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I'm curious how "national contacts" come into play. Are you in an area where a lot of people are relocating from other areas? Did #1 tell you how these national contacts would give her an edge?
i think you need to understand what they will both do for you. I am on realtor #2 in my attempt to sell our house and the things I really look for are:
1. Definitely good pictures and staging savvy
2. How web savvy are they? Print ads really are passe nowadays so where do they post and how many pics do they include in their online listings?
3. Do they have a mechanism for showing feedback? our current realtor uses a very helpful tool which automatically sends out a short request for feedback from any agent that shows our house. We've received some very valuable information from this. Our old agent did it the old fashioned way and almost never got call backs.
4. How available are they? My old agent was a PT agent, stay at home mom type, and I loved her as a person. However, we felt that she wasn't really "working" for us because it wasn't a matter of putting bread on the table. She was also difficult to get in touch with. Our current realtor is 100% about real estate with grown kids and a husband who sells commercial RE. She is reachable all the time via phone, email or blackberry and always calls us back.
These are the same arguments we've been circling around for a few days (except for sadly missing the obvious "hire another photographer" solution - thanks for that one!). Like tiger chasing tail, we seem to keep bouncing back and forth between the two. We probably will be well represented either way and consider ourselves lucky that this is our most difficult decision for now.
Our area is, indeed, one that many wealthy retirees from the Northeast move to in order to fulfill their wildest golfing and resort living dreams or have visited as a tourist and fell in love with the area. Our house is likely best marketed to these retirees, DINKs, or second home buyers (although we wouldn't care if a family of 20 wanted to buy it!).
So this brings me to the question, if all other things are roughly equal, does it matter that one realtor can place our listing into the MLS for the entire region including surrounding states? Or is it pretty much the same as listing on Realtor.com along with Trulia, Zillow, etc? I'm not sure I completely understand the difference.
As some of you may have observed from my other thread, I have been excessive in the selection of a listing agent, but I feel strongly that the right agent can make a signifcant difference in the sale of a home.
I have interviewed 7 agents and narrowed the selection down to 2. I would be grateful for insight into the final decision. Both realtors are experienced in several states with years of practice. Both are smart, professional, and attentive. Both members of several MLS listing groups and provide beautiful glossy fliers. Both bring something slightly different to the table.
Realtor #1
pros:
- Better pictures on web sites
- Better site presentation
- Internationally known agency
- We are very comfortable with her
cons:
- Price recommendation extremely high (does she understand the market? Is she just trying to flatter us into signing?)
- Agency has reputation as a "luxury" market. We are not luxury (by that standard anyway ;-)
- Lives in another development across (our small) town
Realtor #2
pros:
- Focused and shark-like
- Understands and lives in our development
- Immediately searching mental data-base for marketing direction
cons:
- Local agency with minimal national contacts
- Slightly fuzzy website pictures on other listings
Basically we feel like we are coming down to crisp pictures vs knowledge of our particular market (along with the subjective gut reactions). We would be grateful for your perspective.
Personally, I'd say #1 due to the fact you can get a lot of national exposure, will more professionally present your house - luxury is subjective and even if your home, in your opinion, doesn't fall into that category why not have it marketed in a similiar professional manner as a luxury home? Plus the really important 'pro' IMO is that you feel comfortable with her. Something that was not in your 'pro' column for #2.
In reading your 'pro' and 'con' list, I don't think it's all about crisp pictures vs. knowledge of your particular development (you live in a small town). #2 had 'subjective gut reactions regarding marketing direction', but what can/will she do with that? Your 'con' list indicated minimal national contacts - in this market that's a biggie. Doesn't matter if it's an independent or franchise, but whether they have the resources to reach out to as many people as possible. A lot of independent brokerages have that ability - a lot don't; depends on the particular brokerage and your 'con' list already stated that #2 doesn't meet that need.
The only 'con' I see with #1 is that she suggested a higher list price. List comes down to your motivation and something that can be discussed, but #1 sounds like a professional and since you indicate you live in a small town just discuss list and your motivation factor. So that's my 2 cents worth. Really doesn't matter whether an independent or franchise, but rather their contacts and how they will present your house. Good luck in the sale of your home.
So this brings me to the question, if all other things are roughly equal, does it matter that one realtor can place our listing into the MLS for the entire region including surrounding states? Or is it pretty much the same as listing on Realtor.com along with Trulia, Zillow, etc? I'm not sure I completely understand the difference.
I live in an area with two MLS services, the WVMLS which I belong to and covers the counties that I work in, and the RMLS which covers the counties north and south of me.
In my area we have a city called Woodburn that sits halfway between Portland and Salem. Anyone that lists in Woodburn needs to be on both systems to reach all the agents. I have had potential clients want to list with me in that area and I refer them to another local agent that is a member of both MLS services. If you live in Woodburn, it's a big deal to make sure your agent belongs to both. If you live in Salem (my town) then it makes no difference whatsoever...it just sounds good.
Whether or not it is important depends on how your city falls in relation to the MLS services. If you are on the boundary between two regions, then you most definitely want to work with an agent that can put you on more than one.
Once you are in an MLS, ANY MLS you will get fed into Realtor.com. Some MLS's like mine have a service called ListingHub that pulls the MLS data onto Zillow, Trulia, oodle, etc. If the agent's MLS doesn't have a service like that, then they can manually enter listings on those sites.
I'm not sure how much of this applies to your area because all MLS's work just a bit different.
You might insist that the photos on the web site are more clear.
These days an "international" company is only a sticker for the window. The net goes everywhere. A fluff agent isn't going to get it sold.
Okay, I remain confused... my fault because I'm still not asking the question correctly. If I understand Silverlake correctly, you are telling me that, to the buyer, it does not matter, they see what is on realtor.com or other sites and that is pulled from any MLS listing. What a realtor sees when they flip on the computer to peruse new listings, on the other hand, is another thing entirely.... and the number of MLS services that the realtor is affliated with of will effect how many realtors view the listing when first posted? Correct? Or am I making this more confusing than necessary?
If I am correct, does it matter that an agent has connections to listings up and down the coast? I mean, if I am a buyer, I am not likely to go to my local agent to find a new listing in another state, I will find an agent who represents that area... or do people do this? Is this a non-issue or a very real factor if you consider a major part of your market out-of -staters?
Last edited by misueno; 09-08-2009 at 08:54 PM..
Reason: spelling error
You might insist that the photos on the web site are more clear.
These days an "international" company is only a sticker for the window. The net goes everywhere. A fluff agent isn't going to get it sold.
Great, unbiased post. Even those of us affiliated with an international system pointed out it makes no difference whatsoever whether the brokerage was an 'independent' or a 'franchise' - but whether the brokerage has the resources to market the property effectively. IMO I don't feel it was necessary to make derrogatory comments to support your opinion that #2 was a better fit for the OP.
Ask these questions and then you should have your answer....
Ask each realtor how many homes they've listed in your price range AND in your style community within the last 6 and 12 months and how many of those homes have they sold. Then ask what was the difference between their initial listing price and the actual sold price of these homes.
Okay, I remain confused... my fault because I'm still not asking the question correctly. If I understand Silverlake correctly, you are telling me that, to the buyer, it does not matter, they see what is on realtor.com or other sites and that is pulled from any MLS listing. What a realtor sees when they flip on the computer to peruse new listings, on the other hand, is another thing entirely.... and the number of MLS services that the realtor is affliated with of will effect how many realtors view the listing when first posted? Correct? Or am I making this more confusing than necessary?
If I am correct, does it matter that an agent has connections to listings up and down the coast? I mean, if I am a buyer, I am not likely to go to my local agent to find a new listing in another state, I will find an agent who represents that area... or do people do this? Is this a non-issue or a very real factor if you consider a major part of your market out-of -staters?
Most buyers are perusing the internet looking for homes. They go to Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia, Cyberhomes.com, etc. They have no knowledge about what MLS put that information into they system, and honestly probably don't care.
It may or may not be an issue with the MLS depending on how close your city is the MLS boundaries.
I know many agents across the country and chat with them regularly. Even if most of the buyers in your area are out of staters the chances of that one agent knowing a buyer for your home are pretty slim. Any buyer that is interested in your area is going to be looking online, or hiring a local agent who will look at the local MLS for listings.
National contacts sounds good, but in reality what matters is
1) excellent online marketing including your local MLS (which may be more than one depending on the area)
2) pricing in accordance with the condition of the home
3) pricing in accordance with the real estate market conditions
The problem you seem to have is that neither of your top two choices meets all 3 of these criteria.
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