Real estate teams vs. Individual Agents and what consumers need to know.

Real Estate Teams vs. Individual Agents

I had my first experience with a real estate team when I sold my first home about a year before I got into real estate myself. I had no idea what a team was and I the agent that was selling our house didn't explain it at all. I left feeling like I did not get what I signed up for.

There are two obvious differences between a team and an individual agent. As the name implies a team is composed of multiple agents and/or support staff. An agent is singular and therefore solo mostly without a team of support staff. The less obvious difference is that with a team you will rarely deal with the same person for any two portions of the process.

Team structure-

Teams are structured in various ways but the typical team has at least three components: a listing agent, a buyers agent and an assistant. The listing agent and buyers agent are pretty self explanatory however the assistant is the one varies. Most of the time the assistant handles all the paperwork, contracts, phone calls and all the behind the scenes stuff. This allows the listing agent and the buyers agent to focus on getting new buyer and sellers.

Single agent structure-

With a single agent there is only one agent therefore the agent has to handle everything on their own. This means that the agent will be the one showing the buyers houses as well as the one going on listing appointments. They will also be the one doing the paperwork and giving clients the update as the process goes along.

The difference to you the consumer- 

The difference between working with a team and working with an individual agent as a consumer can be pretty dramatic. When you are working with a team you will likely have very little contact with the lead agent that you initially spoke to/met with. They are the “face” of the operation and are most of the time hands off for the majority of the transaction once it gets started. This means that you agree to list the house with them and from that point on someone else takes over. Most if not all updates will come from one of the support staff and not the agent that you started working with. 

With an individual agent you have the same agent from the start to the finish, there is no one to delegate the tasks to. The individual agent is going to have much more of a personal touch and will be involved in every step of the transaction. They in a sense have more at stake than an agent with a team, because they are more personally invested in the deal. 

Conclusion- 

In concluding there is nothing wrong with either option you choose to use. Most teams provide great service but you will lose much of the personal feel that you get with an individual agent. Both should run equally smooth it just becomes a preference of what your’e comfortable with. 

Why many home buyers of today fear commitment

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Why should I sign with just ONE agent? 

The biggest reason that you should sign with an agent is that it provides a buffer between home sellers, other agents and you. Without an agent you are a commodity. With a signed agreement you are essentially off the market. Assuming your agent is doing what they should and properly representing you than everyone comes out a winner. Consider these points when debating to sign an agreement: there is no set or required length of time you must commit to and the selling agent represents the sellers not you. 

• The thing to remember is that you can sign the agreement for as short as one day. This serves to ensure that the agent is there to act as a buffer between you and the homeowner/listing agent. The most common complaint I hear is that people don't want to commit to one agent. This is understandable and of course many people may have had a bad experience with an agent in the past. The thing to understand is that you are still in control of the situation. You control the length of time you commit for as well as many other factors depending on the agreement. The agreement does have some specific binding terms and should be read carefully before signing. 

• The listing agent is already representing the seller and therefore is not looking out for your interest. This is something to consider when you’re driving around and calling the signs in front of houses. Calling the sign number will almost always put you in contact with the listing agent. The listing agent is representing the sellers and is bound to do what’s in the best interest of their client i.e. the home owner. The listing agent may try to talk you into letting him/her handle both sides of the transaction, a term called intermediary. This is fine if you are comfortable with the process of buying a home and don’t need particular advise as the process goes along. By doing this the realtor/agent is representing both parties and therefore can’t give specific transaction related advise to either side. 

Assuming that you do not have an agent in mind that you would like to work with, than check reviews by others online. I have found that Zillow is amongst the stricter criteria for agents getting reviews posted. If the agent has 4 stars or better, than it is probably a safe bet that they do a good job more than they don’t. This isn’t to say that bad agents don’t get good reviews, but it is a good starting place. Don’t commit for 6 months unless you're very early in the process or comfortable with your agent. Give the agent 30 days and see how they do, if you are satisfied than continue the relationship, if not than walk away.