Can you work with multiple agents?

With any service or product, it’s a good idea to shop around before making a commitment. It’s particularly important to find a qualified, knowledgeable REALTOR who can help you sell your home quickly or find the perfect home in your price range. But with so many agent in the Brampton / Georgetown area how do you decide who to work with? and what’s really wrong with working with more then one agent?

Most REALTORs prefer to work under an exclusivity agreement, which means they are the only REALTOR you are working with to handle either buying or selling your home. The agreements are normally for a set period, often two to six months (can vary from agent to agent), and they are designed to ensure the REALTOR is paid for the work they do for you.

Working with more than one REALTOR at a time isn’t usually a good idea, even if you haven’t signed an exclusivity agreement. Since REALTORs work on commission and get paid only when they buy or sell a home, a REALTOR may not be motivated to work hard for you if you’re using more than one.

While working with one REALTOR is good practice, it doesn’t mean you have to use the same REALTOR to buy and sell a home at the same time. Many REALTORs specialize in either buying or selling, so they represent only one half of the deal. REALTORs also tend to specialize in certain communities, and you want to make sure you have one who knows the Brampton community you are either buying or selling in. In these instances it’s usually better for you to work with two REALTORs, one on each side of the sale.

Unless you have signed a contract, you are free to talk with as many agents as you want. But tell them you are doing this up front. It may spur them to work harder for you. Just remember that the best REALTORs are often busy and may not agree to this arrangement. A new agent might have more time available for you and might be willing to agree with everything you say but the downside is you don’t get the expertise, skills, and confidence that can only come from experience.

For questions on the Brampton or Georgetown real estate market drop me an email.