Selecting a Realtor®: From Consultation to Commitment

I'd like to touch upon methodology. I've delineated in the Services section of my website many ways the Sale or Purchase of a home can be approached with my help.

In reality, the strategies applied to your transaction may involve all (or only a few) of the myriad choices available to you as an existing or soon-to-be homeowner.

From day to day, it is important for me to differentiate between the informal solicitation stage that occurs prior to signing a contract, and actually having a contractual commitment from a client who is fully prepared to transact.

As a Realtor, I see those as completely different levels of service. A committed client deserves all of my attention, and full service. I am seeking to aid a party that wants to work with me, which means I have the fiduciary duty to produce results.

In selecting a Realtor, you have chosen a person who will provide a service to you for the next 90 to 180 days, at minimum. Make sure to interview this person and see if you mesh.

You probably have an idea of how you want to do things. See if your Realtor is willing to listen, because you know your home best. Are you able to articulate its prime features, as well as your favorite aspects of the community you live in? Has your Realtor understood your point of view? What is her take?

Each Buyer and Seller is an individual. Your Realtor will be able to get a sense of how to pitch both you and your property in a way that appeals to the other side.

If you're looking to sell your home, please keep in mind that the buyer you transact with may not be from the same neighborhood, or part of your immediate network. The Buyer who ends up making a purchase within a Seller's contract period oftentimes is a complete stranger; from another city, another state, or even another country. Will your Realtor be able to get along with practically anyone?

Timing is a key factor in any successful close. A buyer is attracted to your home based on immediate needs, whatever those needs may be. 

Who is your target audience? Recall what you were like when you bought your home all those years ago. Now expand your audience to anyone who is likely to purchase a home right now.

Use your Realtor as a buffer to transact. She is going to be the one interacting with the Seller or Buyer, or their respective agents. In this way, you can command Market Price for your property and sell to, or be, the buyer who gets the most utility out of a subject property in the near term. 

On the buying side of a transaction, having a Realtor is critical. It can boil down to an accepted offer, or not. This is especially so if you are one of several offers.

A buying agent is responsible for bringing both financially vetted and serious buyers. Listing agents rely on a huge network of Realtors to bring buyers, else homes would stay on the market for much longer than they do.

The idea is to put the right buyer with the right home, and still provide both parties with enough choices to ensure they are comfortable with the final offer and acceptance.

A Realtor is prolific in assessing the quality of homes at various price ranges in many locales. This enables her to reign you in by setting a bidding limit, to push you forward if you can (and should) stretch your budget, and to offer insight and other recommendations based on current market conditions.

Get in touch with me for a consultation if you are thinking of buying or selling a home.