When thinking of selling a home, most sellers look for a Real Estate Company that will do the most work to market the property, give it the most exposure and work for the lowest commission.
Well, like in many other types of business, BIGGER IS NOT BETTER!
There are several issues with the big ‘national franchise’ companies. First, when their agents meet with a seller, they claim that they will give their home much more exposure. All real estate licensees within the Greater Harrisburg Association of Realtors belong to the Bright MLS. All listings are entered into the Bright program. Through an internet data exchange contract with a company called “LISTHUB,” all listings are then automatically sent to dozens of major websites where consumers search for homes. This includes, Google, Yahoo, AOL real estate, Trulia, Zillow, Homes.com, just to name a few. Real Estate Brokers must pay to have their listings on Realtor.com where they can be further enhanced by the listing agent. Wolfe & Company’s listings get just as much exposure as any other larger company’s listings.
Secondly, most of the ‘franchise’ companies are now charging extra fees over and above a commission. This means in addition to the negotiable commission charged to a seller, they are charging an administrative, a broker or a franchise fee, whatever they choose to call it, to buyers AND sellers. We have seen this fee range anywhere from $125.00 to $900.00 added to the clients’ settlement sheet at closing. Wolfe & Company Realtors does not charge any extra administrative fees. Our sellers pay us a mutually agreed upon commission only. We do not charge buyers any fee for representation on standard purchase transactions. If one of our agents represents a buyer in a purchase transaction, their commission is a portion of the agreed upon commission paid by the seller, as is the case for all buyer agents in PA. We have no need to charge EXTRA fees.
Another problem with the BIG franchise offices is that they think the more agents they have the more money they will make. So they recruit new agents and will hire anyone who has a license. This results in many inexperienced and unsupervised agents offering poor quality service. These offices also usually don’t have their Broker of Record present in their office on a daily or even weekly basis. At Wolfe & Company, our Broker, Ray “Buz” Wolfe, is actively listing and selling real estate, is available in the office every day to consult with and offer advice to agents and he oversees all business transactions taking place within his company. He also has chosen to maintain a small staff of professional and experienced agents to maintain the quality of service we provide.
So, if you are looking to buy or sell a home, make sure you contact Wolfe & Company Realtors for simply the best honest and professional quality service, serving the Greater Carlisle Area since 1986! Experience Does Matter!! NO FEES, NO TEAMS, NO NONSENSE!!