What Does A Realtor Do?

I was driving down the road a few months ago with some clients of mine. We were heading to look at homes that they were potentially interested in purchasing. Mr. Buyer looked at me and said, “so if I have access to all of the homes that are for sale on the internet, what exactly do you do for me?” He and Mrs. Buyer had hired me to help them sell their current home and purchase their new home so he was joking of course but it did make me realize that there are probably some misconceptions and questions as to what I do exactly.

There are two main areas of my business. These include helping buyers purchase a new home and helping sellers sell their existing homes. These are two totally different realms with very different job descriptions so I have decided to talk about helping buyers in this entry and I will write about helping sellers at a later date.

Watching a buyer’s face light up when they walk in the door and fall in love with a home that I am showing them is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. Having the knowledge and ability to transfer that excitement into a successful purchase and enjoyable experience is the reason I have a job.

The client who I mentioned above was absolutely correct, there is little value in my house “finding” services for a buyer who is tech savvy and does a lot of internet searching. For example, all listings in Minnesota and Western Wisconsin that are listed on the Multiple Listing Service can be found by visiting the Home Search section at NewmanSellsHomes.com. You can even set-up a customized search that will alert you whenever there is a new listing that comes on the market.

There is a way that I can bring value to you during the house hunting process. Once you have determined where you would like to live, I am able to network with over 3000 agents within my company alone as well as several other agents with whom I have built a working network to find out about new listings before they even come on the market.

So with the exception of my ability to find out about pre-listings, if you are able to find homes on your own on the internet why should you hire me? I personally believe that a Realtor brings more value to the real estate transaction now more than ever. Transactions have become increasingly more complicated with longer purchase agreements and more and more litigation. I can help you through the twists and turns and hopefully avoid any issues in the future.

As I am looking at homes with my buyers, I can help give opinions on how homes compare to one another. I can point out positives and negatives for resale and can help determine the correct offer price. Once my buyers have located the home they would like to put an offer on, I always provide them with recent comparable sales to help them determine a price they are comfortable paying.

My experience with negotiating has become a key point of value for my clients. I am able to sort out the important points of the offer and take out the emotional aspects to help get the best price possible for my clients.

I personally believe one of the most important jobs I hold is making the entire transaction a walk in the park for my clients. I will explain the entire process from start to finish and make sure every piece of the puzzle is in place. This will ensure that there will be no questions, problems, or hiccups through closing and beyond.

There are so many other aspects that I help work with on a daily basis such as explaining earnest money, financing options, financing addendums and dates, inspections, tax proration, and much more.

For the person who is on the internet and has their home search under control you can see that finding homes may not be my biggest asset but rather the knowledge and experience I bring to the entire transaction may be the best reason to contact me when thinking about making a move!