Lack of Specialization in Specific Markets

Since the number of deals available for any real estate agent are so few agents need to be very flexible about what deals they will take.  If a potential seller calls with a listing 50 or 60 miles away, many agents will take the listing even if they are unfamiliar with the area.

The good side is that the seller gets to work with an agent that he feels comfortable with.  And, as long as the agent does the correct things, this shouldn’t make a difference in the ability to get the property sold. But there are also some issues that the distance presents.

The agent can list the property on her own MLS.  She needs to make sure that the property is also listed on the local MLS.  The agent should check this with the company that supplies the MLS service in her area.  The agent must confirm that the reciprocal listing is set up on the local MLS.

Most agents search their own local MLS for properties to show their clients.  If the property isn’t on the local MLS, the agent won’t see it.  To get the information on the property, the agent would have to know where that listing agent listed the property.  How would she be able to find that?  She’d have to call the other agent.

The agent’s other alternative is to go to another website that shows listings to the general public.  These sites will show the crossover listings.  So, a client may bring the information to the agent, but the agent won’t find out about the home unless she looks outside of the local MLS.  The property information is out there, but not quite in the right spot.  In a hot market, this probably won’t affect the sale.  In a cooler one, it might.
As the MLSs become more cooperative and cover more area, these issues will disappear.  However, for now, if you are selling your home and using an agent outside of the immediate area, ask the agent if the home will be listed on the local MLS.

The other issue is traffic.  Most offices will tour new office listings.  This means that you will have the office come through and see your listing when it first goes on the market.  Since most office consist of a number of agents, you might have 20 or more agents come through your house.  This is traffic.  Agents are seeing your home and if they like it and have a client that might fit it, they will seriously take a look at it.

In reality, most homes are not sold because of the office tour.  Few deals result from this type of traffic.  It is really a marketing ploy by the agent.  She will sell you on her office because she can guarantee that at least 40 people will come tour your listing.

There are also Broker’s Tours in every area.  This is where agents from different offices come together to market their listings.  Afterwards, the agents tour the listings.  At some meetings agents caravan and take a specific route, at other meetings the hosting agent goes to the home and has it available to show to any interested agents.  The success of this is going to depend a lot on the home.

If an agent at the meeting has a client that they think would be interested in the home, the agent will make the effort to get to and see the home.  If the home is in a development the agent is already familiar with, the agent may note that the home is available, but pass on the tour.  Some deals get made this way.  But again, it’s not that many. Your agent should be willing to go to the local tour, but, again, this is one marketing technique, it is not the only one or guaranteed to get results.

One of the biggest issues for listing a home or property far away from the agent’s office is the lack of convenience.  If the agent does have a potential buyer call, the agent will have to schedule a time to show the property and make the trip to your home for one showing.  If the property is an hour’s drive away, your agent has to be really dedicated to make the drive.  In many cases, the potential buyer doesn’t show on these types of appointments.  These are also personally risky for the agent.

Another issue is open houses.  For most agents, open houses are a way to get new clients.  Some homes are sold through the open houses.  And as more people shop on the internet and use open houses as a way to look at homes, the number that sell through open homes will increase.  In general, agents don’t do the open houses for the sellers.  They do them to get buyers.  If the agent is selling your home, which is 50-60 miles away from where they work, the agent will not be as motivated to schedule and hold open houses.  Also, since the agent with the listing frequently has other agents in her office hold her listings open, the agent will not have the same resources for holding open houses that she would have in her own neighborhood.

It is impossible to know whether any of these things will make a difference in your agent’s ability to sell your home.  But you should discuss these issues with your agent and decide whether your agent is going to be able to serve your interests.  One alternative may be for the agent you trust to work with another agent in the immediate area.  That way, you would have the local office, local agents and local knowledge that your listing agent might not have.

Again, the information about comparable properties, school districts and even crime reports for any area can be found on the Internet.  Any agent should be able to give you a reasonable amount of direction about the price of similar homes and the amount of time it is taking homes to sell.  Pricing and getting the home on the Internet are not the issues.  The issue is the ability of the agent to meet with people at the home and hold open houses.

If you are interested in having an agent who isn’t local help you buy a home in a different area, whether or not this is a good idea depends on what your needs are.  If you need the agent to find the home in the right area with the right schools, make sure the agent has the resources to do this.  Do they know another agent in the area who will be able to give them some direction on this?

Ultimately it is the buyer’s, responsibility to determine whether or not the home and neighborhood will meet your needs.  Trust me, there’s enough language in all the disclosures to push this responsibility from the agent to the buyer.  You can ask the agent to do your homework, and maybe the agent will do a good job.  But you as the future owner of the home, also need to do your homework.

If you’ve already found the home you want to buy, then have your favorite agent make an offer on it.  In general, it doesn’t matter where the home is, as long as the agent is licensed in that state, the agent can help you buy the home.  You are paying your agent for this service, and the agent should do her homework about the value of the home.  The agent must do a visual inspection of the home.  The agent should also look at similar homes on the market in the area.  Not just look at them online, but actually go out and preview some homes to make sure that you are getting a reasonable deal for your money.

If you want to see additional homes, your agent should be able to show you those as well.  Many communities use the same types of lockboxes and keys.  Agents can check on whether her key will work with the local Realtor® Association.  If the key will not work in that area, then the agent will need to determine what she needs to do to get you into the house.  She may have to join the local association or find a local agent who can help her.

In this case, the most important thing the agent does is negotiate the price and terms on the home you wish to purchase.  She needs to be knowledgeable about the area in order to do this.

© 2007 by Judy Kane