Ask Renee: What A Realtor Does

Hello, Renee Hahn, Downey Frye Realty. This is Ask Renee, where I tackle some of the most common questions asked by home buyers and home sellers. Today I want to talk about a question that I haven't been asked directly, but it has come up in more casual conversation around what exactly does a realtor do for their clients. And we'll talk about it on the buying side and then move over to the selling side. So on the buying side, these are generally the things that you can count on to— in terms of services from a realtor. But I want to stress that if you get a really, really good realtor such as me— not to self-promote or anything— but if you get a really good realtor, they're going to do things that that are there to make your life easier on the buying and selling side. And I'll talk a little bit about that. But generally speaking, on the buying side, your realtor should be there to listen to what your needs, wants, and desires are in terms of purchasing property. They then should synthesize that with their knowledge of the area and be able to make recommendations on what parts of the community, the city, neighborhoods that would best align to what your desires and needs are. So that's the first part. They're there to educate you and do a little bit of matchmaking. That is a, both a science and an art when it comes to making sure that somebody can really understand and ask the right questions you as a home buyer to get you to a point where you can articulate what those desires and needs are, and they then can make some proposals. Then they're there to give you access to see properties that could align with what your desires are. This is particularly important in places like Florida where there are several communities that are gated, and the only way to gain access to those communities outside of open houses where they may temporarily or short-term open the gates. You need a realtor to be able to access both the community and the property. So they're there to serve as a, you know, an agent on your behalf to get you into homes again that they've already hopefully worked with you to down-select that get as close as possible to what you've described you've described and articulated as your needs. Then once you find a property, they're there to educate you on the considerations. What are the amenities in those communities? What are the costs of living in those communities? What does the potential resale consideration look like for that property in those communities? They're also there to do research on what homes in that community are selling for. So if you find a community that you're in love with, then you identify a house that really talks to you. They've gotta help you make sure that you bring a competitive offer that's within your budget, but that's also going to serve as a inroad to helping you purchase that home. So being able to be educated and informed on what a competitive offer would look like— and that doesn't just include the price, but all the other considerations and terms that go into a buyer and seller agreeing on a contracted arrangement. Once you get a contract on a home that you want to purchase, they are then there to guide you through the process of closing. Everything from inspections to working with service providers if you're lining up any work to be done on it, to helping you get connected with mortgage brokers and making sure that you've got access to financing if that's what you needed. Now, I kind of put that out of order because hopefully if you didn't have a mortgage broker that you were already working with when you came into contact with the realtor on the very front end, they've worked with you to make sure you've gone through enough of the process to get pre-approved. But again, a part of the role they play is to introduce you to those resources that are there to help you. And then there's a relationship hopefully that continues well after the close, and there's them supporting you for your current and future needs. Associated with that property and any others. Now let me switch— shift to the selling side. When you work with a Realtor® on the selling side, their purpose is obviously to help you get connected with buyers who would potentially be interested in purchasing your property. So everything they do in that arrangement is to support that, and it starts on the front end with coming to you with comparative market analysis, a really thorough job of looking at the activity in your community, in your surrounding radius, some of the factors in the economy and the real estate market, and educating you on what that market is projecting your value of your property to be, what they think they could reasonably list that property for, and what the home is likely to sell for. Now, that part is not, um, you know, an mathematical equation that can accurately predict exactly what your home will sell for, but a good agent will do a thorough job of looking at all the factors and get pretty close to projecting how quickly your home may sell based on the condition it's in, based on how well it shows, based on what the activity is for that area and that community. And all the other factors that influence what your home will sell for and when it will sell. The other thing they do after they've come forward and told you what they think the appropriate list price is on the home is they are actively marketing your house, and that could be holding open houses, it could be putting together an attractive real estate brochure for your property for those that come and see it. It would be putting together an advertising, advertising strategy to make sure that your home is, is noticed and differentiated amongst the competition. And there are a lot of different activities within that that I won't go into the details on in this video, but there's a huge marketing function to be able to connect with buyers to sell your home. They are also there to provide you guidance and feedback on how the home is showing and what prospective buyers have been saying about your property. They're there to keep a pulse on what the market is doing and propose any changes in, in course or action that might be appropriate to take based on that activity. Then when there is a buyer that becomes interested in your property, they should be following up with that real estate agent to make sure that they understand where that buyer is at. Is there interest in the property? If there's expressed interest, is it a qualified buyer? You don't necessarily always know but you wanna do your due diligence to make sure that you're not wasting time with buyers who are not qualified to even purchase your property. They do all of that activity and ultimately represent you in the negotiating process to make sure you get a fair and competitive offer on your property and to terms that will benefit you and work towards a successful close. And much like on the buying side, once you have an agreed-upon contract, They're there to ensure a smooth closing process all the way through. That is interacting with the agent to make sure that the mortgaging process has started if your, if your buyer is financing, making sure that the contingency deadlines are watched and communicated and updated on, making sure that the appropriate documents that are required get passed on to the buyers, whether those are condo association documents or HOA documents, or brochures that are required to be shared with buyers. They are also there to make sure that the inspection happens, and that there may be another negotiating process that happens as part of the ex— inspection outcome. Then they're there to work with the brokers, the mo— on the mortgage side, and everyone else, the title company, to make sure again there's a smooth closing. And as I said with the buyers, hopefully if you've got a great real estate agent, They are supporting you beyond the close of your home with any of your real estate needs, both current and future. I hope that answers your question about what a realtor does on behalf of you. Again, a really special, great realtor will do some of those things that are above and beyond the basics that I've talked about. If you are in need of a real estate agent to help you with your buying or selling needs, I hope that you will give me the opportunity to talk to you about how I can support you. Again, Renee Hahn, Downing Fry Realty, 239-287-2576. Have a great day!