Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Is it better to have an Exclusive Agent or Many?

Today I got a call from an "investor" looking for properties to rent or flip. When I asked him if he had an agent he was working with he told me he had "several agents looking for properties for him and when they find him one then he will buy it with them and have them list it for him when he sells it".  I talk to a lot of these kinds of people that say If an agent finds me a home then I will have them represent me. This could work against him in several ways. 

Effects on the Buyer's side:

1.  He doesn't have one agent that is committed to JUST looking for properties for him on a daily basis, so he could be missing out on several opportunities. Especially in this market where homes are selling quickly. If the agent isn't looking specifically for homes for him on a daily basis, by the time the agent finds the home or the buyer finds the home, it could already be under contract or have multiple offers on it.
2.  The agents would be sending those same properties to all of the other random people that they don't represent in hopes that they might get someone to buy something. 
3. The agents may only be sending them their own listings, in which the agent represents the seller, so there is no one to negotiate for the investor. 

I have seen these types of buyers pay over market value on properties like these because the agents had overpriced listings and only sold them to buyers that did not know any better because they had no one representing them or looking out for their best interest. They thought they were getting a good investment. I have had to help some of these buyers out of the situation that they got themselves in by not having an agent that represented them and was negotiating on their behalf. 

By having The Lar Team represent you exclusively, you are getting 3 agents for the price of one (which is Free to the buyer). Our team is organized to benefit our buyers so that they have One agent looking for homes for them on a daily basis (Bryan Larsen) who is ready to take the buyers to see a home that they are interested in around their schedule and immediately so that they don't lose that home to other buyers. They will have one agent (Amie Larsen) who has extensive experience in the art of negotiating, to negotiate on their behalf and structure an offer so that their offer will get accepted, even in a bidding war. They have one agent (Lynn Buckway) managing the process once their offer has been accepted to make sure everything goes smoothly and easily.

Effects on the Listing Side:

1.  These "investors" are just listing with an agent based on an agreement to reduce their commission because they got 2 deals out of it. These agents are NOT experienced listing agents, they have discounted their commission just to get a listing or a deal and therefore reducing their quality of service.
2. I have seen on multiple occasions that these investors could have actually sold their properties for more money and in less time had I listed the property. The length of time on the market due to the lack of marketing and experience that their agent has costs the investor more money which sometimes makes it the opposite of an investment.

Our highly effective Marketing Strategy begins by pricing the property right in the beginning. Offering the proper wages to the people that are going to sell the home (the buyer's agents) and Marketing the property to get the highest exposure possible. 

The only reason a buyer or seller would have "several agents" is because they haven't found the right one. There is nothing wrong with interviewing several agents until you find someone with the experience and expertise and personality that will match your needs. Once you have found the Best match for you, hire them and let them go to work for you!

To see our Digital Marketing Strategy go to www.thelarteam.com

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