Over the past several years, I have read blog after blog from agents expressing the reasons for listing your property with one of the mega-giant Real Estate companies. Today I am raising a flag for all of who have chosen to go it alone and explaining why we should be considered for your listing.
Yes, big companies have huge offices with hundreds of agents, massive websites with thousands of listings and thousands of dollars for advertising their business. This is a perfect scenario if you do not mind mind being one of their thousands of listings. So what do we small agencies have to offer the Seller?
Intimate knowledge of local markets - Many times I have called listings represented by large companies. After asking a few questions, I realize some of these agents get their leads from the Broker and in many cases have never seen the property. They pay a service to put the sign out front and a lock box on the door. Agents from small companies live and work in their community. They know the "ins and outs" of a neighborhood, the school districts, the churches, which malls are best for shopping, best place for dinners and even the best place to fish. Small details that are important to a new home owner moving to a new neighborhood.
Personal Service - An agent can only spend so much time with each listing. I only take 5 active clients at a time. This allows me to spend time marketing the property, showing the property and time to spend with individual buyers. At networking events, I usually only have flyers for one o
r two properties, not a pages long list. I will sit open houses. If the house is vacant, I stop by weekly to check the house.
Specialized Marketing - I do individual flyers, not lists. My listings are posted to 35-60 websites and blogs. Lots of local networking events to talk about specific properties. The only list I have is the 21 points on my marketing list to get the property sold. My agents are niche specific so they are the local expert in their markets.
I am not saying there is anything wrong with using the large agencies. Smaller agencies just have the great opportunity of more individualized time spent on each listing. With only five clients, I can spend several hours per week just on marketing their property. I can spend more of my advertising budget for individual marketing since the total is split by only a few properties. There is only so much time in a day. Depending on your selling situation, you can have an agent who is working for you everyday as an individual or be one of a large number on a list getting handled with lots of others. In this impersonal world, it is just good to know some of us still like to be individuals.
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