45 mins in Los Angeles isn't that far away because of the traffic.  So I would keep that, but only if it was in the San Fernando Valley.  If I am getting into other boards or a location I just can't visit too often I would refer the client.  

Jana

It depends:  By foot, bicycle or car?  (Be specific)  LOL.

 ANyway, I will go to hell and back for a saerious buyer.

John

That is why I love condo canyons. You can rach 50K people in less than onemile.

Our MLS is split by a bay/river and you have to cross the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel.  I avoid it like the plague.  Traffic can be so difficult crossing the bridge to get to Hampton and Newport news that you want to committ suicide!!  and in summer with the tourist, forget it.  Not until cars can fly.

but the other reason is I don't know this area well enough and would feel like I was doing an injustice to my client.  We have an office on that side of the river and I will refer over there to them, and they will refer to me on our side of the river.  It really is 2 different worlds.

But I will travel all the way out to suffolk, 45 minutes in the other direction.

Shelly

We a spead out here in Charleston as well, the furthest I will go is about an hour, you can really only be an expert at so much territory

For a buyer, if they are serious I will go just about anywhere.  For listings, though, I don't care to go more than 25 miles.  It's just too difficult to service the listings appropriately.  With gas prices as they are, the trips back and forth for open houses, keeping the brochure box stocked, inspections, etc. have really made me rethink the distance I will traval.

I'll go about 40 miles, I'm familiar with the whole Metro Detroit area, we have almost 5 million people here and in an area that was built for cars 40 miles isn't bad.

I've gone from Gilbert to Buckeye 3 times, its 60 miles one way.....through downtown Phoenix, past the Cardinals Stadium, past civilization, into the desert with the coyotes... I won't do it again!  I'll refer my clients. (I did sell those clients 2 houses though!)

How Far Will You Go?  Hummm

Blairsville !!!!!

Hmm....it depends.  I just listed a house I sold my buyers last year.  It's about an hour and 10 minutes from me.  Kinda far and don't like driving that far.  The house is kind of remote, so I wasn't expecting very many if any sign calls on the property.  But I went ahead and located a buyer's agent that I could refer some people over to down that way if I needed.  I emailed her a week ago today.  It took her 3 days to respond to my first email.  I emailed her the referral from and 4 days later have still yet to receive that back.  It's things like this that will force me to drive down there and work the lead myself, since I know this lady isn't quick to respond.  

If she ever does send me the referral form back, I'm going to email her back and tell her no thanks.  I had someone respond to me the same day!  

I haven't had any luck trying to find any other agents down that way yet.  None of them respond to me.  

LAZY LAZY LAZY!!!

This will be my third sale for these people once this house sells and it's been less than a year.  I sold their original home, found them a new one and sold them that one and now they need to relocate out of state for work and need to sell.  

Gotta love this business!

If you have to ask, take a stay-at-home job.

Oh I got one for ya..

I been to Hell and back with a buyer!! Yehaw

Vance

The distance isn't as much an issue with me as familiarity with the area.

Lake Havasu City AZ is only 40 minutes but so many special laws, CCRs and 'tribal customs' I refer, refer, refer in that area and know wonderful agents there.

Meadview AZ is 90 miles away and I know that area because I own property there. So it depends.

My agent pals in LA, CA go all over the place. One lives in Hollywood and just got done traveling back and forth to Palm Desert -- 2+ hour drive in the dead of night, more like 3+ in traffic --to service a client.  

Sharron, my first year in real estate I believed everything I read on the MLS, too (directions).  I got lost so many times driving in areas that I had no business being in anyway.  When I first started I was going to cover all the way from N.Everett, through Seattle to Burien and all points east of that same line.  That's a lot of territory and I wasn't too smart.

Long story short...if you have a discount electronics store available like Frye's, buy a refurbished dash-mountable GPS (if you don't have one).  You can usually get them for less than 1/2 price with a full year warranty.  I kept saying they were too expensive, but hubby found a refurb for me as a Christmas gift and I, now, cannot believe I ever relied on anything else.

I am as far West as our mls goes and I will go at least 60 miles from here to show unless I have listing further East. I have taken REO listings as far as 90mi from me and actually drove to and from to show them. But I did quit doing BPO's more than 1/2 mi from me. For $50 with gas prices it is not worth it.

["four wheel" it over bumpy country roads, only to discover that the directions are WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!]

Welcome to my world!  LOL, did that yesterday . . . I need yet another wheel alignment.

Sharron, see if your county has interactive aerial maps (if you don't already use them)  . . . or arm yourself with a Google Earth (not as good) . . .

With lonely rural areas, sometimes the only way to really find a property is to see the parcels 'from the sky'.

LOL, I wanna borrow Belinda's GPS and see if it can find some of our roads that have no name or aren't on any map -- or if they are, they changed the name but it's still the original name on the plat. TILT!  ;)

I'm glad I'm a city girl

My first trip out to the country with my new GPS to do a BPO on a rural house and acreage, Miss Daisy (my GPS name) gave me the run around. She took me down a muddy road and then told me I had "arrived at destination" to an empty field. I never did find that property even though I kept reprogramming Miss Daisy. We are no longer on speaking terms. lol

45 minutes isn't all that bad if you have properly qualified the buyer. If you are in fear of not knowing the area all that well, call the listing agent, get their feedback on the area.

Unfortunately I can not always afford to drive to Timbucktu, but I can easily afford to pre-qualify a client, offer my assistance to a point which includes ensuring they find not just an agent, but a qualified agent. Please note, this is not in reference to commission, that is often the last thing I look at and it is not a concern. My local clients get top notch service no matter the home price, but if the client is looking at million dollar homes and the buyer has been properly pre-qualified I will spend my time getting to know the area and represent the client. If after getting to know the area, I feel the client would be better served by a more local agent, then I still refer it out.

The client is the number one priority.

Is the client local to you, and relocating to the other area? They will be driving there as well, so I would be just as inclined to drive with them.

Selling homes in the other area is a WHOLE other story. That is definately a referral.

I would suggest starting off by:

1. Pre-qualifying the client

2. Asking yourself this: "What is the best interest of the client"!

That's funny Mary.  I've named my GPS voices too - there is a male and a female - Bob & Bev.  They're divorced and don't like each other - hence the snotty tone in their voices.

Vance, I've been to Hell or Hellen as I refer to sometimes. Way to far to drive from Cartersville.

I've also been to Timbucktu, it's a gas station near Elijay. Only Ga agents will know where that is probably.

Actually, I've shown house as far south as Macon. That's about 140 or so miles from Cartersville so I won't do that again. I will refer, refer, refer. I try to stay within a 60 mile radius. I haven't been to Blairsville though. I would love to sometime and stay up there for a weekend.

Sharron, Ms Snodgrass? lol.

Miss Daisy has an attitude when I don't turn EXACTLY where she says, then with a condesending tone, she says  r e c a l c u l a t i n g !

I think my GPS has PMS.

Out here in the wild west, our MLS covers almost 10,000 square miles. For land sales and listings we regularly drive 90 miles one way. We try to stay closer to home for the residential stuff.  

Sharron,

I say the same thing. The first time we went up to Helen we took the scenic route back and got lost, it took us 5 hours to get home. I knew then I had be to "Hell & Back"..