Is it important for my agent to live nearby?
Here are 2 considerations to help you answer this question.
This used to be a big selling point for agents because living in the same area as the home you were selling meant you were more familiar with the area attractions, schools, and home values. With the internet, as agents we have the ability to learn about a neighborhood and get up to speed pretty quickly.
There are 2 things you might want to consider when it comes to an agent being able to adequately serve your needs geographically as a home seller:
1. If your expectations involve face to face meetings, it will be important to ask your agent if this is possible based on where they live and/or work. Most of our client meetings take place at the client’s residence – either the one we are selling or the one they may have recently moved to. We often drive 20-30 or more miles one way to make that meeting happen.
However, because so many agents rely solely on digital signatures these days, it’s important to ask any you are interviewing about this expectation.
Conversely, if you are planning to travel to them, what is the distance that is acceptable to you? Naturally, if you are doing everything digitally, this is less relevant. We have literally sold homes to and for people who live out of state and whom we have never met in person. Yes, it can be done!
2. Does your agent know the processes and protocols for your area? Hiring an agent who is a member of the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for your area is the main issue here. If they live outside your MLS area, do they have working knowledge and experience dealing with the service providers and other agents in your market? If not, do they have some way of collaborating with another agent in that area so that you get the service you should expect?
Oklahoma Real Estate
A good example here in Oklahoma might be cities like Stillwater, Weatherford, and Tulsa. Our team offices in Oklahoma City, with agents living in the metro area, as well as the suburbs both east and west. We are more than willing and quite capable of serving clients in Edmond, Norman, Yukon, Choctaw, and even as far west as El Reno. When you start to get outside the boundaries of the metro area, however, we have to determine if hiring us makes sense. With different multiple listing services, variations in how transactions are closed, and the driving distance, it may make better sense for us to refer you to a qualified and reputable agent in that market and simply be available for consultation if needed.
The most important factors for choosing a real estate agent no longer include the proximity of the agent’s home or office to the subject property being sold.
We have done other videos that address how to choose the right agent for you and the links to those videos can be found by clicking HERE.
If you or someone you know is looking for an agent, especially one who specializes in helping longtime homeowners or downsizers, give us a call. If we aren’t the best fit, we can connect you with someone who is!
