‘Just what does a REALTOR® do?’
Occasionally we get asked this question: “Just what does a REALTOR® do?”
That’s a fair query that could be answered simply by saying, “They work long hours for their clients as successful guides to home sales and purchases. They do a lot.”
The basic reason they are guides is that members of the Spokane Association of REALTORS® have the answers to customer questions about what’s for sale and information about the property via the multiple listing system of information.
The major focus of the agent is on finding a buyer for a home that their client has for sale. In the current market, where we could use a much larger inventory of available homes for buyers to inspect, new information becomes very important when a home may be sold very quickly. A REALTOR® usually has these data at the touch of a keyboard.
If a client wants to sell a home, it is up to the “guide” to aid in pricing the dwelling correctly. Today’s buyers are much more knowledgeable about the value of a home for sale because they generally have seen many of those on the market through open houses. When a client goes through a goodly number of open houses, it is easier to come to a more accurate idea of market value.
If a home is overpriced, it will generally have to wait for the market value to catch up before it is sold.
Once that “perfect” home is found, it is paperwork time. The REALTOR® negotiates the purchase offer at the direction of the buyer. If the offer doesn’t satisfy the seller, these offers can often be negotiated by agents to the satisfaction of both buyer and seller.
The buyer may insist on needed repairs. The seller may not go along on paying for the fix-up. That’s time for negotiation to make the sale both parties desire. This often takes experience.
If the buyers are not paying cash, there will be a meeting with a lender. The REALTOR® will usually accompany the clients to the meeting.
Before the deal is made, there is a lot of paperwork needed to be done by both the buyer and the seller. A REALTOR® can be invaluable here. It takes time and knowledge to take care of all these steps that follow real estate laws.
When all of the criteria are met such as what stays with the house, what doesn’t stay, and any repairs needed are made to satisfaction, one party moves out and the other party moves in.
Most agents work with a number of clients. Helping them either buy or sell a home is what they do for a living. The hours are long. REALTORS® generally are at work when most people are not. On weekends, they are generally at work helping a client.
What is being a REALTOR® like? When you are working with a client and everything is going well, it resembles riding the crest of an ocean wave, wind in your hair and the rush of salt water beneath your board carving along the break. Breathless!
When you have spent many days without helping a client, it’s a downer.