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How Real Estate Agents Get Paid, Part Two

Jonathan Dalton, Phoenix Real Estate Agent This afternoon I received a call from John Wake over the Arizona Real Estate Notebook. He had spoken to some folks who wanted to look at homes in Sun City, Del Webb’ original retirement community, this afternoon.

Rarely will I make a same day appointment but these folks sounded legit and so I took the chance. They told me what they wanted and I identified a half-dozen houses for them, including a golf-course lot at a reasonable value.

We’ll know tomorrow hot this story turns out. In the interim, though, this is the value an experienced real estate agent can provide. Given a very small window to prepare, I found them two houses which made the short list of possibilities. How? Because I know the area and I know the inventory. And I can read the hints well enough to adjust on the fly.

Working with multiple agents requires each agent to start from square one. And when they do so, so does the buyer. And to what end? For fear of committing to a non-qualified agent, a buyer is willing to add hours to the process. Does that make any sense?

How about this idea? Interview the agents up front. Maybe even take a look at their blog to see what it is they do and what their views on the market may be. Invest a half-hour at the start before you start calling and save hours and dollars on the backside.

Seems like a novel concept for a six-figure purchase, huh?

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How Real Estate Agents Are Paid

Jonathan Dalton, Phoenix Real Estate Agent The shortest and simplest answer is by selling homes. And so we schedule our time in such a manner to maximize our opportunity to sell a home, remain in business and keep a roof over our kids’ heads.

With that having been said, I just fired one of my potential buyers. I had been holding time on my schedule open for their house-hunting trip. It wasn’t until this morning that I was told they’re working with several agents, all in the same Arrowhead Ranch area in which I specialize, all on the same trip.

My product is not the homes in the Phoenix real estate market. It’s my knowledge of the area, my expertise in negotiating, my experience that will help buyers avoid pitfalls when purchasing a product. Aside from this blog where I try my best to share what I know, I can’t demonstrate the value of my product unless we’re working together.

If your plan from the get-go is to work with multiple agents to show homes in the same exact area, it’s clear that you have no interest in my product. You simply want someone with a lockbox key to open the front door for you. That’s your choice. But it doesn’t mean I need to be the one doing so, breathlessly hoping I’ll get chosen as baggage that comes with the house.

I am not merely an extension of my lockbox key.

Would I have felt differently had I been told up front there were multiple agents involved? Maybe. Probably not in this case, though. If you’re looking at two different areas of town, then it makes a little bit of sense. But not when there are several of us all looking at the same subset of homes.

If all you need is someone to turn the key there are endless options. If you want a little more than that from your real estate professional, I’m here for you.

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Are Phoenix Gated Communities More Secure? Look at Some Homes and You’ll See

Jonathan Dalton, Phoenix Real Estate Agent One of the recurring themes among my Canadian buyers is a desire to be in a gated community, the thought being their property will be more secure in the months they’re not in town and the home’s sitting furnished and vacant.

A quick trip to view homes in gated communities here in Phoenix usually will change their outlook fairly quickly.

A gate could serve as a deterrent in as much as someone wanting to break and enter may not also want to have to play with a gate. But the gate’s really an obstacle. All someone needs to do is wait for another car to enter and follow them into the neighborhood. Or they can enter sequences commonly known as “pizza delivery codes”, most easier to discover than the combination on an idiot’s luggage.

What is unfortunate about the perception of the security inside a gated community is the premium on the properties inside that neighborhood, just because of the gate. In that respect, the prices are inflated based on myth.

This isn’t the case in an area where there’s a guard gate with an actual human being to see who’s coming and going. But those areas carry an even larger premium, oftentimes with a premium nearly as large as the amount of money someone wants to spend.

So what’s the solution? If you’re of the right age and inclination, an active adult community such as Westbrook Village or Ventana Lakes or one of the Sun Cities might work. These are areas with large winter visitor populations, where the full-time residents tend to keep an eye on their neighbors’ homes fairly closely. And they also benefit from patrols by the local sheriff’s posse.

There are no guarantees when you’re away from a property eight to ten months out of the year. It’s best to realize that and prepare accordingly up front than paying extra dollars for added security that isn’t necessarily secure at all.

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