Choose Local
Today, a word of caution about the out-of-area real estate agent that your attorney recommended.
We've seen it many times, administrators and executors who blindly hire the real estate listing agent recommended by their attorney, only to be poorly represented and possibly ripped off.
1. Pricing – So often, a real estate agent who isn’t tuned into the local real estate market will get it wrong. Some agents think they can just run valuation software and come up with a price based solely on the building’s square footage. They couldn't be more wrong. A local agent knows the dividing lines from one neighborhood to the next, and the difference that can make in pricing. They also know that in some neighborhoods, it’s just as important to factor in the size of the lot as it is the building square footage. They know the traffic patterns, the school hours and the shopping districts that affect the property values. When you price a property wrong at the start, it will be slow going to get it sold at a fair price. If it’s priced too high, buyers will know that and stay away. If it’s priced too low, the property will miss the market entirely, leaving sellers’ to snatch at any low-ball offer that comes in.
2. Commission – Let’s say the estate agreed to pay a 5% broker’s commission for selling the property. However, rather than split it 50:50, the listing agent offers only 2% to the buyer’s agent, pocketing 3% for themselves. Does that seem fair? Will the buyer’s agents want to show that property over one which will earn them a commission of 2.5%? And, although it is illegal for real estate agents to ‘set commission rates’ for an area, I can tell you that offering only 2% commission to a buyer’s agent in the many neighborhoods we specialize in would, quite frankly, piss off agents. Many times they won’t show the property to their client unless specifically asked to. Think of how many potential buyers the estate could miss out on.
3. Local Professionals – When you choose an agent who is local, you connect to the entire network of real estate agents for the area, and thereby garner a stronger, qualified pool of buyers. Local agents give feedback to the listing agent when something is not working and tell them why, which enables the listing agent to make changes to pricing, marketing, etc. The local agent has a database of the top 100 buyer’s agents for that specific area and will email them directly with news of the new listing, and perhaps offer early showings.
4. Showing Availability – The greatest case to be made for hiring a local agent was illustrated by a buyer we showed a new listing to. We had taken the listing after an out-of-area agent failed to sell it in 90 days. This well established, cash buyer was relieved to be finally given access to the property. On his cell phone he had saved the messages sent back and forth between him and the prior agents attempting to get a showing. He showed us message after message where he reached out to the agent and couldn't get to see the property -- sometimes the agents didn’t even bother to answer him -- sometimes they said that they weren’t showing it that week, etc. When we started showing up at the property for showings, we learned that the neighbors didn’t even know the property had been on the market before. The agent hadn’t bothered to advertise it locally. Think about how many buyers these people who love their neighborhood could have brought to the property if they’d known it was for sale. P.S.: The buyer who tried and failed to get a showing from the previous agents? He bought the property.
5. Cheap Photography – When agents must travel a lengthy distance to access the property, they find it's a real time-suck and they do what they can to minimize the need to drive over. Rather than set an appointment and wait around while a professional photographer shoots property photos, they figure they can do it themselves with their smart phone. The images placed on the MLS for all potential buyers to see often look like something a 4-year-old took with dad’s discarded 2nd generation iPhone. Those photos are the biggest sales tool you have, and if they aren’t high quality and flattering, then fewer people want to come see the home.
6. Lockbox – The lockbox is the out-of-area agent's favorite tool. With it on, they think it assures the seller that anyone who wants to see the property can do so. The truth is, buyers don’t always have an agent, and they need the listing agent to take them through. And, even when an agent does conduct a showing, they may not know the details of the property, and don't show it the way the listing agent can -- highlighting all its attributes relative to the area. There are some properties with unusual elements that buyers would miss if the listing agent isn’t there to point them out.
In the end, the estate gets short-changed.
Why would you do this to yourself and the estate you represent? Especially when there are stellar, full-service, knowledgeable probate real estate specialists who will do a much better job for the same commission? Don’t be fooled.
