Have you ever wondered what your Realtor(R) does when she is not showing homes to you? Is she sitting around chilling out, eating candy, waiting for the phone to ring? In a word: nope. So what are some of the tasks a good Realtor does?
For every hour I spend in your presence, I’ll generally spend 10-20 hours working on your behalf, and it’s work that you will generally not ever see — unless you ask. What tasks am I doing for you? Let’s present a few of those tasks here.
1. I’m going over property listings constantly, to see if the home that fits your requirements (location, size, floor plan, style, acreage, your method of financing, and budget) has come up. I discover a listing that fits all of your demands — except you really wanted a half-acre yard, and this one is only a quarter acre. I’ll likely send it to you anyway, so it’s important that we talk often about where your priorities REALLY lie. But if you’re financing with FHA and this home is not FHA-approved, I won’t even send it. This is one of the reasons I’m often asking you “do you want to go visit this one?” — because I’ve been shopping online for you, and I know this one hits the mark closer than ANYTHING else listed for the past days, weeks, or months.
2. I’ll go check out homes in person. If I discover that this home is the first one on the block to be gentrified, then I know that you’re probably going to be paying a premium price — and I’ll share that info with you, because I want you to get a great deal. I also attend meetings with other Realtors (and I scour Realtor- only webgroups) who announce homes they are about to list. I might get first shot at a home this way — and with the lack of inventory in Nashville, being the “early bird” is sometimes the only way to snag a super home.
3. I write up offers, counteroffers, addenda, and remain in contact with your mortgage lender. I send emails to (and call, cajole, and threaten if necessary) the folks when I need a certain form signed. I arrange and attend the home inspection, the termite inspection, and when we need to get a professional out to look at the deck or the septic tank or the roof or the… If you want a radon inspection done or an estimate on how much it will cost to get the entire house repainted, I’ll arrange that and attend that too. I will arrange for professional pictures to be taken — and attend that session too. I am there for you.
4. I smooth out bumps in the road that you may not have ever even recognized. Buyers AND sellers get emotional during the buying / selling process, and I will do my best to shield you from the high drama. And I try to keep you calm, too, so you might say that I end up serving as your “home therapist.”
5. I also maintain my professional status by attending continuing education classes, keeping my dues paid, my Sentricard updated, my marketing in order. Somehow I find time to write up a newsletter and to place posts on Facebook and on my website’s blog.
So when I act as your agent, there’s a lot that goes into that relationship. It’s all the work I do to make sure you’re happy, because my goal — always — is to get you to a better place.
