The other day we received this question from a local resident. Since it's something we're asked from time to time we thought we'd post it here....

Gail: We are considering selling our home and have interviewed a couple of local agents. My sister who lives out of town has recommended that we interview the agent who sold her home. The agent’s office is about a hour drive from our property. What are the differences in choosing a local agent as opposed to one from another town such as Palm Beach Gardens?  Carole

Thanks for the great question, Carole. When I first started selling real estate in the mid-1980’s, things were considerably different, with limited access to information on homes. With the public having more access to homes online one would think that using an out of town vs a local agent would make little difference. Let’s take some time and explore the differences.

Choosing either agent, your home will be marketed on the Multiple Listing System; this is a given. However, once the home is on the MLS system you might see some differences that can help or hinder.

Once the home is placed on MLS how would local agents, like ourselves, attract serious buyers to your home?

- Go thru the leads in our database that we have collected. Contacting all of the leads that have called or emailed us on other properties similar to the one listed for sale. 

- Network the property with our office colleagues and the sphere of local agents.

- Hold an agent open house to promote the property to the local agent community.

- Host a public open house and advertise the home to the public in ways that have been proven effective.

- Market the home to the data base of agents who have shown other local listings.

Having the experience to market homes in ways that are effective is one of the most important issues to selling a home.  Knowing the tools the local buyers use to look for homes allows the marketing to placed in front of the most buyers. Once the agent has attracted a buyer who is interested other factors come into play.

Being an expert in the community is also a key element in getting your home sold.  Potential buyers tend to ask similar questions when responding to an ad. Questions such as: what are the schools rated?, is there a dog park in the area?, or what are the most popular restaurants in town? Buyers purchase homes to meet their lifestyle needs. It is not unusual for a buyer to ask dozens of questions about services, schooling and leisure options when “scoping” out a potential home.

Once the buyer has selected a home from one of our marketing sources and made the decision to view the home, how fast can the agent be at the property to show it to the buyer? It is not unusual for a buyer to call me from a brochure or from the “for sale” sign and request a showing. If the agent’s office is close by, the showing can happen quickly.  If a agent has a team of Buyer Specialists, like we do, it’s even easier.  Buyers like easy: homes that are easy to find with effective marketing, easy to view when they get excited about the property and agents that are flexible and easy to contact.

Carole, local and out of town agents offer very different services. I would suggest interviewing a few agents, using the above ideas to help you form your questions and choosing the best person for the job. For more information on how to choose an agent to help sell your home or for archived articles on the home selling/ buying process go to www.TheBassGroup.com