor guiding you through the process. They will help you in the final stages with negotiations, payment, closing and moving, adds Furman.

Sources www.BrettFurman.com, www.homesellerhandbook.com