Who Is Your Realtor?
Why you should
choose one Realtor to help you buy a home.
I went to a
conference several years ago where the speaker had talked about it. How when
people were asked, “Who is your Doctor?” they could answer the question
immediately. “Who is your Dentist?”
Same. “What Nail Salon do you
like?” Almost every service job and
answer came immediately. Why doesn’t the same principle apply to the question
“Who is your Realtor?”
Your home is your
single largest financial asset and yet people will choose someone who is in the
business part time or a friend that they know “sells houses” but doesn’t have
the experience to best serve the client.
What’s worse is some buyers go from one open house to another without
any representation until they find a house they like and then begin the negotiations
with the Listing Agent! People believe
that by negotiating with the Listing Agent that agent will be more willing to
negotiate with them because they want
DOUBLE the commission. I think nothing could be farther from the truth.
The Listing Agent
has been hired by the SELLER to
represent them. Their job is to get the most
amount of money for the seller. They
do not work for you.
If you choose one Realtor
to work for you as a Buyers Agent, they work for YOU. Their job is to get you the best price for a house and to advise you as what the
market comparables look like, what the fair market value is, what past sales
look like, as well as what strategies we utilize regarding when to put in an
offer. The list is endless. It amazes me
that people do not research their Realtor’s qualifications before beginning
their house searching process and choose one Realtor to represent them to get
them the best price for a home.
If you needed your
appendix removed, would you choose the doctor who has just begun his career? Or would you take the surgeon who is well
known in this field and whose personality and skill match your own?
There is a major difference between a Realtor who
works part time in this field and one
who has been in the business a while.
Negotiating is a skill. Picture it as if it were a surgery where you get
better the more you do it. If you only did one appendectomy prior to being
hired, don’t you think a surgeon who does 5 surgeries a day would be better at
it?
In today’s market
with inventory being so low and multiple offers being common practice, you need
an agent who is readily available, knows the paperwork necessary to present a
formal offer, and can look out for your best interest by having a network of
lenders and attorneys to recommend to you to give you the best and most
options.
There are so many
other considerations to take into account.
For instance making sure Certificates of Occupancy or CO’s are in place,
attending the engineering inspection and knowing what falls under “normal
sellers representations” to protect your client, and attending the appraisal
and knowing how to reposition your deal if the appraisal falls short.
Do your
research. If you are choosing a new
restaurant don’t you look at the reviews of new places to go? What are the Realtor’s reviews? How many homes has the Realtor sold? What is that Realtor’s local knowledge of the
neighborhoods you are interested in?
There is a major
difference between Realtors based on their education and a Realtor based on
their experience. Do you research - so the next time someone asks you “Who’s
you Realtor?” you will be confident answering as you will any other question.
~Meg Smith
Broker/Owner
Meg Smith and Associates Real Estate
