Select an agency

A - Evaluating Agencies: Are there objective ways to judge an agency?

Large agencies versus small ones:

• Large offices:

  National companies rely on their size to promote an image of strength. They have multiple offices, run large newspaper ads and employ a large support staff.
  
  On the negative side, a single office could consist of hundreds of agents. They list homes from an extremely large geographical area. They have so many listings that their agents rarely see their own agency's inventory of houses and the agents have no idea about the local neighborhood or schools where the properties are located. They may even be apathetic about showing the property if it’s located too far away.

These companies have large administrative staffs, operate out of highly visible (expensive) locations and pay hefty franchise fees.

• Small offices:

  Small agencies stress personal service. They focus on being knowledgeable of their smaller market, strengthening their personal, community-focused image. They are locally owned and usually only have an office or two.
   
  However, they shut down early throughout the week and some close on the weekends–when the public is out scouring the neighborhoods. Who answers calls from the buyers or other agents who want an appointment to show a house during these critical times?

• Best choice:

  Attend open houses. Talk with agents. Get a taste of the culture prevalent with that agency. This is a better determinant than size in selecting an agency.
  
  Regardless of the size of the agency, in almost all offices today, your agent will be the only person from that office that will represent you. All the other agents in that office will represent their buyers.                

Agencies that are local or remote:

You may be considering listing with someone whose office is a considerable distance from your town. If that office belongs to the same regional MLS as the agencies in your community, then the local agents will have access to information about your home. On the surface, this sounds feasible. After all, who cares where your listing agency is located? So you sign up with a relative or an old friend. But this has its drawbacks.
 
This “remote” agency advertises in the newspapers in their community, featuring homes from their community, not yours. Agents in that office won’t be astute in answering buyer phone inquiries about such topics as your local schools, neighborhoods, transportation, etc. The main drawback is that people looking for housing in your area stop by a local office, not an office in a different town.

In addition, chances are if you select a close friend or relative, you won’t get the benefit of a large discount–which will be covered in depth later in the LIST section.

Agencies that get a lot of transferees:

Some agents brag about the referral networks their office belongs to. Some agencies cooperate with these "referral companies" since it's an easy way for them to secure buyers. The agents then get buyers who will be moving into the area. But that doesn’t mean these transferees will buy your home just because it's listed with that agent's company.

All agents check the computer to view all the homes on the MLS that meet their buyer's criteria–not just the homes listed by their agency. An agent legally represents the interests of his or her buyer clients. Thus, if your home meets the needs of a particular transferee, it will be shown to that buyer, no matter which agency lists it.

Agencies that promote tours and caravans:

Many offices and Multiple Listing Services hold weekly tours so that agents can see homes currently for sale. 

Agencies can make a big deal out of the fact that they’ll show all the agents your home during this tour. “Sign the listing tonight and we’ll get this puppy on our next real estate tour.” The don’t-miss-out approach can be successful for an agent with anxious sellers.  

•         Tours can be helpful

Tours can help homes that have been hurt by adverse market conditions or those that have had minimal showings due to poor curb appeal.

•         Tours can be damaging

Some agents repeatedly put the homes on tour that they've listed. It's a way to give the owner the impression that they are working hard. This actually creates an aura of staleness among the agents–a negative aspect since these are the people that tours are trying to impress.

•         Survey from the tour attendees

Some listing agents will ask the attending agents to fill out an evaluation sheet in order to show the owners what the other agents thought of the home.

This is done so that the listing agent can show the owners that many of the attending agents think the asking price is too high. 

•         Who are the tour attendees?

Newer agents, retirees and the not-so-busy agents constitute the majority of the attendees. today, listed homes are now easily displayed on the MLS with color pictures Tours really don’t offer the attraction they once did.

Agencies that make the lockbox an issue:

Lock boxes allow agents to show your home without you having to be there. This makes life much easier for agents from other offices, and the buyers.

The electronic key box that records all entry activity has replaced the older mechanical key box. The date, time and the agent who used the key box are automatically recorded. These newer key boxes are easily programmed to restrict entry into your home during hours you'd prefer.

Not having a lockbox creates a scheduling nightmare. The buyer agents have to arrange to pick up house keys or meet the seller or the listing agent to show the buyers the property. If an agent is showing prospective buyers several houses and your home is hard to fit into the showing schedule, you will be skipped.

Old mechanical boxes opened by using a combination code. They allow any agent who knows the simple combination to enter your home and no record is ever made. Some agents and agencies assign the same code to all the mechanical combination lock boxes that they own–creating very questionable security. Make sure your home has an electronic lock box.

Agencies that financially qualify buyers:

Companies often say that your home will only be shown to financially qualified buyers. Sounds good, but it’s not realistic. Listing agents do not financially qualify other agent's buyers.  

You’ll find out the buyers qualification when their offer is presented. It’s in the form of a letter from their lender stating that the buyers are “preapproved” to buy a home–usually up to a specified amount.

The best agency selection recommendation

Over the years, technology has made incredible changes in the way real estate companies conduct their business. Cell phones, faxes, email, the internet and personal computers in general have made it easier for offices to do business.

Most agents now work out of a home office. It’s as if each agent has become a company within a company. An agent lists a home and it can be quickly and easily added to the Multiple Listing Service. Some agents are doing this today from their own home without even taking the paperwork to their office. All the agents in the local MLS then have immediate access to that information.

The lack of important differences between offices and in agencies themselves leads to the conclusion that it really doesn’t make much difference which company you select (assuming they are local, reputable and commission sensitive) because you will deal with only one agent. You rarely meet anyone else from that agency throughout the sales transact

                               Who are you really hiring?

You’re really hiring an agent as opposed to an agency. Effectively, there really is only one “company”: the MLS.

The office is simply the group he or she decided to be with in the MLS. Agents switch companies all the time, but for the most part, it’s all still within the same Multiple Listing Service.