Real Estate Reality Check: The 8 Roles of the Real Estate Agent

Have you ever compared your home search today to that of your parents or grandparents? Have you ever asked them what the role of a real estate agent was…and received the reply: ‘They found me a house’. Yet in today’s digital era of literally everything, 9 out of 10 home shoppers rely on the Internet as their primary search source for homes. In a comprehensive study conducted by the National Association of Realtors & Google, it’s called the ZMOT: Zero Moment of Truth – the notion that shopping is no longer about showing up in one store (or office) to pursue the product in demand. Today’s marketplace not only allows, but perpetuates, an empowered consumer generation that shops multiple channels at their own pace, in their own time.

On the surface in our industry, it begs the question of what an agent REALLY does if they are NOT exclusively finding your home. But it shines a great deal of light on the impact and importance of the many other hats that your agent wears that have little to do with finding your home, and every part of you achieving it.

Role #1: Your Destination Detective

You probably have a designated area in which you want to live, but how do you know if you are looking in all of the potential ‘right’ neighborhoods for you? Your agent is educated on school scores, commute times, community features, price points and desirable (and undesirable features)  of comparable areas within your parameters. Why not let your agent be your artist and paint the full picture of your options?

Role #2: Your Personal Market Analyst

Is your dream home priced appropriately per square foot? Are you overpaying for any recent upgrades or amenities? Is the length of time planned in your home in accordance with any projected market dips? Does your buy/sell timeline have flexibility? Could turning your primary home into an investment make sense given the current rental market? These are just a few of the many areas in which we maintain an ever-present market pulse.

Role #3: Your Lifestyle Coach

Chances are you know exactly what you want out of life; our job is to make sure you find where it can happen. Making sure your home and community reflect who you are, who you want to be and what you wish to be surrounded by is just about our favorite thing to do!

Role #4: Your Trustworthy Accountability Partner

When you begin your home search, you likely have a clear set of parameters regarding budget, size, make-or-break features, etc. Fast forward three weeks and you will feel like saying 'yes' to anything if you can just get this thing over with! We are here to keep you true to your original goals, hopes, timeline and help you consider reasonable (but not desperate!) deviations along the way.

Role #5: Your (Detailed) Tour Guide

You could walk into just about any home and find the bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen – no problem. But are you able to identify the features that impact the home’s ongoing cost of ownership? Do you know the average cost of the immediate repairs? Do some parts of the home inspection look like Greek? We can decipher the good, bad and great plus estimate the bottom line of what it all means. (We’ve been known to arm wrestle over who has the best eye for detail…and drive each other crazy with it too.)

Role #6: Your Transaction Therapist

We recently had a client who was convinced: #myrealestateagentismytherapist. While we aren’t licensed in that industry (yet), we have been known to walk a homeowner off a ledge or two when buyer’s remorse sets in, and navigated some pretty rough waters when timelines don’t run as smooth as hoped. Whether listening to your fears, setting realistic expectations or generating some highly creative problem-solving, rest assured we are not only on your team, we strive to be your security net throughout your transaction.

Role #7: Your Never-Give-Up Negotiator

The great compromise of a real estate contract does not end once a price is agreed upon. Length of contingencies, allowable days for rent backs, proper disclosure of home condition…these are just a few of the ways in which we protect your best interests so you not only get the home, but you enter it in the condition and time frame you have come to understand and expect.

Role #8: Your Biggest Fan

Most clients think we see our job as done once you submit an offer and get it accepted. But it’s not over then, nor even when you get the keys to your home. Our job is complete when you are unpacked, settled in and you make your ‘Open House’ guest list to share your new residence with your family and friends. If we made the list – then our job is done!

Cheers to many hats & one goal: home!

Mark & Jason

team@homesofsv.com