Making Contact With Only One Agent...Why?

As I've said a number of times before, I was 100% sure of the area I wanted to buy in. So certain was I, I also even knew the street! Having holidayed a number of times in the area, I was aware of various new housing developments that had sprung up in recent years, and a flat in one of those seemed ideal for me.

This was something I explained to my agent. As such, she was able to email me details of five or six properties that seemed suitable for me.

Let's provide a little bit of background at this point. I've subsequently learnt that all U.S. property that is for sale is displayed on a MLS - a Multiple Listing Service. A MLS is an information-sharing network or database for estate agents (or "realtors") in a particular region or city. An estate agent can use their local MLS to look for ALL suitable properties for a particular buyer by area and/or price range.

This is different to what I experience in the UK. Here, mainly due to how estate agents get their fees paid, the majority of properties that are on the market are only available through the instructed agent. If I was giving advice about property buying in the UK, I'd tell you to speak to as many agents as you can possibly stand!

Therefore, being in contact with only one agent won't hinder your property search at all!