Have you noticed more advertising for realtor teams like The Walter White Real Estate Team? Do you know what this relatively new thing is all about?

For the most part, every Realtor operates his or her own individual business. Yes, most of us work at companies with other Realtors, but that’s mostly an office sharing arrangement as we file separate tax returns and generally don’t share clients or commissions.

Although we operate our own individual businesses, almost all of us have our own support groups consisting of lawyers, inspectors, administrators, stagers, contractors, photographers, web specialists and the like. That’s not the kind of team that’s been appearing more frequently lately. The Realtor teams that have started to become more popular have names like The Walter White Real Estate Team or Gus Pinkman and Marie Skyler, Your Neighbourhood Team.  In my opinion, the team concept is often mostly a marketing strategy, but since you may encounter and even interview a Realtor team at some point, let’s look at what they are so you’ll know what you’re dealing with:

As far as I can tell, there are 3 basic types of Realtor teams:

• The partnership team: This team is usually formed by two well established Realtors who each already have their own solid businesses. They join forces because they feel that their complementary styles will help the team attract 100 clients per year whereas they’d each attract only 40 clients per year on their own. The other benefit to the Realtors on this team is that when one is busy or out of town, the other is more than capable of looking after all their clients. This gives each of them the peace of mind of knowing that their business is in good hands when they’re unavailable. The benefits that this team offers you are that you’ll always have a competent Realtor available who knows what you want and you gain access to the additional skills of the second Realtor.
•  The dominant Realtor team #1: There are different versions of the dominant Realtor team. In this version,  a dominant, well established Realtor delegates certain aspects of his or her work to subordinates, but oversees everything and personally handles the more important aspects of every transaction. I’m okay with this arrangement, because, let’s face it, a top agent’s time can be used more effectively if he or she doesn’t need to do things like photocopy, data entry, etc. (Note that this type of arrangement is very similar to how most Realtors operate today with their support groups. The team concept serves mostly a marketing function.)
•  The dominant Realtor team #2: In this version, the dominant Realtor handles only marketing and listings. Why? Because if you’re a Realtor, you know that taking and selling listings is much more profitable and much less time consuming than working with buyers. There’s even a saying known to every Realtor that reinforces this – “List to exist.” The dominant Realtors who focus on acquiring and selling listings delegate the buying end of things to junior Realtors and the administrative tasks to support staff. They often promote the fact that breaking everything down into separate steps benefits their clients because the clients get to deal with people who specialize in each step of the buying or selling process. Personally, I don’t buy this. It’s like being told that you’re better off having your suit made on a factory assembly line instead of having a suit custom made by a bespoke tailor. (I know that a bespoke suit costs more than an off the rack suit, but Realtor teams often charge similar amounts to individual Realtors. Wouldn’t you prefer a bespoke Realtor?)

Ultimately, the choice is up to you. In my opinion, you’re better off having an established Realtor guiding you every step of the way. Whether that’s an individual Realtor with his or her own support group, an established Realtor who’s part of a partnership team or the first type of dominant Realtor team, it doesn’t really matter. But you may not agree and may feel most comfortable with the second type of dominant Realtor team. That’s okay, too. I’m not passing judgment.

Whatever you do, just remember this: Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure to ask who you’ll be dealing with (both when your Realtor is in town and on vacation) so you’ll know what you’re getting and you’re happy with that. You don’t want to sign up with Realtor A and find out later that Realtor B will be looking after you. Nor do you want to sign up with Realtor A and then find out he or she is  going on vacation for 3 weeks. Like I always say, do your due diligence so you can make the right decision.

As always, if you know of anyone who’s looking for an honest Realtor who really knows his stuff and won’t pressure them, Please Don’t Keep Me a Secret. I really appreciate your referrals. Thanks for reading and don’t be shy if you have any questions or comments!