What Adam Offers Real Estate Agents Looking to Refer Buyers & Sellers
Updated: Aug 18
In this article, I'd like to go over what I offer real estate agents and a glimpse of what I offer to the buyers and sellers they refer me to for real estate agents looking to refer business my way:
Dozens of reviews & recommendations on various platforms
https://www.adambgarrett.com/reviews
My list of values as evidenced by quotes from reviews:
Staying Available
Working Hard
Saving Clients Money
Keeping Clients' Interests First
Client Educator (See also my extensive website that includes enough content I've written to fill a book)
High Ethical Standards Including Integrity
Excellence
Experience
I have had full-time experience as a Realtor since February 2015 where I've closed on over 100 transactions as of 2022. Prior to becoming a Realtor, I spent 9 months full-time in the marketing department at Garrett Realty Partners. As visible from a brief review of my website & as shared by a review, "As a third generation realtor, his knowledge base and experience is beyond his years."
In my best year thus far (2020), I was within the top 3% of buyer's agents and top 8% of agents overall in my primary market (Hampton Roads & #s from REIN MLS, not counting sales outside of REIN). I have a heavy emphasis on quality over quantity, & most years I'm busier adding to what I can offer buyers and sellers & engaging with my clients, going above & beyond again & again, than I am with driving up my sales volume.
My freshman year of college my family purchased this home, so I know some things about luxury waterfront that many don't:
Access to 5 MLS
I provide:
1. Access for sellers to up to 4 MLS, with some cities/counties I cover not having >50% of listings present on a single MLS. MLS access is one of the factors I offer that is dependent on price and commission rate. Feel free to reach out for all the details on that.
[Related: Most important cities to have more than 1 MLS in SE VA]
2. Access for buyers to up to 5 MLS no matter the purchase price
3. The data to show which cities/counties in the area are primary to each. Here is a list of which MLS are used most by which city in the area & here is an article on MLS explaining the importance of MLS & other details for buyers and sellers.
Here are my MLS:
Northern Neck (NE),
Central Virginia Regional (W),
Chesapeake Bay & Rivers Association of Realtors (E),
Williamsburg (central),
& Real Estate Information Network (SE)
Excellent Offerings for Buyers
Here is a page with more details on what I offer buyers.
1. My 1-year sales volume has put me as high as the top 3% of buyer's agents in my area.
2. My combination of digital & physical resources for buyers is in the top 1% of SE VA Realtors in my coverage area.
3. I offer top 1% video visuals for out-of-town buyers.
4. I offer top 1% written details & resources going through dozens of elements of a prospective offer with references specific to locations within a few variants of local SE VA offers (REIN & VAR) & nationwide offers (HUD & VA) on a spreadsheet that I've composed from scratch.
5. My master spreadsheet of home purchase considerations, which I make available to all of my buyers, is unmatched. If you show me one that's more comprehensive & resource rich, I'll give you $500. I haven't seen anything that can come close.
6. I offer a top 1% offer spreadsheet (publicly available) comparison that goes over for buyers what's most important & the difference between what's safer for the buyer and what's positive for the seller/more likely to help a buyer win.
7. I offer superior agent fill-ins vs what most agents offer. When I'm unavailable for a showing, I have around 100 other agents at my firm to choose from who are based in a wide range of territory, and typically use agents who have done over 150 transactions, with one of my go-tos having done over 500 transactions.
8. My feedback to buyers within showings is within the top 3% of agents.
Disclosure on Buyer Referrals in 2023 if Buyer Plans to Live in Home for <5 Years
I take very seriously my fiduciary duties & being honest with my clients, more so than most agents. In light of that, and in light of the state of the housing market, it is important to note that I discourage those looking to buy and sell in less than 5 years in 2023 unless they plan to rehab a property.
Excellent Offerings for Sellers
https://www.adambgarrett.com/post/what-adam-offers-sellers
My standard marketing (including 3% listing side commission on single-family residential, multi-family, land, & commercial, with "*" by reduced offerings for lower listing side commissions) begins with:
1. Placement on 4* MLS,
2. Matterport virtual tours (including interior & exterior*)
3. Aerials
4. Professional photos.
5. Top 1% area photos (from the ground and the air, with limitations on new photos for low commissions).
6. Paper marketing to around 100 agents at my firm* & same flyer on property in flyer box on sign & in building
7. Email marketing to those same roughly 100 agents,
8. *A social media campaign with an average reach of over 10 thousand and average engagement over one thousand (also excluding certain distressed properties that are in condition that could lead to public heckling, i.e. unusually dirty properties & those with many obvious repair needs)
9. Open house(s)*
10. Highly comprehensive responsibilities & obligations of buyer & seller with page #s to reference on contracts*
11. Highly detailed property walk-throughs for all sellers who want to maximize profits by not going as is, but available for as-is sales as well.
12. Data input in MLS is highly detailed to consistently max out the public remarks space's word count (within 95%) to display positive property elements & check far more property features than most agents for similar properties to maximize searchability.
13. Highly comprehensive offer comparison spreadsheet*
14. Highly comprehensive emails edited according to situations at each major step of the process to guide you thoroughly. An informed seller can make the best decisions.*
15. Extensive writing on numerous subjects beyond email direct content that can be provided on call, with over 50,000 words on my website alone.
16. Limited highly practical staging assistance, including (if not already present) hand towels, interior floor mats, exterior entry mats, shoe covers, toilet paper, basket for shoe covers w built-in label, metal step to open trashcan, etc.*
17. Snacks and drinks of much better selection, quality, and quantity than typical if present at all.*
18. Stands available to put 11x17 cardstock images of home while staged if furniture is removed prior to listing and to put on location and nearby aerials if desired*
19. Top 1% live video available for prospective buyers with Adam's showings available for unrepresented buyers and unavailable buyer's agents (see section VI).
20. Adam will typically reach out to all prior parties who expressed interest or showed the property without ruling it out prior to acceptance of an offer.*
21. *2-3 electronic MLS lockboxes & a contractor lockbox
22. For higher-end properties, if desired my father, Greg Garrett (Linkedin, Facebook, Company Webpage), can be present with me at listing appointments & if desired, co-list property with me. He's been Recognized in Realtor® Magazine as one of the top 50 Realtors® in the United States. He's sold a few dozen properties for sellers over $1,000,000 & has possibly sold more homes than anyone else living in SE VA, thousands of properties personally.
Transparent Coverage Map of Where I Can Help Buyers & Sellers Based on Price & MLS Access
Below maps for sellers & buyers are labeled along with the 5 MLS I have access to with strong coverage. Areas in white are where my MLS don't have ideal coverage.
A Locally Unmatched Combination of Physical & Digital Resources
A Locally Unmatched List of Programs to Reduce Home Costs
I'm so confident that my list of dozens of programs to reduce buyer home cost is the most comprehensive in my area that I publicly offer $1k to anyone that can show me a bigger list than mine. It won't be a big help for cash buyers in most cases, but even cash buyers can save as much as 50% off a home in limited cases (i.e. the Good Neighbor Next Door program)
Legacy
My father, a 14th generation Virginian, started over 40 years ago, and both of his parents were real estate agents. He got in the business in the late 70's, & is still in the business.
"Early in his real estate career, Greg became the #1 agent on the Virginia Peninsula. Then he became the #1 agent throughout Hampton Roads, Virginia. He has been recognized for leading one of the top 50 Real Estate Teams in the United States (as published in Realtor® Magazine)." He has closed on over 4000 thousand properties personally since they started recording his closings in our primary local MLS in the late 90's & has closed on dozens of properties over $1,000,000. In his best year, he closed on a house a day. He brands himself as a team although it is just him, transaction coordinators & other staff. He has "toned down" the amount of time he spends on real estate, but as of 11/30/22 he's closed on at least 98 homes in the past 365 days, at least 126 in the prior 365 days, and has typically done 100 or more homes a year relatively consistently.
Transparency
On this website, you'll find plenty of information about me, a number of articles with me educating buyers and sellers, & otherwise.
Fast Facts About Adam For Referring Agents To Know
Referral Agreement Facts:
I offer flexible referral agreements, whether you want to make it for a few years for all transactions, include a non-compete in any area I cover that you cover as well, or otherwise.
Real Estate Facts:
Adam doesn't perform dual agency, doesn't charge transaction coordinator fees, & doesn't lock his buyers into working with a single affiliate lender.
Adam has a wide coverage area throughout the majority of SE VA, excluding the Eastern Shore, for properties for buyers and sellers with access to 5 MLS. He also has a spreadsheet of where those MLS are most important, info on where multiple MLS in SE VA are most important, and where in SE VA other MLS are used substantially or primarily.
Adam charges typical commission for listing side and buying side when representing the seller, with reduced offerings for lower commissions available. For instance, with a lower commission, sellers would still have professional photos, aerials, and virtual tour, but would have placement in the primary MLS of the city/county instead of 4 (placement in 2 MLS if the primary MLS is CBRAR/CVR since via the co-op only 1 data input sheet is involved), no new area pics taken by me from the ground or the air with limited exceptions, & other reduced offerings in various capacities where I typically go above and beyond (i.e. no top 3% premium snacks/drinks at property throughout listing).
For buyers, Adam has a minimum commission policy of 2% (or $3k, whichever is greater), with only 2.6% of active listings offering under 2% commission in my primary MLS, REIN, when I checked on 2/14/21, the majority of which were with a single new construction builder, Ryan Homes. Because of that & because I've been able to negotiate commission into contracts with a FSBO, no buyer has ever needed to pay me any commission as of 1/2/23.
As of 2022 Adam's closed on over 100 properties.
Adam's father (see legacy section) is an invaluable resource, available at times for co-listings, does residential & commercial, and has cumulatively likely personally sold higher volume than any SE VA agent still active.
Adam can do commercial or residential real estate, land only or land with structure(s). Whenever commercial is involved, he brings his father into the equation as an invaluable resource since Adam has done more residential than commercial, while his father has much more experience than he does with commercial.
Related Facts:
Adam is good with math & good with words. He scored in the top 2 percentile on the SAT in math and scored an 80/80 on the writing skills PSAT.