ONLY Work with Local Agents

I receive calls from out-or-area real estate professionals at least two or three times a week. Most often they are offering me a referral to a buyer or seller in Indian River County. But recently those out-of-area broker/agent calls, seeking some basic information on the area and our property sales, have increased. Why? Because they do not have access to our local MLS and come begging for data on certain communities and subdivisions in this county. They are attempting to work with buyers, mostly investors, who want 'deals' and see Indian River County as the place to buy. But sometimes what they're buying is pretty scary...all because the real estate broker they're working with doesn't know this territory well enough to help them to make educated decisions.


Here, like everywhere else, we have a significant number of partially-finished developments, many in various stages of the foreclosure process. Prices in those communities have plummeted and the majority of properties for sale in them are short-sales or foreclosures. Those homes may or may not be good buys. There's plenty of 'downside' to owning a property in a neighborhood that's in financial collapse, mostly occupied by renters, and with many vacant lots left to fill.

A local Realtor can help buyers make better decisions based on their comprehensive knowledge of the area. I don't advise anyone to work with a Realtor who doesn't live and work in the area where the property is located.

If you're a property owner, sincerely seeking to get your home, land or condo sold, hire an agent with real knowledge of the community where that property is located. That way you'll get more accurate and up-to-date information on pricing and other issues effecting the market, and the property can be properly marketed and shown. There's nothing worse than listings that are not able to be shown because the agent isn't within a quick drive or doesn't have the correct directions, photos or property details to accommodate the buyer prospect. If some of the property owners here knew what poor service was being given by the agent they've hired, they would be appalled. I am often unable to show homes to my buyer clients due to lack of response or incorrect information from an out-of-area listing agent.

And for those of you looking to buy a property, work with a local agent and save yourself the trauma of driving around with someone who might have a GPS but can't tell you enough about the community once they get you there. They don't know the school district, the shopping areas, the county government issues or any of the rest of what can and could effect your purchase.

Do yourself a favor and only work with a local agent. If your sister, cousin or neighbor is a Realtor in another area and bugging you to work with them instead, have that person give a local agent a call and offer you up (sounds like a sacrifice, right) as a referral. Your relative or friend can collect a sizable referral fee if a sale occurs (yes, we are allowed to pay a portion of the commission earned to licensed real estate professional who supplies the name of the buyer or seller). And you are better served.

Just ask the countless buyers who are now stuck with properties in failing communities that they purchased long after the development started to fail. They weren't given all the information available...because it wasn't available to the out of area agent they worked with. I get those calls now, too, from people deep 'under-water', strapped with properties worth way less than what they recently paid. I'm always happy to try to help them, but often I'm biting my tongue, trying not to say "You should have called me before you bought it".