What You May Not Know About Your Realtor

What You May Not Know About Your Realtor and the Adversarial Nature of Real Estate--This is a tough Industry to work in and as a Realtor you have to have certain skills in order to help and protect your clients. The basic nature of the transaction is adversarial. The Buyer wants the best price and everything fixed and the Seller may or may not be in a position to meet the Buyers needs. It is a complex and delicate dance to achieve your client's goals and to protect them.

Advising the Client--We all talk about knowledge and providing information to our clients and so for now, we will assume as a given that your Realtor is knowledgeable. What we may not always realize is that delicate balance of having a smooth transaction and the vigilant attention your Realtor is giving to every aspect of the transaction. Our main responsibility is to protect our client through a complex and overwhelming experience. Explaining and providing knowledge to help the client move through this landscape safely is key.

I am not by nature adversarial--I personally enjoy life and meeting people and getting to know them. I have managed to go through my career(s) with this same outlook on life but there are times when the ability to calculate risk(s) and formulate a plan to address this risk(s) is necessary. Not only do you have to SEE the risk but you must respond with multiple perspectives to move through a given situation. Informing your client is the first priority and given a thorough discussion, a mutual decision is made regards action. Given this decision then the Realtor must interact with the other Agency/Realtor to communicate and resolve the issue. At times, it is very clear that you will not be going forward and other times it will require communication, negotiation and astute observation of further risks for your client. The complexity of it is delicate and requires experience and skills.

Practicing Safe Real Estate--The basis of safe real estate is to base the transaction on a comprehensive set of full disclosures and a thorough investigation of the property by the Buyer through inspections. As a Realtor, we as well are looking for physical evidence of anything that might require attention. I work very hard in educating my clients that they have responsibilities in purchasing or selling real estate. I am servicing their needs in a advisory capacity and will negotiate and facilitate their transaction. I will NOT however do those things that are their responsibility (disclosures, repairs and/or due diligence or discovery on a given property). I will at every turn facilitate and educate on how and why we do what we do.

Real Estate is a TEAM Effort--As with any TEAM project, each member has their responsibilities and buying or selling real estate is not different in that aspect. Your Realtor will work to protect your interests in the transaction and you as the Seller or the Buyer will have responsibilities as well. Understanding the role of the Realtor is key. Negotiating and resolving any risks that arise will be the professional level of skill and experience that your Realtor provides to help you reach your real estate goals.

Real Estate Come in Many Flavors--all transactions are unique and so after the goals are established it is the responsibility of your Realtor to help you define, implement and accomplish your goal. It may be a probate or foreclosure that require unique or out of the box solutions. It may be a new home that requires the understanding of working with developers. It may be your first home and it may be your retirement home. You may be relocating to a new area and need local information. Long years of experience and education come to play on your behalf as your Realtor works hard to make the transaction smooth and safe. As with an Team effort, it is always wonderful to share the rewards of having met and achieved the GOAL.