Why Using A Local Real Estate Agent Is Very Important

It's not uncommon to hear someone using an agent that is not from the area.  Maybe it's your Uncle or your Dad's college buddy that lives close by, but not in your city.  And maybe this may sound like an old Western movie but other agents may speak with another agent from another area and say something like, "You're not from around the parts are ya?"  I would never recommend using someone who isn't local unless this out-of-town agent is more familiar with your city than you are. If your out-of-town agent doesn't know things like the new grocery store that is going up in the middle of town, or the construction that is about to take place on a major street near you for the next year, than you should not be working with this agent and find someone local.  I know you may be thinking "why does this agent need to know about grocery stores and street repair?", right?  Well here are a lot of reasons and things you should think about.  If you are looking for a home, your agent should know if the major street outside your neighborhood is going to turn into one lane for the next year.  This could impact the value and defiantly the quality of living.  And if your agent doesn't know about the big grocery store going up soon, how do you think they will know about the latest disclosures that talk about hillside ordinances which effect adding square footage to your home and putting things like a pool in the yard.  Are you going to buy a house that has a nice wood burning fireplace that may need to be rebuilt because it's older and been through a few earthquakes, only to find out you may not be able to build a wood burning fireplace in LA County anymore?  If your agent is from Santa Barbara but you are buying a home in LA, they aren't going to have the relationships and connections with other agents.  And here is the thing I shouldn't say (but it's true), a lot of local agents won't even work with out-of-town agents. Sometimes they won't even look at offers from them.  And this only gets worse as the price point you are looking into goes up.  And the reason is, the agent selling the house, knows everything I'm saying here...which is someone who isn't from here, doesn't know their way around the market the way they should to get the deal done right.  You are also going to need a local escrow company to handle your transaction and your agent should know a person in your area to turn to for this.  Using a real estate agent from another city is as unwise as learning all the DMV rules and driving laws from Maine, then coming to California and putting them to use.  There may be some basic rules like driving on the right side of the road but there are lots of other things that differ from area to area. And real estate agents spend a lot of time keeping up with all the rules and laws in our own area that there is no way possible for someone who is not from here to know all them.  Let your Uncle from out of town do some asking around and find you a good local agent.  You deserve to have someone in-the-know working for you.  And as a Los Angeles agent myself, I can tell you that I would not work for someone in Palm Springs, or San Diego (even though I use to live there).  I would refer to you someone who lives there now.