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What to do if You Already Decided on an Agent Without a Referral from Adam or Adam's Opinion of Them

  • Writer: Adam Garrett
    Adam Garrett
  • Sep 7, 2023
  • 1 min read

Updated: Mar 28, 2024


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Typically, getting a referral from Adam will be the best approach to finding an agent in an area &/or price range that Adam doesn't cover. That said, what should you do if you already made a commitment or already contacted a friend without Adam's input?


Whether You're Selling or Buying

If you don't already have implied agency & if you haven't verbally or otherwise agreed to anything, it's not too late to interview additional agents. Also, even if things are already in writing, sometimes agents you have already made written agreements with will still be willing to acquiesce to your requests for items that Adam does or outsources highly effectively that's an important element for listings that may not be typical of that agent.


If You're Selling

See my articles on the following pertinent subjects:

Features to Compare to With Former Listings

As a point of comparison to what Adam does, with Adam being the standard to compare to, look for items such as the following, & consider asking the agent about if your listing can have elements like these if you don't see them consistently in the agents' listings. Keep in mind that Adam has never been able to find any agent that can match his quality overall in recent history, so the desire is to be somewhat close in various thresholds, though not expected to be an exact match or superior. Adam has top 3%-5% still photos from professional photographers he hires. In all of the below categories which Adam handles personally, Adam has available anywhere from unmatched to top 1% methodology/resources among listings.

  1. What Adam Offers Sellers

  2. Adam's Area Photos For Listings (easy to ask for, but be specific with your request, i.e. requests for area aerials in certain locations, as area photos are typically meager if present at all)

  3. Presence of Aerials (or pole shots at times if FAA authorization is unusually problematic) at every listing Adam lists, including area aerials not on the property, as long as aerials don't obviously highlight negatives.

  4. Adam's Matterport Virtual Tours (easy to ask for, and be sure to ask for interior & exterior, with at least 2 exterior shots from each exterior point of entry and ideally additional shots; it's unlikely that they'll be willing to do area 360s integrated into Matterport like I like to do, but it doesn't hurt to ask)

  5. Why Matterport Virtual Tours for Real Estate Are Best, & How To Make Them Better

  6. Showingtime & Alternative Showing Services (if Showingtime is available in your area's MLS)

  7. Access to 5 MLS

  8. Gadget/Tool List of Adam Garrett

  9. Adam Garrett's Digital Tool Belt

Features to Ensure Access To (Even if You Pay for Some of Them if the Agent Won't)

For your listing agent, I recommend that you request things that I have available when I list that are highly beneficial for marketing but that most agents don't always do consistently if at all. Also, for items that can be paid for, if the listing agent won't pay for them, you may want to consider paying for them yourselves. Even something free that's DIY (i.e. area photography, especially if you have a decent-excellent drone) can be beneficial:

1. Professional still photography (if the agent won't do it, I strongly suggest paying for these to be done yourselves; they are critical. Also, be sure to check specifically for the photographer's portfolio of homes, which should be their focus ideally within their portfolio. Don't hire someone whose portfolio is weddings, nature, and portraits with no homes.)

2. A Matterport Virtual Tour - other virtual tours simply don't cut it, with Matterport being the leader by far. If the agent wants to do a Zillow virtual tour, which wasn't even ranked in the top 6 platforms available by a reviewer who explicitly said that Zillow virtual tours didn't make the cut while considered along with a number of other platforms they mentioned, keep in mind that the agent wants to do a Zillow virtual tour because it's free if they do it or low cost if they hire someone and it can be done with their phone camera, missing out on what's possible with better equipment geared for the task.

3. Area photography

If captions on pictures are possible, request them. Local MLS policy in Hampton Roads doesn't allow them, only captions outside of the pictures, which I typically do on area photos. If they're not allowed on the pictures themselves, be sure to request that they be included in MLS. Captions should include amenities at locations pictured, explicitly state that which is free when applicable & when substantive, & the distance to your home. Area photography rarely, but ideally includes aerials & Matterport 360's to integrate into Matterport of home on your exterior beyond any exterior 3-D or 360 shots. Ask me any time for my current &/or recently sold 5 listings if you want to see good examples; my work gets better every year so 5 most recent are ideal)

4. Aerial photography

5. Showingtime - insist on it if it's available in the area like it is in Hampton Roads and Greater Richmond. No showing platform can compare to it, where each other platform I examined paled in comparison.


6. Shoe covers for showings and interior & exterior floor mats at all exterior points of entry into the home (if the agent won't do it, I suggest getting these yourselves, even if acquiring mats from a thrift store)

7. If they don't offer it, request a copy of the MLS data input sheet(s) to review prior to listing if your signature on that form isn't required prior to listing (& be sure to check the form thoroughly for any potential missing details of boxes that could be checked to enhance your property's search-ability). Ensure that the public remarks of the MLS data input sheet are within 95% of the max word count for it, brimming with positive information about your listing & not in the slightest repetitious, up to 250 words if the MLS goes up that high. I've seen some terrible spelling/grammar on listings before.

8. Don't list with anyone who won't put you in the primary MLS of your city/county. This one's a deal breaker. If they refuse to do that, or if they are incapable of doing that (sometimes agents and their firms, not just the agent, need to pay a fee to sign up for the MLS), contact their principal broker if necessary. It's terrible marketing to not list in the primary MLS of a city/county since most buyers use agents and most buyer's agents send properties to their buyers. You won't be able to purchase access to this one yourself typically unless you also are a real estate agent. When a property isn't listed in the main MLS of a city or county, the seller typically has no idea that's why the home isn't selling more quickly and for more.


9. Offer a premium snack/drink selection if your agent doesn't provide one for you. Select items that would be minimally problematic if they spilled. It's best to have a label pointing them to a section in your fridge (if the property is occupied, and if not, just to the fridge). I have a glass front wine cooler exclusively for display/selection of drinks and refrigerated snacks for my listings, though I'm not aware of any other agents who do that. Ask if they do that, just in case. Cheese (i.e. round Baby Bell's for adults and cheese sticks for kids) is a great refrigerated option, as long as it's not a crumbly cheese like blue cheese. I typically include exclusively clear non-alcoholic drinks, but still maintain a higher variety than the vast majority of agents who provide food/drinks. Variety and quality are also key.


10. Insist on open house(s) as long as you have good security (especially if you have plenty of hidden interior security cameras) or as long as you have locked away all your valuables. It's generally best to lock away all your valuables anyways. An agent may respond by saying that open houses sell a low percentage of homes, but one of the top reasons why is that most agents don't do open houses, so a lower percentage of sales will naturally occur from them. Also, the open house not only brings people in that wouldn't otherwise make it, but it also boosts your algorithm on places like Zillow, where properties with open houses is even a search filter.


11. If your agent says you shouldn't do anything to the house to make it better in terms of staging, repairs, cleaning, etc., & you and they haven't talked at all about selling your home as is, >95% of the time, they're either ignorant or lying, & it's typically the latter, especially if they're an experienced agent. Many agents will care more about getting a sale than maintaining integrity and caring about the seller more than their own interests. They might be the kind of people who get you to sign the listing agreement before mentioning things. In that case, it may be another deal breaker if you see some obvious issues that you know should be taken care of that you're certain the agent saw but said nothing about. If you can't trust someone's competence or willingness to tell you the truth, will you really risk that much money on them?


If You're Buying

See my articles on the following pertinent subjects:


Offerings to Compare to With Adam

As stated with listings

"As a point of comparison to what Adam does, with Adam being the standard to compare to, look for items such as the following, & consider asking the agent about if your listing can have elements like these if you don't see them consistently in the agents' listings. Keep in mind that Adam has never been able to find any agent that can match his quality overall in recent history, so the desire is to be somewhat close in various thresholds, though not expected to be an exact match or superior... In all of the below categories..., Adam has available anywhere from unmatched to top 1% methodology/resources."

1. What Adam Offers Buyers

2. Adam's Buyer Feedback

3. Initial Buyer Consultation w/ Adam Garrett: 3rd Generation Realtor®

4. Adam Garrett's Video Visuals for Out of Town Buyers/Sellers

5. Programs to Reduce Home Cost

6. Access to 5 MLS

7. Gadget/Tool List of Adam Garrett

8. Adam Garrett's Digital Tool Belt

Related:

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