The Importance of Choosing a Great Listing Agent
- Adam Garrett
- Oct 1, 2023
- 23 min read
Updated: Feb 4
Many sellers fail to realize how important choosing the right agent is in their home selling process.
Common Mistakes of Sellers Choosing an Agent:
Apathy About Their Agent Choice & Not Comparing in Depth What a Few Agents Actually Offer
Because of sellers' common mistake of not seeing how important this process is, it's not uncommon for them to take an apathetic approach to analyzing what different agents are offering. Many sellers spend a lot less time than they should seeing what exactly the agents they speak to offer and how good an agent is.
Related:
Quickly Picking the First Agent That Contacts Them
What agent contacted me first? Timeliness in real estate is critical, with me paying extra for Showingtime, the best showing service in the industry by far, so that buyer's agents can immediately reach occupants about showings even if I'm in another appointment. That said, sellers are often too hasty about their agent selection. A brand new agent who is not in another appointment is a lot more likely to be available to call you as soon as you reach out vs. an agent who happens to be helping another client at the time of your initial inquiry. Brand new agents will tend to have a lot more time on their hands than experienced agents, but most sellers won't want to work with a brand new agent. I don't even like letting brand new agents fill in for me when I'm finding agent fill-ins for buyers wanting to see my listing if I'm unavailable at a time that works for the buyer, typically only using agents with more experience than I have, all with over 150 transactions under their belt, with one agent I use having over 700 past transactions.
Related:
Adam's Values (See #1 - Staying Available)
Picking the Most Persistent Agent
Just because an agent really wants to work with you, doesn't mean that they will actually do the best job. They may have a lot more time on their hands because they're not busy with other clients because they are new, or they could simply do a lot less for the clients that they serve than other agents who might be contacting you less frequently who may still be responsive to your inquiries while offering you more than someone else with the same client load at the moment but who needs to pester buyers and sellers more frequently because they don't offer as much in hopes that the prospective sellers will give in eventually.
Bandwagon Effect: Not Taking a Close Look at the Agent's Recent Listing Sales for Marketing (No Matter How Many Sales or Reviews They Have)
Did you know that bandwagon effect is a big problem in real estate? It's not uncommon for a seller to notice that an agent has plenty of sales & reviews, and assume they are good, without actually looking at any of their previous sales in-depth to check on the quality of marketing that they consistently demonstrate. Reviews & previous sales volume are important considerations, but comparing the actual marketing of agents of their most recent listings is also critical. In some cases, an agent could be experienced with over 100 sales, have dozens of reviews, and offer far superior marketing more consistently than any other agent in the area with over 1k sales and over 200 reviews. For instance, a buyer client I was working with me asked me about 3 agents they were considering hiring. One of them had record high sales volume, and listed properties mostly in the millions each, but their online marketing wasn't as good as the other 2 agents they were considering, so I suggested that they rule the bandwagon agent out. For more details, see:
Picking a "Yes Man", Who Seems the Most Enthusiastic About Your Property, Who Suggests the Highest Price, & who is the Most Agreeable Agent
Some agents can be dishonest, even if it is to the harm of the sellers they work with, in order to get a new client or close a new sale. The agents that will agree to whatever you ask may not actually be doing you a favor & may simply care more about getting you as a client than actually helping you. If an agent doesn't mention anything that you should do with the house, and agrees with your preferred price without clearly demonstrating to you why that price is best with comparable sales, beware. An agent who consistently goes above and beyond, who is also honest with the sellers that they work with, is much better than agent who sounds nice, is very friendly and agreeable, and sounds enthusiastic about your sale, but who doesn't demonstrate the kind of "enthusiasm" in each of their recent listings as they do in their conversation with you. It's not uncommon for agents to inflate the value of a property also.
Just because an agent has the highest price doesn't make them inherently dishonest, but watch out if they do for other signs of dishonesty. There's been at least one occasion where I suggested a higher price than another agent without knowing it, while suggesting repairs and improvements that should be done, and then the property sold for above list price in a 2 offer situation with 1 at list price and 1 above in a hot market. 1 of the repairs I suggested that the sellers chose not to do was required by the appraiser, and I wonder if we could have gotten more offers had the sellers taken my advice on that. That's not the only time one of my repair recommendations wasn't heeded and either the buyer still asked for and had the sellers do it or the appraiser required it.
Related:
1. Why Buyers & Sellers Often Choose Not to Work with Honest Real Estate Agents & How To Avoid That
Not Fact-Checking Agents About Their Experience & Claims
My next door neighbor once didn't know that I was a real estate agent. They spoke to another prospective agent and believed from that conversation that the real estate agent had sold most of the homes in the neighborhood. My neighbor didn't fact check the agent. In fact, the real estate agent hadn't sold any homes in the neighborhood yet, and his first sale was less than a year prior. The agent used language in the public remarks that was a >95% copycat of another agent's listing in the public remarks, even when copying it meant false advertising because of something that was true of another home in the neighborhood but not that particular home. They also likely didn't tell the seller, who wasn't in a hurry to sell, that they could have probably gotten a higher price if they had waited a few months, since they listed in the Winter, & home prices tend to peak in June, while being at their lowest point typically in the Winter.
From a wide variety of factors, great agents achieve higher net profits. Here are some examples of when I helped a seller obtain higher net profits:
I Saved a Seller >10% vs an Under Contract Buyer's Requests by Securing a 3rd Backup Contract After 2 Buyers Requested 9%+ in Concessions Back to Back in Separate Contracts After Their Home Inspections
Sometimes sellers will stop showing a home immediately after it gets under contract. While I will adapt to a seller's preferences, I discourage this practice until a buyer is "clear to close". Here's one of the reasons why:
While it wasn't the first time that I advised a seller to reject the concessions that a buyer requested, on one occasion, after I recommended that a seller counter 1 buyer's multitude of concessions (over 10% of the purchase price) that they requested after the home inspection was performed, I was able to secure permission from the buyer to share the home inspection with future buyers. That's often a best practice when possible to satisfy both disclosure requirements and to mitigate the prospect of the next buyer doing the same thing after contract ratification. However, it's not a guarantee. The 2nd buyer who was using a mortgage also made overbearing concession requestes, to the tune of likely over 9% of the net purchase price. To add insult to injury, most of the items requested had been previously disclosed to the buyers in the home inspection. I communicated with a separate buyer's agent who hadn't seen the house yet, letting them know of the situation as well as some additional disclosures. We were able to secure a backup contract contingent on termination or release from the 2nd contract. We requested and received an as is clause in this 3rd contract. Rather than countering on the 2nd seemingly unreasonable buyer's request, with a better net price & a cash buyer (with no appraisal requested) on the new contingent 3rd contract in place, we terminated the contract once we were contractually allowed to do so. The 3rd contract went through with no concessions occurring after initial contract ratification that weren't present in that initial contract.
My Seller Might Have Gotten an 8% Higher Contract Sales Price a Year Earlier if They Had Listened to Me
On one occasion early in my career, I received 3 offers while representing a seller. The seller had not taken my dad & I's advice on what to do to the home and had wanted to start at an unrealistic price. While I was relatively early in my career, before my sales career started, I had spent May-January in the marketing department, so I knew a lot more than most newer agents about marketing. I did a lot of marketing for that home. I recomended that the seller accept or counter the 3rd offer, which was the highest of the 3. They didn't take my advice. Within 1 month, they passed the listing to another agent, who was one of the top agents in VA at the time. It sat on the market for a year with more than one price reduction. Roughly a year later, it sold at a sales price 8% lower than the 3rd offer we received.
Buyer Paid My Seller Client 6% Above Appraisal
While I've been involved in a number of above appraisal scenarios, & some no appraisal scenarios, on one occasion, a buyer paid my seller 6% above appraisal.
The seller took essentially all of my advice on things to do to the home to get it ready, most of which he was able to do himself & with his family. Even the kids helped. It didn't cost them much more than time to get it ready. Once it was ready, we priced it at the peak of the comparable sales in a good time of year to put a home on the market. We received multiple offers, and the offer we choose had the highest appraisal gap coverage among the offers, where a buyer states that they will pay above the appraisal within the offer itself in the event that it doesn't appraise at contract price. The appraiser thought that I was spot on with my list price, so every bit of that appraisal gap coverage was used up, a 6% appraisal gap. The buyer said that one of the things that they liked about the home was the area, and I have to wonder if my unmatched area photos were a factor in bringing the buyers in the door.
Example of the Importance of Market Seasonal Timing & Impact on List Date, Bias of Appraisers Toward Contract Price, Agent Honesty Importance, & Agent Value Perception Importance, Netting Sellers >5% More
On one occasion, sellers were planning to sell their home before moving elsewhere. I recommended that they wait to list in late April or early May, which in their case, they could have done without much trouble. Those who list in that time range in the Hampton Roads market, where they were selling, tend to have seasonally impacted better pictures, less concessions, higher prices, and lower market time due to high demand in that time. They preferred to list in early January, less than a week into the month, despite what I told them about the statistical impact of doing so on their net proceeds. While we had fantastic marketing like my typical, including my typical top 1% area photos, aerials, a Matterport virtual tour of the interior & a good portion of the exterior of the home, we had a paper and digital marketing campaign, had a great property description, open houses, & more, the property was slow to get much foot traffic other than the open houses, where traffic is important, but doesn't mean as much as other times. We received an offer over 9% below asking price 5 days after listing. One of the issues that the buyer had was that they thought it was a 3 bedroom, not a 4 bedroom, because of the lack of a closet in 1 of the bedrooms. I was able to quickly clarify that a closet wasn't a requirement for a bedroom in VA with a strong reference to back it up. With no other offers in those first few weeks, eventually it went under contract with that same buyers for an amount below what I recommended we concede because the sellers thought that due to the slow foot traffic and low offer, as well as the limited properties that were comparable sales to this home where it was more difficult for me to prove what I thought it was worth, I must have overinflated the value in my list price recommendation. To add insult to injury, the buyers then nitpicked the home inspection, and again, the sellers conceded more than I recommended to get the house closer to closing. The home appraised "at value" of the contract price per the buyer's agent, at a price over 5% below asking price. The buyer shifted job payment methods mid-contract, making it difficult for the buyer to close. The buyer walked, the sellers collected the earnest money deposit, and we put it back on the market. The sellers asked if we should drop the price when putting it back on the market, and I told them that we shouldn't. They listened to me. We got it under contract quickly this time since it was mid-March. This time, we received an offer that was more than 1% above asking price but requesting 3% closing cost assistance. While much better than the last offer we received, I recommended that we counter at 1.5% in closing cost assistance, and the sellers and then the buyers agreed. The buyers were more reasonable with concession requests based on home inspection than the prior buyers, & we countered with a credit amount that the buyers accepted that was less than half of what the first buyers agreed to in a seller counter. The home didn't have a problem appraising for the amount that was over 1% above our initial list price. Keep in mind that we are talking about a more than 6% gap between 2 appraisals in a period of less than 2 months, with appraisals typically not factoring in appreciation except some cases where there's a 6+ month gap as well as substantive appreciation. That demonstrates the heavy bias on contract price of appraisers. The eventual savings to the sellers was over 5% vs the 1st contract.
I Disputed the Appraisal Price with an Appraiser to Justify Value for My Seller During a Transaction, Increasing $ for My Seller
Sometimes an appraiser can say that a contract price is too high. While I've been involved in more than 1 appraisal dispute, & sometimes I'm able to secure an above appraisal guarantee for a seller, in one case, when I was selling the highest-priced non-waterfront property in an area, where nothing in close proximity that wasn't waterfront had sold that high before, I disputed the appraisal price with the appraiser to justify value for my seller to come closer to the contract price. That resulted in an increased value over their initial appraisal and an increased closed price for my seller.
Correcting an Item on the Closing Disclosure Frequently Neglected in Hampton Roads to Save a Seller $, to the Surprise of the Buyer's Agent with Over 20 Years Experience Who Had Never Noticed That.
I have seen some big errors on closing disclosures and ALTA statements before, even one $10k error once. There is 1 particular smaller case that I wanted to point out though that's more interesting.
VAR contracts aren't the primary contract used in Hampton Roads, but it's not uncommon for them to be done, especially in Williamsburg, James City County, and Gloucester. There is one item I pointed out to a seller and closer that is very frequently done wrong at closing in Hampton Roads by closers and agents alike. The buyer's agent, a broker with more than double my decade of experience at the time, was so convinced that she was right and I was wrong since she had never noticed what I was talking about despite the language of the contract that is often ignored that she essentially insulted my experience and knowledge in an email to me that had her own clients and the closers CC'd. I didn't want to make her look bad to her buyers, so I didn't do a reply all, but I did secure some funds directly from her for part of the mistake of her's, the seller didn't have to pay a penny of the expense that he shouldn't have per the contract, and it's still fun to think about it.
Helping a Seller Avoid an Inspection that the Buyer's Agent Thought He Had to Get Due to the Agent's Lack of Contract Familiarity for VAR Contracts Outside the Bounds of Hampton Roads
One of the other most common mistakes of buyer's agents with VAR contracts for those most familiar with REIN Contracts (the dominant contract in Hampton Roads) is the assumption that the VAR contract requires a moisture inspection like the REIN one does. It doesn't. I had one buyer's agent attempt to get me to do one for my seller client, where the buyer's agent even thought that remediation was needed, and was banking on that.
There are plenty of other nuances that many might miss. Another big example that could cost a buyer but that an informed seller could really take advantage of is the fact that, unlike the REIN contract, the VAR contract doesn't protect a conventional buyer from a low appraisal like the protections the VAR contract includes for FHA & VA buyers. Unless a provision is added to the contract, the buyer is expected to pay the difference between appraisal and contract price.
Helping a Seller Avoid Inspection Negotiations that the Buyer's Agent Thought He Had to Engage Due to the Agent's Lack of Contract Familiarity for REIN Contracts
On one occasion, a buyer's agent had a buyer sign off on a home inspection request, only to come back later with requests that pertained to the chimney inspection. Since the chimney sweep inspection was not a separate contingency, despite being a completely separate inspection, I shared with the seller that they had the option of holding them to the contract if they wanted to. They did, and we closed without further negotiation on an item that might have cost around 1 or 2% of the contract price had the seller needed to make the repairs requested.
I Suggested a Higher List Price than Other Agent Interviewed, But It Still Went Above Asking Price
I can recall an occasion where I suggested a higher list price than 1 or 2 other agents a seller interviewed, as well as more things to do to the house I suspect. They were able to get many of my suggestions done DIY for not much more cost than the time required to do them themselves, as well as some things that they paid out of pocket. It was all worth it in the end, as the home had a multiple-offer situation, and eventually went above list price by around 1.5%. The appraiser required one of the items that I suggested that the seller do, which also was some of the negative feedback we got from buyers, where I wonder if more buyers would have made offers & if the net to the seller could have been higher if the seller had done that in advance like I suggested.
An Appraiser Called Wondering Why the Home Sold So Low - None of My Recommendations for Preparing the House for Sale Had Been Taken
An appraiser called me about a particular home that I had listed for sale and sold. While I had made recommendations on things that would be best to do to the house to sell it, the sellers didn't want to take virtually any (if not any at all) of my recommendations for getting the home ready to sell. Doing that has a much more negative impact on marketability than appraisal. Also, some of my recommendations were eventually requested by the buyer in the home inspection, which the seller agreed to. I've lost count of how many times that's happened on transactions where I represented the seller.
Related:
When Representing a Buyer, I had to Work Around a High Volume Low Commission Agent to Get it to Closing
Some of my worst experiences with listing agents when I represent buyers are high volume low commission agents, especially the heavily discounted listing agent variety. I can recall an occasion where the listing agent essentially refused to do their job, where I had to work around the listing agent with the closer to get a property to close, and even then, there was a closing delay due to the listing agent's negligence. If an agent is stretched too thin between properties because they have high volume and low commissions, many corners must be cut in order for them to make a living wage & not exit the business.
Related:
Heavily Discounted Commission Limited Service Listing Agents: How to Find Them & Why To Skip Them
I've Seen Where Properties Had <1% MLS Coverage with the Seller Having Likely No Idea About it & How Negative of an Impact That Has on Their Sale, & I've Seen Where a Buyer's Agent Saw My Property for the Buyer They Represented Exclusively Due to MLS in a Neighborhood Where Only My Property Was Listed on Their Distant MLS
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is the main way that agents input real estate properties onto the market for sale. There are different MLS around the country & 6 in SE VA. I have access to 5, while many agents have access to only 1 or 2.
The higher the exposure of a property in marketing, the more action a home will tend to get with showings, the higher the number of offers, and the higher a home will sell for statistically. Did you know that 29% of buyers found the home they purchased through their agent (NAR)? The top source by far for buyer's agents to send a feed of properties to their buyers is the MLS that they have access to that is the top 1 or more MLS in the buyer's search criteria. That's if the agent even has access to that MLS, with some agents stretching too far beyond their MLS due to the fees involved with each and some agents not caring enough to have primary coverage in any location for MLS (i.e. I have seen at least a few occasions of agents exclusively using "My State MLS", which has <1% coverage in any city or county in SE VA according to my direct research). Because of that, which MLS your home is going to be listed on is a critical question for sellers looking to list the property.
Prior to selling, it's critical to know the MLS makeup of the city/county that you're selling in, and ideal to have MLS exposure on at least 99% of the total listings in that city/county. Some sellers list their property in an MLS that has <10% representation in their city/county without having any idea just how much their agent is hurting them in the process. While I would never do that as an agent, some agents don't mind, especially for sale by owner MLS placement-only agents.
That's especially true in areas of high crossover where a single MLS isn't dominant. In my research, neither Gloucester County nor James City County/Williamsburg had more than 51% of listing sales in a single MLS. When I interviewed a former agent and won the listing, one of the top reasons why he stated he chose me was due to me being in more than 1 MLS. The higher end of the home, the more MLS it will tend to be on as part of a superior marketing package more common to experienced agents than to new agents since most new agents only start with 1 MLS & many agents remain with only 1 throughout their career.
I've seen where a buyer's agent based out of Richmond reached out to me for a buyer he was representing looking in Hampton where it was obvious that the agent had no idea about the competition in the neighborhood because he was looking on Richmond MLS, which I was advertising in, but where other agents weren't in the same neighborhood due to the distance from Richmond (about a 1 hr drive), the low percentage of properties in Hampton that were listed on Richmond MLS (<2.5% last I checked), & due to the cost and time involved with listing it there when the % MLS coverage was that low.
Related:
In addition to the examples above, here are some of the main reasons why your agent choice is so important, many of which can have a direct impact on your net profits:
Great Agents Achieve Higher Net Profits
Here are some of the top reasons why:
Agent feedback on what is needed to cost-effectively get the home in the best shape to list for sellers who aren't selling as is (& even some who are).
The agent's suggested list price can help make or break the listing.
There is a massive difference in agents for the marketing that is done for the home, such as professional photography, area photography, aerials, and a Matterport 3-D tour. An agent listing without the right 1 or more multiple listing service (MLS) can also sabotage a listing by not getting into buyers' agents' hands and to the buyers that they have auto-feeds to.
If it doesn't sell right away, the agent's suggestions on price adjustments & home adjustments, if needed, are also critical. Some think that because a property doesn't sell for months since the last price reduction, it must be overpriced, but while typically true, that's not always the case.
While not all sellers are flexible on when they plan to list, market timing can mean the difference in 10's of thousands of dollars.
How's the Market in Hampton Roads? (similar timing patterns for the optimal listing timing vs most of SE VA)
An agent with limited if any options to put into homes beyond a lockbox can also hurt a listing. For instance, before I began offering an option for interior & exterior floormats as well as shoe covers, there was an occasion where heavy rain occurred, a buyer tracked mud into the house through the back deck entry where there wasn't a floor mat, and got mud all the way up on the 2nd floor's carpet, with no notice to me despite being a vacant house.
An agent with problems on effectively arranging showings & giving the seller good advice on the importance of showing availability can hurt the sellers' profits substantially. Sometimes the best buyer available will never see a home due to slow response times from listing agents with no knowledge of the seller of what they are doing. Also, too little time available for a showing can increase the probability of a buyer walking after contract ratification. Also, all showing services I have tried other than Showingtime have serious issues.
An agent who is a bad negotiator can derail a viable transaction by advocating that the sellers be unreasonable in negotiations. Likewise, an agent that doesn't know what they are doing or cares more about themselves than the seller can try too hard to keep a contract alive, at the expense of the seller, even when the buyer is making unreasonable demands.
Some Agents Are Much Better at Equipping Sellers Before They Are Ready to Sell
Good preparations for listing can mean a massive difference in net profits. While some agents don't have many resources regarding helping sellers with getting their home ready for sale, other agents have a number of ways to help, i.e.:
Basic Preparations: 1. Preparing for a Listing Appointment with Adam Garrett
2. Basic Elements of Preparing Your Home Before a Listing Appointment
3. How to Prepare the Interior of Your Home Prior to Listing
4. How to Prepare the Exterior of Your Home Before Exterior Photos
5. The Impact of Season on Real Estate Photos 6. Consider a pre-listing inspection: Detailed Questions for Home Inspectors 7. Consider sharing with your neighbors including Why & How Your Neighbors Can Help Repairs/Reno/Cleaning/Maintenance: 1. Should You Sell As is?Financing Repairs/Renovations Prior to Sale 2. Credit Card Strategies for Home Expenses 3. Cost Guide to Repairs & Remodeling 4. Where to Find Equipment To Borrow/Lease/Purchase for Your Property Repairs/Reno/Cleaning 5. Non-Profit & Government Assistance with Home Repairs 6. Water Heater Age 7. House Issues by Year
Dealing with Multiple Offer Scenarios
Agents have a wide variety of ways to deal with multiple offer scenarios, but how they approach that can have a big impact on the final number. Also, it's best to have a thorough analysis of the pros and cons of the different offers before you make a decision as a seller. Most agents will ask for "highest and best" and not provide many details to buyers' agents, even though providing details can sometimes mean that you would get a higher amount than you would otherwise and a better offer than you would otherwise.
Related:
Differences in Agent Honesty, Ethics, & Care for Sellers' Interests
Agent honesty, ethics and care for their sellers' best interest varies substantially. In some cases, sellers inadvertently choose dishonest agents because of their dishonesty without being aware of it. If an agent isn't honest, they won't be as likely to point out any negatives of homes. If you are unaware of the things to change about your home, you won't get as high of net profits as you could otherwise. They also could suggest a higher price than the home is actually worth, knowing that sellers are attracted to listing agents who say that a home is worth more than it really is. Listing for too high of a price can easily backfire, since if you overprice the home initially, it's not uncommon for the eventual sales price to be lower than it would have been if the home had been priced right to begin with.
Different Agents Have Different MLS Access & Are Familiar with Different Local Customs, Local Contracts, & Local Resources
Not all agents have access to the same MLS. While I have 5, many only have 1, and there are areas I won't cover due to my lack of MLS access. If an agent does have MLS access to where you're looking, they might still be willing to work with you, but I would highly recommend against it. MLS is your first line of getting your marketing out to the public, with many buyers having feeds directly from their agent's MLS & around 86% of buyers using a buyer's agent, with most agents having MLS property feeds going to those buyers. If an agent doesn't have access to the local MLS, he shouldn't serve them, but some agents get away with it with the seller having no idea because of seller ignorance regarding MLS. An agent who doesn't have MLS access for the primary MLS of a particular city/county may also be unfamiliar with local customs, could be unfamiliar with local contracts, and could easily cause issues with a transaction if they're not familiar with the offer that buyers are likely to present in the area. I also question the ethics of any agent who would prey on seller ignorance regarding MLS by even being willing to do a listing when they don't have MLS access in the area without disclosing that the seller will be missing out on that.
Related:
Zillow Searches & Other Public Website Searches Vs MLS Searches Which Multiple Listing Service(s) Are Needed to Sell in SE VA?
Most Important Cities/Counties in Hampton Roads for Multiple MLS
Agent Experience: Brand New to Thousands of Personal Past Transactions
Agent experience can range from brand new to having helped clients to buy or sell thousands of homes. That said, agent experience isn't everything, & some buyers prefer to work with an agent that isn't so busy that they won't have much time for them, so some buyers may want to look within brackets of experience, such as agents who have sold at least 50 homes or agents who have sold at least 100 homes. You can often see how many homes they've sold on their Zillow profile, but some homes may not appear on there.
The experience of their company or the team that they are apart of doesn't matter nearly as much as their own personal experience. Sure I'm part of a company that's been around for decades in the area, & my father has personally sold thousands of properties in the area, but my personal sales volume matters a lot more than that of my company.
Vastly Different Showing Assistance
Agents that have poor response time to other agents on showings means that the seller is likely to get a lower net. Some agents are extremely slow to respond to showing requests, and because their seller isn't included directly on the conversation, their seller likely has no idea that the agent is as much of a problem as they are.
Agents that use showing services can often achieve better results with showings, but which showing service is used plays a big factor. Agents that use free services can have a number of problems, while those with Showingtime, the premier option for showings, can achieve the best results.
Did you know that with unrepresented buyers, if some listing agents aren't available, they won't arrange for another agent to show their listing until the time that they are available, even if it's days away? That means that in some cases, the buyers will move on and write on another property, never having the chance to see and consider an offer on a seller's listing. A listing agent having agent fill ins when they are unavailable is a critical component to showings.
Related:
Agents Have Vastly Different Physical & Digital Resources, w Some Having Much More than Others
While the physical and digital tools of some agents are extremely limited, that of others is substantial. In my case, I have a top 1% combination of physical & digital resources for sellers. While some agents won't add anything to a home beyond a single lockbox, i have a number of options to assist with
Informed sellers make the best decisions. Has your agent published much with guidance at every step of the home buying and home selling process with not just the basic knowledge but also with information tailored to your area (SE VA) when applicable?
Vastly Different Experiences with Agents: Check Their Reviews
Agents can range from being deadbeats and unreliable to the best thing that ever happened to a seller looking sell real estate, as you can sometimes tell by their reviews. I have dozens on various platforms. Here are some example segments from past clients:
"Excellent job listing the property - really appreciate the 3D model and drone pictures that the other agents do not do."
"We appreciate your commitment to marketing and the outstanding pictures and flyers you provided. You provided multiple open houses and snacks for visitors which was appreciated."
"Honestly... I really feel I had someone reliable and trustworthy on my side. I never felt incompetent although my knowledge and experience was low to none. I never felt unnecessary stress as I knew I had a great source of knowledge available to me by the name of Adam Garrett. I had an amazing realtor, teacher, advocate and guide through the whole process and never felt alone."
For more details, see:
Related:
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