10 Things your Realtor should be doing

Do you need a little bit of awareness around what to expect from a Realtor®?  This is common, and hopefully this article helps you to be prepared for the home buying or selling process, and what to expect from your Realtor®.

1. They should come to your initial meeting prepared and have a thorough plan on how they will sell your home. If you are buying they should  have questions to help understand what you are looking for in a home. Buying or selling a home is the biggest transaction that most people will ever make.  This deserves to be treated as a very big decision and handled with care and the respect it deserves.  A Realtor® should come to your meeting with a strong understanding of how they will market your home, and what the market is doing. The plan they have and how or why it will work should be explained to you.
2. As a seller your Realtor® needs to be honest with you about what your home is worth.  They should have an analysis of the property done to tell you specifically with facts why the price is what it is using comparable homes in the area to give a market price.  Don't assume the person with the highest price quoted is doing you a favor.  They may actually get less for the home than someone else, or not even end up selling it as they were unrealistic about the market value.  That can turn off buyers immediately, and then when you start being on the market for an extended time, buyers begin to wonder what is wrong with the home even after your price gets to where it should have been up front.  As a Buyer your Realtor® should be honest with you about what you can get in your price range.  Through showing listings, and what fits your criteria you should be able to get a feel for this yourself as well.
3. The Realtor® should be prepared, and professional. They are representing you throughout the entire process.  They will be your face to everyone along the way in this process.  Their plan, pictures, description, and how they communicate with others will all be representing you.  You do not want to wonder or worry during this time, so choose someone that earns your trust and makes you feel comfortable.
4. Keeping you informed throughout the process with clear and complete communication is their responsibility.  You should always know where you stand, and what the process looks like.  The Realtor® should be able to give you a map of the process, and what step you are on.  This will help you to navigate and understand the timelines.  Delays in a sale happen, making sure that you are kept in the loop and that all paperwork is on track will do wonders for you.  They need to be able to communicate this same way with the other agent to help keep things moving smoothly as well.
5. A good Realtor® should be marketing and searching for your property through many avenues, not just the MLS.  There are several avenues to go through when trying to sell your property. A sign up in front of the home and placing on the MLS are the absolute minimum when selling.  When buying, searching the MLS is also the minimum.  Your agent should be utilizing other tools as well ranging from sending the listing to as many agents and potential buyers as possible, to searching online and in person for properties for sale by owner.
6. When listing your home, they should take great pictures and have a complementary description. Ninety nine percent of buyers use these to determine if they want to see the home. The description will also be critical in speaking to all the features of the home and painting a true and accurate picture of the property.  You only have one shot at a first impression.
7. Your Realtor® needs to make sure the financing works.  As part of the process they should be helping you to get preapproved by putting you in touch with a lender that can help you improve credit if needed, or placing you with a solid lender who can get you financed in general.  When selling a property for you, they need to be seeing the preapproval letter for a buyer who is using financing, or the proof of funds for a buyer who is paying cash.
8. A Realtor® needs to negotiate on your behalf and do a solid contract review.  These two aspects are paramount to a successful sale. They should be doing everything in their power to make sure that you have the best total deal you can get when negotiating and make sure there are no hidden issues in the contract that may ruin the deal or the experience for you.
9. They need to be at the inspection.  There is a lot going on in the inspection.  A Realtor® can be very helpful in discussing what can be done, what should be done, and what can be a lower priority.  They can help you to figure out what to ask about in negotiations that will help you be taken care of but at the same time won't make you look like you are expecting a home built in 1900 to be the same as a home built today.
10. Keep the deal together and all parties calm.  A home sale can go off the rails in different ways and it is their job to do everything they can to keep that from happening for you.  This means understanding that you or the other party may have very personal and powerful feelings for a home.  They also need to understand the importance of such a large financial decision for both parties and do their best to help everyone come out with the goals accomplished.  Creating proper expectations around time lines and issues that arise is part of this process.

     I hope this article helped you to feel prepared and up to the task.  If you have further questions or would like to talk Real Estate, feel free to reach out.  I always enjoy a good Real Estate conversation.

I would love to give you some assistance. If you are selling on your own, want to list, buy, become an investor, become an agent, or just have Real Estate questions let me know. I have past experience in Hillsdale County, Lenawee County, Jackson County, Ingham County, and really enjoy Napoleon, Grass Lake, Michigan Center, Jerome, Brooklyn, Cement City, Somerset, Addison, Jackson, and the other surrounding Michigan areas.

Korey Rowlson

Realtor® EXIT Realty 1ST

517.414.1230

Korey@ExitJackson.com

www.YourRealtyNavigator.com

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"I am a Realtor® and have been redeveloping residential homes in Jackson, and Hillsdale Counties here in Michigan since 2012. I enjoy all aspects of Real Estate, and strive to be the best Real Estate agent in Jackson, Michigan".