With easy access to see homes on the internet, it is becoming commonplace for both buyers and sellers to believe they can save a few dollars by handling the searching, marketing, negotiating, and legal process of making the biggest purchases of their lives by themselves. Sounds crazy when you put it that way – doesn’t it? Add the new normal of social distancing to the equation, and I ask, as a seller, how should you safely market your home? As a buyer, how do you keep yourself safe when you go out to see homes. These are valid concerns and just a few of the reasons that hiring a licensed Realtor should be THE secret to your success.
What is the Role of an Agent?
Merriam Webster defines the word, “agent” as, “one who is authorized to act for or in the place of another”.
Let’s make a list of how your agent should navigate you through buying or selling your home so that you can focus on your life and mitigate the stresses and potential pitfalls that you could encounter:
Pricing the home correctly when selling.
Acting as your fiduciary with privacy and confidentiality.
Professionally marketing your property. A good agent will invest anywhere between 15% - 25% of their potential commission to appropriately market your home.
Work with industry connections to find potential buyers who may not see your home as they peruse the internet sites in their free time, or who have not set up the correct criteria to have alerts about your home sent to their email.
Knowledge of the local rules, regulations, and required documents to purchase or sell your home.
Communicating often to report the status of your purchase or the sale of your home. This means with you, other agents, attorneys, lenders, title companies, etc.
Making sure a buyer is properly qualified to purchase your home.
Assisting you as a buyer to become pre-approved.
Help you to find the home according to your desires – including counseling on location, neighborhood, schools, and most importantly helping you to be focused on what you are looking for – not just being a taxi service to look at every home in your price range.
Point out potential concerns or benefits to a property.
Researching and evaluating the market within the neighborhood you are purchasing in. This is crucial because the agent does not have an emotional attachment to the home you are selling or the one you are looking to purchase.
Negotiate and give advice on the best offer – whether purchasing or selling. This expert knowledge of the area, homes, and the market is invaluable for you – if you go at it alone, you could be paying or leaving thousands of dollars on the table.
Helping you to pick a home inspector.
Attending the home inspection with you and going over the results and further actions necessary.
Assisting to execute all contracts correctly.
Assuring that all deadlines are correctly adhered to or amended.
Assuring that all loose ends are tied up prior to closing.
Will every agent take ownership of these items? Can you as a buyer or seller attempting to transact a real estate deal for your most valuable asset accomplish these tasks on your own amongst all the rigors of life? Unfortunately, in most cases, the answer to both questions is, “no”. This is precisely the reason you need to spend your time interviewing and hiring the best agent to represent you. Make sure the agent knows all of your concerns, goals, etc. so tell them what you expect in return.
The Opinion Juxtaposition
With the knowledge that your agent should act in your place, shouldn’t they know what you are truly seeking through the process of buying or selling your property? This does not mean they are order takers because along with working for you in your stead, they should also have strong opinions.
Over the years, I have witnessed many agents who have become “yes-men” to everything the client appears to like or says because either they don’t want to offend their client, or they are afraid of losing a potential sale. This should be a big “red flag” when interviewing an agent. They should have opinions based upon their knowledge of the market and their experience. Your agent’s position should be to use their knowledge of the area to educate you and to let you know if a property looks to have problems – especially if it means you will need to continue looking at homes.
When your agent is selling your home, you should expect them to point out flaws that potential buyers and their agents will pick out. You should expect to make fixes to your home and to invest time to making your property the best it can be so that you will not become discouraged and disheartened when a buyer does not like your home. Once you put your home on the market, you need to become hardened to the fact that the buyer does not have the emotional attachment you do and to expect their objective opinions. Your realtor should not only prepare you for this, but help you to see your home through the eyes of a buyer.
I can tell you that when you use me as your agent, when we go into a house and you ask my opinion, I will tell you if like the home or if I do not like it and the reasons why. As your agent, and the person who you are paying to provide you with expertise, I am compelled to share my thoughts. This being said, I would also tell you the things you could do to the home to improve the negatives, but I want you as my client to know that I am not agreeing to simply make a sale, I want to have your trust and respect so that you can use my experience to make the best decision for yourself and your family.
Expert Knowledge and Navigation of the Market
When I am showing homes to a buyer, I will navigate the course, but I always allow them to steer the ship and make the final decision. An agent cannot push their client because they will automatically go on the defensive and believe you are simply trying to make a sale. Your realtor should look beyond the photos of the homes you will see – they should take the time to be familiar with the street it is on; they should have spoken with the seller’s agent to find out the potential pros and cons of the home so you have an informed viewpoint to make your decision and to not waste your time. Ideally, when you have a question, your realtor should be able to answer it, or quickly find an answer. There is nothing worse than falling in love with a home and make an offer, only to find that 300 feet down the road, a stinky mink farm is in full production and the wind just happened to be blowing the opposite direction the day you saw the home.
In conclusion, don’t just hire an agent because you see their signs around town, on ads, or on the seat of your grocery cart. Your agent can and should be your secret weapon to represent your wants and desires – take the time to interview and make sure your goals align.
Always know, I am here to help you listen and achieve your goals in buying or selling your home. Please feel free to reach out anytime at (801) 885-2558 or email me at brandonrwood19@gmail.com