Why is the MLS Useful to Me as a Buyer?

That is a fantastic question.

One of the two largest consumer facing real estate websites, which shall not be named, took 5 days to put my recent land listing up in front of the buyers that trust that brand for up-to-date real estate information.?Obviously, they did not get what they were looking for.?Their trust in that big brand was sorely mis-placed and that brand definitely failed to deliver.?The thing is that we had multiple offers before that company even showed that property as being available.?That is not the first time that has happened with that particular “trusted” brand.??

How did the other folks find out about the property??Signs and digital signs.?By digital signs I am primarily referring to the MLS.

What is the MLS??MLS stands for Multiple Listing Service.?It is the online software platform where every agent belonging to an association of Realtors can place their properties to share with buyers.?The main target is primarily the other agents within that association, to the end that those listings (properties) get shared with the buyers that know, like, and trust those agents belonging to that association.

Each agent has a sphere of influence, often consisting of family members and a wide variety of friends.?These family members and friends will go to a particular agent that they know, like, and trust when they want to buy or sell a property.?Episode 54 detailed why the MLS is useful to you as a seller.??

Here’s the bottom line. When buying a property, select an agent that is likable and trustworthy.?More importantly, select an agent that has a way of getting those listings in front of you in a timely fashion.?Such agents can do that either directly through the MLS or through a website of their own (such as TomMayhewRealEstate.com).?Websites such as the one I just listed are updated very often. Thus, you can be sure the data you are seeing is always up-to-date.

The best qualified and most knowledgable buyers are working with awesome agents that knows their stuff inside and out. Agents that have the tools to deliver up-to-date and accurate information. Agents that know what pitfalls exist in the process of buying a home and can avoid them much to the benefit of their client(s).

If you have more questions about the MLS and its benefits to you as a buyer and/or seller, just drop me a line.

All my best,

Thomas