Nationally and on a local level we've seen an increase in real estate teams. Usually a team starts when one agent has more business than they can handle. And, generally, the first person hired is an administrative support person. If business continues to grow, the agent moves into handling more listings and fewer buyers and hires a buyer's specialist for that piece of the business. Some teams eventually grow to have quite a few buyer specialists. And, in some cases, the original agent assumes a "rainmaker" role and functions more in a business development/management role while others handle the actual real estate transactions.

From a real estate agent's perspective, perhaps the most attractive thing about the team concept is the ability to have someone there to cover your business when you want time off. After all, as a one person company in a 7 day a week business it can be tough to manage those times you need a vacation.

But let's take a minute and talk about what the advantages and disadvantages are for you as the buyer or seller. Typically, when someone who is part of a team is asking for your business they argument is that they can better serve you because they're not spread as thin. There's certainly some truth in that.

But it also depends on the caliber of the individuals on a given team. While the agent at the top of the team is almost certainly a seasoned professional, that's often not true of everyone on the team. In many of the teams operating locally there seems to be a fair amount of turnover. And while the top agent may be the person who initially makes contact with you, after that initial appointment you're unlikely to deal directly with them most of the time.

The other potential down side of a team is that shared responsibilities always has the potential for creating gaps. Hand offs can mean things fall through the cracks.

I'd argue that one great agent may actually serve your interests better than a team if that team is inexperienced and doesn't have good systems in place.

If you're talking to someone about their team, make sure you find out more than just about the the team leader. Who will be working with you on a day to day basis? How much experience do they have? How much access will you have to the team leader?

The truth is either a team or an individual agent can give you spectacular service. It's up to you to ask the right questions and make sure you understand what you're getting when you hire anyone, agent or team.

As always, you need to do your homework!