Does Your Real Estate Agent Matter?

The Truth about Realtors

Ever wonder just what the real story is about Realtors?

With dozens of Realtors in Imperial Beach and a seemingly endless array of online offers, discount brokers, friends and family members with licenses as well as out-of-area Realtors mailing and advertising into Imperial Beach, how do home sellers and buyers find who will really represent them the best and help them net the most amount of money? If real estate were any other business, prospective clients would be more focused on the bottom line of the prospective agent's results, namely answers to the following questions:

• How many listings do you currently service? What duties do your assistants handle? Do you personally do the showings?
• Tell me about the marketing you personally do aside from standard company advertising? Where do you place your listings on the web?
• What is the average market time for your listings before they sell?
• Do you get involved in preparing the home for sale with staging and landscaping?
• Tell me about how many times you reduced the price on your most recent sale?

The big question I hear almost daily is "Why are you different?" In a world where all agents put up a sign, place the home on the Internet, hold caravan and open houses, why do some agents always seem to sell their homes faster and for more money? In a word, EXPERIENCE! The ability of an agent to orchestrate the preparation, the marketing, the energy and the negotiation that culminates in a successful transaction that delivers vastly different results than those of the average agent. This is not unlike a successful lawyer or doctor who consistently provides the best results, even though there are thousands of professionals who have the same licenses.

Experienced agents handle every aspect of the real estate transaction, beginning with a pricing strategy that will ultimately ensure the highest possible sales price in the shortest possible time, rather than an extended time on the market with price reductions and a below-market sales price as the outcome. Experienced agents know that proper presentation and market timing can play a big part in whether the home has multiple offers or just sits.

In the final analysis, contrary to popular belief, ALL AGENTS ARE NOT ALIKE! In real estate, you get what you negotiate, and successful agents consistently have the experience and mindset to bring it all together and provide the desired result, delivering to the client the most net dollars from the sale of their home in the shortest time!  

Gary Trieschman is the president of .