Here is another terrific post by one of our very talented and experienced agents Terri Taydus. She does a great job outlining what exactly it is that a realtor does, and how she and all of the agents here at Colorado Landmark go above and beyond for their clients. Check out Terri’s website and blog HERE for her original post.
Ever wonder exactly what your Realtor® does when they are not in contact with you? I know that some folks believe that assisting a buyer or seller with their home purchase / sale is just a matter of putting the home in the MLS (or searching the MLS if you are working with a buyer) and filling out some paperwork.
If you have recently bought or sold a home and it seems like it was “easy”, like “anyone could have done it” then call your Realtor® right now and thank them!
My philosophy: If I can make it look easy, and if I made you feel like my only client, then I did my job well J
THIS is what I want it to look like to my clients:
(I understand that sometimes bumps in the road are unavoidable, but even then I do my best to shelter my clients from the worst of it).
But even when you are in that sweet spot of your sale or purchase, where you are past your home inspection and appraisal, and it feels like you are just cruising to the closing table, rest assured your Realtor® is still hard at work.
As a nod to my fellow hard working Realtors® I felt compelled to write this post. As there is so much that we do, sacrifice, and accomplish behind the scenes that typically goes unrecognized (and that is how it should be – see duck photo above 😉 But next time you are at a dinner party and someone says “what DO Realtors® actually do anyway?” Here is a short list of responses to arm yourself with:
- We are on call 7 days a week (I can’t think of any other profession where you are always “on”), and many of us often work to some degree even while on vacation.
- While you are enjoying your time off (i.e. after business hours and on weekends) our business hours are heating up! Think about it – when do buyers typically want to go look at homes? When are open houses held? When are most contracts written?
- Look at the time stamp on that email you received from your Realtor® during the heat of negotiations or during a time when maybe you were having a severe case of panic during a sale or purchase – we work some crazy hours just to get the job done and keep things rolling along smoothly.
- I think all Realtors® should be licensed therapist – I love my clients, I really do, but I think I wear a therapist hat as often as I wear my Realtor® hat. It takes a lot of time and energy to peel someone from the ceiling when they are feeling anxious or are having some difficulty understanding a complicated real estate related situation – and typically both buyers and sellers go through at least a short period of needing some guidance in these areas.
- What other career can you think of where you put in the most time, and work the hardest to try and make less? You can thank your buyer’s agent as this is our goal on every transaction we assist our buyers with – we work the hardest to get you the best deal possible.
- Our families feel the pressure of our work schedules; missed school plays and sporting events, important phone calls during dinner or during other family events (you can’t “not answer” if there is an important deadline hanging in the air), last minute change of plans – especially in this competitive market…flexibility is the name of the game. I honestly think my children consider my cell phone an extension of my arm LOL!
- The countless phone calls and emails that take place to negotiate or set up something that looks “simple” from the client’s perspective. For every one phone call or email that you receive with answers to questions or a solution to a situation, you can bet your Realtor® made multiple phone calls, and / or sent multiple emails, to come up with what appeared to you to be and effortless response.
Like any profession there is good and bad, but most Realtors® are hardworking people with families. They love what they do and are very dedicated to their clients. So although what you see is this…
What is REALLY happening is this:
Posted with permission from Terri Taydus.
Terri Taydus, Broker Associate – Colorado Landmark, Realtors
The pictures of the duck are a perfect illustration of the profession. Agents work hard to make sure that the process is as simple as possible for the client. But that is the beauty of the profession.