Barbara Reagan's blog

When you are chatting with a Realtor for the first time, it's a great idea to ask if they're familiar with your neighborhood - and if they've helped clients buy or sell homes there before. Don't be shy about asking about their experience! If your gut tells you this is might be someone you'd enjoy working with, go ahead and ask them to put together a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) for your home and set up a time to meet with them in person.

To create an accurate CMA, the Realtor will likely ask you a few questions - like how much you still owe on your mortgage, if any repairs are...

It's totally normal for homeowners to start the selling process by checking out sites like Realtor.com, Zillow, Redfin or others to get a sense of what homes in their neighborhood are selling for. It's a great starting point - but it's important to know that these websites aren't always 100% accurate!

For example, they often miss homes that were sold off market (like For Sale By Owner properties). Plus, not every listing on these sites is kept up to date. Many agents don't regularly update their listings from "Active" to "Pending" to "Sold", so you might see a home that appears to...