Before You Hire the First Agent, Read This!
- Tom Andre, Assoc. Broker, REALTOR®
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
You didn’t necessarily choose the first agent who walked through your door. Or maybe you did. Either way, somebody got there before the other one, and in real estate, that sequence matters more than most people realize - but not for the reason you think.
There’s an old saying in this competitive business:
It sounds like a consolation prize. It isn’t. It’s a strategy.
The statement can applied to winning offers or winning listings.
Because the first person to show up doesn’t always bring the best work. Sometimes they bring a confident handshake, a polished opinion, and not nearly enough evidence to support it. And when that happens, the person who shows up second -prepared, thorough, and armed with actual data - may be the one who helps the homeowner make the better decision.
I watched this play out recently with a real listing situation.
A homeowner in Roswell needed to sell a property with a complicated history: prior water intrusion, insurance claims, mold remediation, and a period of displacement. Not the simplest home to position in the market.
It was exactly the kind of situation where the seller didn’t need guesswork. They needed clarity. They needed to understand what the market was saying, what risks buyers might see, and how to move forward without leaving money or leverage on the table.
What the first agent #1 delivered
Another agent had already been through the home before I was referred to the seller by a mutual friend.
Credit where it’s due - they showed up, formed an opinion, and gave the seller a pricing recommendation with confidence in their assumptions.
Their analysis was brief and definitive. It concluded that owner-occupants were essentially out of the picture, that the buyer pool would be limited primarily to investors, and that the pricing discussion should be driven by investor return calculations.
Here’s the problem: there were no comparable sales in the report.
No MLS-backed data on comparable sales
No close examination of actual recent transactions in the same immediate market.
No meaningful discussion of days on market, pricing patterns, or how similar properties had performed.
The analysis referenced one active listing nearby, but it didn’t really unpack why that property was sitting or what the closed sales were saying. It did include rent estimates, operating expenses, cap-rate assumptions - all presented confidently, but none of it clearly sourced.
It read like a persuasive opinion piece - that would benefit someone other than the seller.
The tone was certain. The foundation was not.
For a homeowner trying to make a major financial decision, “trust me, I know the market” is not enough. Confidence matters. But confidence without evidence is just salesmanship.
What agent #2 delivered
I was referred to this client by a mutual friend because she thought things were not adding up with #1.
When I met with the seller, my goal was to help them see the situation clearly enough to make a sound decision.
I approached the property the way I believe all listings, complicated or not, should be approached:
with data
context
and a plan.
I prepared a comparative market analysis built around specific nearby sales and competing properties. It included original list prices, closing results, seller concessions, days on market, and timing - the details that help explain not just what sold, but why.
The data told a much more useful story.
Properties that were positioned correctly sold quickly and close to expectations.
Properties that missed the market sat, accumulated days on market, and eventually had to negotiate from a weaker position.
One nearby active listing had already been lingering without a contract - and it didn’t even carry the same complication this seller’s property did.
From there, I made property-specific adjustments: the home’s positioning, its prior water intrusion history, renovation quality, documentation completeness, and how transparency could either build or erode buyer confidence.
We also included the fact that the property was entirely restored, upgraded, and brought up to current construction code – all of which was a huge value-added bonus!
Most importantly, I showed the seller the reasoning:
Not just a number or price
Not just a gut feeling.
A pricing strategy they could follow, question, and verify.
I also saw the buyer pool differently.
Rather than assuming only investors would care, I looked at how owner-occupants, first-time buyers, and investors might each evaluate the property - and how the marketing, disclosures, and supporting documentation could be structured to meet their concerns directly.
The seller didn’t need hype.
They needed a path forward.
The strategy included:
A pricing recommendation grounded in comparable sales
A disclosure and documentation plan
A checklist to reduce uncertainty for buyers
A broader, more realistic buyer profile
A marketing approach designed to create confidence rather than invite suspicion
That is the difference between giving a seller an opinion and helping them make an informed decision.
Why this matters to you
When you’re hiring a professional -whether it’s a real estate agent, a financial advisor, a contractor, or an attorney - the person who gets to you first has a built-in advantage.
There’s a natural human tendency to go with whoever arrives first, sounds sure of themselves, and seems to have an answer ready.
But confidence without supporting evidence or data - is just salesmanship.
The right professional doesn’t make themselves the hero of your story. They help you make a clearer, stronger decision.
They bring the data you can check yourself.
They show their work instead of asking you to simply trust them.
They anticipate the hard questions and answer them before you even know to ask.
And that matters, because the wrong advice at the beginning of a sale can ripple through the entire transaction. It can affect your pricing, your market time, your leverage, your buyer pool, and ultimately your result.
The next time you’re deciding who to trust with a major decision, don’t automatically reward the person who showed up first.
Reward the person who showed up prepared.
Because in the real world, the best number two often helps the homeowner achieve the number-one result.
Tom Andre, Associate Broker, REALTOR® is with Atlanta Communities, specializing in north metro Atlanta residential sales since 2009. For a confidential consultation about your property, call 678-472-1934 or email him at Tom@ConsultingAndre.com
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