Who Is the Best Listing Agent to Sell My House in Las Vegas or Henderson? A Big Team or a Hands On Broker?

By Mike Tchobanian, Broker and Owner, Vegas Capital Realty | The Tchobanian Group

Call Mike at 702-530-5844

What you get from a big team

Large real estate teams can offer strong marketing, established systems, and experienced support staff. They are built for volume, with many team members each handling one piece of the job. That is how they get a lot of homes sold.

The team leader, the name on the billboards, the bus benches, and the TV ads, is often the reason you call. But not every team operates the same way. On some teams, the leader does not come to the listing appointment, may never visit your house, and will not be the one negotiating your offers. A team member handles your sale.

That can still be good service: good communication, a smooth process, a nice listing. What you may not get is the leader's personal attention on the decisions that set your price and protect your proceeds. In a market that rewards attention to detail, like the one we are in now, that matters.

What you get from me

I have a team too. My son Alec handles listing coordination, marketing, and transaction paperwork, and PJ handles the data and the files. That is how the work gets done on time.

But the parts of your sale that decide what you walk away with, I do myself:

• I meet you. I walk the house and tell you what it is worth and what, if anything, to do before it goes on the market.
• I price it. On recent sold homes and your current competition, not on a formula someone ran from a desk.
• I pick up the phone. When an offer comes in, I call the buyer's agent myself, find out what matters to that buyer, and read how serious they are.
• I negotiate. Repairs, credits, price, terms, until it closes and records. Not just until the listing is signed.

Where the attention shows up: a typical example

Here is what hands on looks like.

After the inspection, the buyer sends a repair request. Say it is $8,000 worth of items. A lot of sellers are willing to just do all the repairs to keep the deal together. Before I recommend agreeing to those repairs, I call the buyer's agent and find out what is actually important to this buyer and how committed they are.

Often, after that call, I find that only two or three items on the list truly matter to the buyer. Instead of agreeing to all $8,000 in repairs, we might land on a $3,500 credit. In this example, the seller does no work, keeps about $4,500 more than agreeing to the full $8,000 request, and the deal stays together.

My rule on negotiating: I will not lose your buyer over a thousand dollars. But if I can see there is room to save you a thousand dollars, I am going to push for it. Reading the buyer's temperature is the whole skill. I have been licensed since 2005 and selling full time since 2009, and it still comes down to that phone call.

Three other things I personally focus on when I represent a seller:

• I do not grab the first offer, or even the highest one. The highest offer is not always the best, depending on the financing, the timeline, and the buyer. I look at all of them.
• I call the lender. When the buyer allows it, I call the buyer's lender myself to go over the preapproval, where the loan stands, and anything that could get in the way, before I advise you on the offer. A pretty offer with weak financing is worse than no offer.
• I stay on it until it records. Not just until we go under contract.

How to choose

Interview two or three agents, including one of the big teams if you want. Ask every one of them the same questions and compare the answers. I wrote the full list here: How do I pick the right Realtor to sell my home in Las Vegas or Henderson?

The one question that matters most for this article: "Who will actually price my house, negotiate my offers, and answer my calls?" Get the answer in writing. If the name on the sign is not the name on the answer, you know what you are buying.

Frequently asked questions

Are the big real estate teams in Las Vegas bad?
No. They are built for volume and many give good service. The trade is that the team leader whose name you know may not be the person pricing your home or negotiating your offers. Ask.

What is the difference between a team leader and the agent I actually get?
On many big teams, the leader brings in the business and a team member handles your sale. Ask who will price, negotiate, and answer your calls, and get it in writing.

Does Mike Tchobanian handle the sale himself?
Yes. I meet every seller, in person or by video call if you are out of town, and I price the home, call the buyer's agent, and negotiate the offers myself. My team handles the paperwork, transaction coordination, and marketing.

Should I always take the highest offer?
No. The highest offer is not always the best. Financing, timeline, and how committed the buyer is all matter. When the buyer allows it, I call the lender to go over the preapproval before we accept.

Thinking about selling your home in Las Vegas or Henderson?

Call me. I will be the one who meets you, the one who prices your home, and the one who negotiates your sale.

Call Mike at 702-530-5844

Or email mike@vegascapital.com.

Related: How do I pick the right Realtor? | Why do some Las Vegas homes sell in a week while others sit for months?

The repair example is a typical scenario, not a specific transaction. This article provides general real estate information, not legal or financial advice.