There are big and small real estate companies. There are real estate companies that operate out of an agent's home. There are even real estate companies with a couple of agents that telecommute for work every day. It begs the question: Who do you hire when you want to hire a real estate company and/or an agent? In truth, it is not the size of the company, it is how you use it. Here are some uses and services you can get from most real estate companies and agents, and how to maximize them when you are dealing with a smaller company.

Listings

You can list your house with just about anybody. However, listing it with a smaller real estate company may result in lower listing fees and a faster sale. Smaller companies are attempting to compete with the bigger ones and may be more motivated to prove themselves in the business. As such, a smaller real estate company may be able to sell your home faster or offer you terms of sale that are more agreeable (e.g., sell your home in 120 days or buy your home outright from you).

Open Houses to View

Your agent has direct access to every notice about every open house in the city and when it is going to happen. When you give an agent from a smaller company a time frame to view open houses, the agent can devote more time to finding and narrowing down exactly the houses that might interest you and might have an open house soon. Then they can set up times to either meet you at these open houses or give you the information if you would like to peruse on your own first.

Closing on a House

Want to squeeze in a quick closing on a house? Real estate agents from smaller companies are not trying to juggle as much as agents from larger companies. Additionally, some smaller real estate companies have their own in-house real estate lawyers and deed transfer people. That means that all of these people from one company meet at one location on the day of your choosing and close on the house, and nobody has to wait for a third party person to show up to notarize documents or produce the deed to the property and house you want. Money exchanges hands in the same place too, thereby providing you with plenty of witnesses to the transaction.