The majority of Realtors will invest more patience on mantaining relationships with past clients than we ever do with the people who could very well be our next clients.

Mantaining a connection with past clients is important and good business practice as the potential for referral business can provide Realtors with a flow of new business. I have known Realtors who in the twilight years of their careers relied completely on referrals from past clients for their business.

But realistically when will you benefit most from the information a Realtor has to offer, before or after you buy? Most people want to learn to swim before they get in the water, not after.

The person who has yet to purchase a home is more likely to buy within the next 4 or 5 years than the person who is still settling in to the home they just purchased. 

The mindset of both the Realtor and the public at large has become faulted when it comes to the true scope of the Realtor - Client relationship, here is why.

Some will not call a Realtor until it is absolutely necessary to do so, usually to view or list a home.

In todays world we are growing increasingly guarded against marketing in general and rightfully so. The weekend news paper is 3/4 advertising leaflets. TV pumps more 30 second ads out then actual content. Email spam, endless streams of leaflets in your door and mail box, calls from charities and sales people, knocks at the door from persistent and often obnoxious strangers trying to get us to convert our gas and electric service or brand of religion. It is overwhelming and it puts us in an almost permanent defensive mode.

Given all that, why would anyone want to call a Realtor, essentially a sales person, more than a minute before they absolutely have to list or go look at a home they just saw? 

The other side of that same coin is Realtors have come to expect that if someone has crossed that invisible barrier and made themselves known  to be a likely candidate for a real estate transaction then they must be ready to roll asap. 

That is a shame because one of the most important and valuable components of what a professional Realtor can provide rarely gets utilized. For home buyers that is the process of educating and preparing the client for the process and challenges of buying and owning real estate, obtaining good financing and knowing how to value one home over another. For sellers that is simply taking the time through the assistance of a Realtor to properly prepare your home to sell at the highest price the market will bare.

What we end up seeing is homes prepared hurriedly a week or two prior to list in a way that does not bring out the properties full potential and makes the process far more stressful than it has to be for the vendor and buyers who don't take the advantage of monitoring the market with the assistance of a Realtor for a period of time prior to beginning to view homes leaving them uncertain of current market values and often times resulting in buyers over paying for their homes.

That factor alone is the major influence over market value increase over time. Once a home on a street sells for ten thousand over market value to an unsuspecting buyer the next home to list will use the oversold home as a comparable, after all market value is based upon examples of what the public is willing to pay for an item. 

If you were buying your first boat you wouldnt wait until the days before you expect to be sailing the high seas to start honing your nautical know how. 

A Realtor is the most valuable resource one can have in the months, even years leading up to your first or next real estate trade. A seasoned Realtor has the knowledge, resources and past experience to enlighten and prepare you for most  any eventuality.

My advice for anyone who expects to be trading real estate at some point in the future is to look for a Realtor who impresses you as being more than a pitchman. Look for someone who understands and is willing to invest up front time with you as your professional real estate advisor without applying pressure, be it a month or a few years.

If you feel a sense of urgency is needed to get them interested in your long term needs then move on to someone who will take the time to develop that kind of relationship, again, not just at the back end but far more importantly, at the front end of your buying or selling a home.