Why are so many ditching their tradtional agents ?
Over the years the Internet has changed the way buyers and sellers are getting their housing information. It used to be that real estate agents were the only ones with access to the MLS. With this private tool only available to agents. Real estate agents could list properties, see transaction histories, and gather a market analysis together for you. If you, as a buyer or seller, wanted that information, you had to contact an agent to retrieve those answers.
While some folks still prefer the old school way, The same information can be found publicly to any buyer or seller with the internet.
Now there is over 100’s of real estate websites that publicly display that same information. You can access sites for recently sold homes and current homes on the market. Many sellers have their homes listed for sale with virtual or 3-D tours for you to view at any time of day before even making contact with the seller.
Need tax information or what the crime rate might be for a certain neighborhood, Local school ratings ? It’s all online.
We seldom hear about real estate agents actually taking clients to homes anymore. Instead, what typically happens are the buyers are actually doing all their own research, and then simply going to the sellers open house, or driving by or even knocking on the door to elimate the homes. And in some cases buyers will still need to contact an agent to tell them which houses they’d like to see perhaps if they are vacant.
Outside of using these handy websites to do your own research, You can also contact an agent who will ask you for all the criteria you’re looking for in a home. That agent will then take the list, and set up an automatic search for you in the MLS. Then, each day, you’ll get an email of all the homes that have come on the mark.
If you’re willing to drive by the homes and use gotofsbo.com to assist you in making the purchase offer, you can receive up to 1.5% cash back for the time you are going to already spend searching on your own anyways.
We have been helping Virginia sellers and buyers $ave on real estate transactions since 1994. Your agent is part of the Mulit dollar club as well as Top sales agent for 4 years in a row.
