Everyone’s time is limited so given the flood of inexperienced newbies in our field, an old adage is you get what you pay for. The real value of a real estate practioner is made more difficult because of only what the consumer sees. Alot of the time put in on a normal transaction is typically spent behind-the-scenes. The best value isn’t always the lowest price. So how does one determine the elements of full value in the services of a real estate professional? Here are the areas you should be concerned with:
Functionary Duties: These would be the activities seen by the public that the real estate professional does in each transaction. For example, measuring the home, hanging lock boxes, delivering flyers, typing the listing/selling contracts which, in the eyes of the public, does not equate to thousands of dollars in income.
Compliance Duties: The standard contract has gone from a couple of pages to a bundle of disclosures, addendums, inspections, affidavits, disclaimes, reports, acknowledgements and amendments all interwoven by time frames, receipts, authorizations and approvals, all with their unique consequences and ramifications for buyers and sellers of real estate.
Fiduciary Duties: These duties are what the public doesn’t see. This relationship is based on trust and their is an absolute duty of fairness, honesty and competence expected from the professional. This means that education, training, commitment and mastering of all the technical and legal issues of the real estate business is in the hands of the real estate professional.
Here are some expectations of a top professional:
COURTESY – this includes, but not limited to, being on time, returning phone calls promptly and fulfilling commitments.
THOROUGH ANALYSIS – includes, but not limited to, making sure you fully understand the real estate process.
STRATEGY – includes, but not limited to, a step-by-step process of achieving your best option.
ADVICE/COUNSEL – includes, but not limited to, advising and counseling under the legal boundaries of the professional’s real estate license. When asked by a client what to do it is necessary to respond in a way to help these clients make a decision based on their options. A professional should know all the options.
COMPARABLE MARKET ANALYSIS (CMA)- listen to a professional on this one. A CMA gives the seller the data to be able to price their home correctly. If the price is too high, the best qualified buyers won’t get to see it because they will be looking at homes in their price range. Two sets of data determine how to price a home; 1) what others have recently paid for nearby homes with similar attributes and 2) homes that are currently listed for sale as competition with similar attributes.
MORTGAGE REVIEW – be prepared to receive several lender’s names to chose from as a professional has relationships with many affiliates in the real estate industry.
TITLE REVIEW – a professional will order a Title Commitment before taking a listing and in the early stages of the purchase transaction. This would reveal any known liens attached to the property.
ESTIMATE OF NET PROCEEDS – for sellers, a professional will offer an estimate based on what the seller owes on the property and what costs might be requested during the sale. This will give a seller a very close idea of the amount of money they have for their next real estate purchase.
REVIEW OF THE SETTLEMENT STATEMENT – there should be no surprises at the closing table. A settlement statement should be reviewed prior to reaching the closing table and each party, buyer and seller, will know exactly what will transpire AT the closing table.
All of the above elements should fall into place when working with a real estate professional. If any of these are missing, you didn’t get full value. However, if your professional behaved upbeat, on- the- ball, honest, caring and efficient, you should feel confident that you also received high quality professional service. If you feel you got a trusted advisor instead of a salesperson, you definitely got your money’s worth!
Call your R.S.V.P. Team, Your Real Estate Resource Team and you can be sure to get your money’s worth!
Shari Webb
(307) 286-0470
