I DON'T need to know the area to be your Real Estate Agent!

After my last post here is a comment I received from a Realtor.

I like to think that it's less about the area that I know but the fact that I know negotiation and contracts very well. On top of it, my clients are usually tech savvy and want someone that communicates in the way that they do. Having come from a technology background I am able to do just that. The majority of my business is in King County, but I also work in north Pierce County and south Snohomish.

This is EXACTLY what I have been talking about, the average real estate agent specializes in making the commission not serving their clients. Every real estate agent had better know the contracts and how to negotiate, that is a given. But to say that you don't need to know the area to best serve your clients is false.

I often hear that the value of a home (or any asset for that matter) is whatever a buyer is willing to pay for it. Real Estate Agents often use this to rationalize not knowing the area they are working in.

"If my buyers are willing to pay X for this property then that is what it is worth." NO, that is how the listing agent is supposed to think, Not the agent representing the buyer. A Salesperson has this definition of value, not an agent. And agent is someone who represents the interests of their principle, not a salesperson.

Are appraisers supposed to set the value of a home at whatever price an individual will pay for it? No, just because someone is willing to pay 500k for a 200k home doesn't mean that appraiser will value the home at 500k. Ok, sure there are appraisers who are just as unscrupulous as some realtors and lenders, but let's stick to what they are supposed to do. The value is what the home will sell for in a specific market not to a specific individual.

How can a real estate agent who hasn't walked the last 20 similar homes that have sold recently know what the value is? They can't! Sure they can come up with lots of great rational why they can: look at the MLS history, tax assessed value ratio, neighborhood analysis, Zillow, experience, technology, and of course the best "It is worth whatever their buyer is willing to pay."

Agents like this are a part(just a part) of the reason we are in the financial trouble we are in right now. They don't represent their clients, they just sell them what ever they can and for whatever price they will pay.

I refer people to agents who specialize in an area. Sure they may work with people outside of that area, but that is the exception not the norm. Buyers and Sellers need agents who know the local market and have walked the homes that have sold. It is the only way they can really understand the value of a home.

I know and work with local agents who specialize in an area and act like an agent is supposed to, they represent their principle YOU! If you are looking to buy or sell a home in Western Washington, let me help you find the right agent for you and the area you are looking in. Guide to Seattle Real Estate.