Hey, You're NOT The Listing Agent!
I am passing on a wonderful, well written article on what happens when you a home buyer searches online for a home. The agents who wrote it are in Ohio. However the same applies here in Virginia.
Always remember here in Prince William County Virginia we are a caveat emptor State. ( Buyer Beware) It is always in your best interest to align your self with an experienced local real buyers agent who knows the area where you want to buy well!
Have a question? Just ask me 703-851-3085.
If you're a Cincinnati home buyer and surfing the internet for homes for sale, chances are you're NOT going to be reaching out to the listing agent unless you REALLY understand how Internet marketing works. Now later we'll touch on whether or not you SHOULD be trying to reach the listing agent!
First, there are a multitude of sites that provide details about the homes for sale in our area. Some provide only the agent listed homes (e.g. individual agent and local brokerage sites, national brokerage sites, etc.). Others may provide For Sale By Owner homes only. Other sites may provide a mix of the two with varying degree of accuracy.
What they all tend to do is provide the listing agent (or brokerage) information somewhere on the home's information page. The information may be easy to find, or not so easy, but it SHOULD be there somewhere if you REALLY want to reach the listing agent and only the listing agent.
However, likely to be more prominent and easier to find will be a "Contact Agent" or "Request More Information" button. So where does your information go when you fill out one of those contact forms?
Well, if it's a brokerage site your contact information will be provided to an agent that serves the area OR it may go direct to the listing agent. That second option is what happens if you go onto Remax.com AND request information on the RE/MAX listed home, otherwise it goes to another RE/MAX agent.
If it's on a personal agent's website, your contact information is going to the agent who pays for the website or someone from that agent's team.
And if you're own a national website that syndicates listings (e.g. Realtor.com, Zillow.com, etc.), your contact information is most likely going to an agent that pays to advertise on that site. It's those ads that keep the lights on for those websites and why some agents shell out serious dollars to make sure they're the ones who get your request.
Now which agent is best for you to contact?
Maybe the answer is NONE of the above.
The listing agent works FOR the seller, NOT the buyer. As such they can't tell you the things that might be MOST useful for you to know. Things such as "the home is overpriced", "there's a better house for your needs two streets over". And some of the things you WANT the listing agent to tell you...like how low of a price the seller will take? or why are they moving? Those are questions the agent cannot ethically answer without permission from the seller. And don't fall for the myth that the listing agent will automatically cut their commission and give you a better deal if you come unrepresented.
And if you get the agent advertising on the side, you might be doing well, or you might not. The agent might be a very successful, experienced agent that can afford those thousands and thousands of advertising fees. But even if they're successful, they may still not be the right agent for your needs.
Why not? Perhaps your area of interest is on the fringes of their service area. Or perhaps you need specialty expertise. For instance, we specialize in patio homes and we DON'T advertise on the syndicators' sites. Nope, instead we publish tons of patio home information on sites we own and control.
You might find similar specialists if you're looking for a horse farm, or riverfront property, midcentury moderns, historic homes, or some other specialty type of housing.
General advertising on the national and syndication sites isn't going to guarantee you're going to get matched up with those experts In fact, we'll almost guarantee this it won't! If you need a specialist, you need to do a search outside of those sites to find the agent you actually need. And odds are strong, it WON'T be the listing agent!
Ready to get started? Call 513-520-5305 or email Liz@LizSpear.com.
Serving Cincinnati home buyers and sellers,
Liz and Bill aka BLiz
Serving Warren County Ohio & Adjacent Areas
The Liz Spear Team of RE/MAX Elite
Elizabeth Spear, ABR, CRS, Ohio License SAL.2002007747
William (Bill) Spear, CRS, Ohio License SAL.2004011109 Kentucky 77938
Ask for us by name if you visit the office!Two locations: Lebanon & Mason, OH
Bill Direct: 513-520-5305
Liz Direct: 513-265-3004
Fax: 866-302-8418
MailTo: LizSpear@Go-Concepts.comSearch Homes: Http://WarrenCountyOhioRealEstate.com
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