Frequently Asked Questions

Trust is the single most important factor in a successful working relationship with your Realtor; you want to trust your Realtor both personally and professionally.

How do you know if you can trust your agent personally? Talk to them! Are they demonstrating genuine interest in your story by asking questions and taking time to learn who you are and what you want to achieve? Are they actively listening to you and confirming they understand you correctly? Are they rushing you through a process, or ensuring that they are moving at a pace that you are comfortable with?

How do you know if you can trust your agent professionally? Here is where data matters. Start by looking for verifiable results, public reviews, deep experience, and a consistent pattern of client satisfaction—not just what an agent claims. Any reputable agent should be willing to show you their performance history, professional designations, and examples of past work.

For example, The Chabris Group has earned over 2,000 five-star reviews. In fact, we have served 4,803 clients over the past 20 years for over $1.26B in sales volume. We believe data speaks louder than promises, and these independent metrics help you judge whether our track record and experience align with your expectations.

If trust is the foundation of any great fiduciary relationship, such as working with a Realtor, then clear expectation-setting around availability, preferred forms of communication, and response times is essential. You should also feel comfortable asking tough questions and expecting direct answers—good agents don’t avoid transparency. In fact, we believe one of the hallmarks of a great Realtor is providing all relevant information to our clients—even if it means losing a sale or determining we are not the right fit for a client.

Independent sources like public review platforms and MLS statistics give the most objective insight. Look for patterns across hundreds of reviews, not a handful, and evaluate whether an agent has handled situations similar to yours.

The Chabris Group makes this simple by publishing our 2,007 verified five-star reviews across multiple platforms such as Google, Zillow, and Facebook (www.askTCG.com/reviews). We also offer our clients over 260 years of collective experience in residential and investment real estate sales. We lend this experience to you to ensure a smooth transaction with as little stress as possible.

Oftentimes, the first decision you make in choosing your representation is between an individual agent and a sales team. Generally speaking, large-scale real estate sales teams do yield better results than individual agents. That being said, there are two disadvantages to working with a large-scale sales team:

• The potential for a poor customer experience if the sales team lacks tight coordination among members; and

• Some people prefer a single point of contact, even if the quality of service is generally higher with a team.

How do real estate teams generally outperform individual agents? It comes down to three core benefits:

Specialization & commensurate expertise across all stages of the process: Large teams divide responsibilities such as marketing, transaction coordination, negotiating, etc., so each step is handled by someone who does that task more frequently and thus builds a higher level of competence to perform on your behalf.

Consistent availability and coverage: With multiple licensed agents and staff, you are not left waiting for long stretches of time for a response or for service when your agent is in appointments, on vacation, or dealing with another client’s transaction. Lack of agent availability can be a high source of stress and anxiety in the middle of a transaction; this is avoided with a large-scale sales team.

Greater market visibility and deal flow: High-volume sales teams have much larger marketing budgets to deploy on behalf of their sellers to maximize their home’s value in the market (for example, The Chabris Group spends over $20,000 per month on marketing, which enables our clients to regularly net an extra 1% of their asking price in the market). Additionally, high-volume sales teams offer more off-market opportunities and earlier access to new inventory.

Experience helps agents recognize patterns, anticipate challenges, and navigate complex situations more effectively. You want a Realtor who has already handled the issues you might face—not someone figuring it out for the first time.

Our history of over 4,800 completed transactions and over 260 years of collective residential and investment real estate experience provides a broad base of real-world scenarios we draw from. In fact, we serve over 600 clients per year, ensuring that we have our fingers on the pulse of the market of the moment and can translate that knowledge into superior guidance for you through your transaction.

This is a great question! Oftentimes, the very thing that makes agents successful—great service and great communication—is the first thing that is sacrificed as they grow busier. Be sure to ask your prospective agent:

1. how communication is handled;

2. who backs up your primary agent when they are busy or out of town; and

3. what turnaround times you can expect when communicating.

We believe this is one of the great differentiators of a high-functioning real estate sales team. A reliable system matters more than promises. Because The Chabris Group has dedicated administrative professionals to handle the frequent communication and details of a closing, and because we are a 40+ agent team (speaking five languages), we can guarantee coverage even when your individual agent isn’t available. The goal is to ensure continuity of communication without compromising the level of service.