Whether you’ve never bought or sold a house or have done both, there are a handful of things every Real Estate Agent wishes you knew. Today, we bring you our agents’ top four! It’s our insider’s info on the reality of being a Real Estate Agent.
An Agent will rarely sit you down to tell you the things we are about to give you the scoop on. They will chug forward, working long, demanding hours with friendly smiles on their faces because they love what they do. However, we suspect if you knew these few important tidbits things would be ever more smooth for both you and your agent! So, with the hopes of shining light into the lesser known parts of our industry (and to help you, help us the next time we work together) here are the top four things Agents wish you knew:
#1 Choose Your Agent Wisely
We’ve said it before and we will say it again… especially in today’s market, you need a Real Estate Agent. Ideally one of our DBRE Agents. Because now more than ever, we need you to truly consider who will represent you in this monumental life decision. Don’t just pick your aunt’s, neighbor’s, son’s, wife who just got her license and is eager for a client. Now is not the time to let Uncle Ned dust off his old Real Estate license.
This current market is nothing like any of us have ever seen before. Working with a trusted DBRE Agent means that you are working with someone who has been navigating this market the whole time ‘this market’ has morphed into what we now know it to be. Our Agents will serve you with integrity and deliver their expertise and knowledge. They also have the support of our entire DBRE team behind them.
#2 Just Because “Zillow Says” – Doesn’t Mean It’s So…
Isn’t it fun to look on Zillow and see what your home is worth? Well… unfortunately, Zestimates are kind of just that – for fun. They are often completely off base and make it hard for us to convince our clients that our expertise and actual MLS listing comps are a lot more accurate than what you see on Zillow, Trullia, etc. Zillow is not a property valuation site. Period. It works off of algorithms and online data that may be out of date or inaccurate. We hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we do feel this is important for our clients to be in the know about.
#3 We Don’t Make as Much Money as You Think
This is not to say that Real Estate is not a lucrative industry, it absolutely has the potential to be, but there seems to be a bit of a misconception that all Real Estate Agents make great money. There are so many variables to what an Agents annual salary looks like, not to mention that in this industry, you’ve got to spend money to make money.
In a 100% commission based field, Agents don’t get paid until every paper is signed, sealed, and delivered. It can be after months and months of working every weekend showing homes, writing multiple offers that don’t materialize, paying for marketing of your home upfront, and… so.much.gas. Each transaction could be 100s of hours of work that agents don’t get paid for unless, and until, the transaction is finally closed.
Things fall through, people switch Agents (this is the ultimate heart breaker for most Agents), and people change their mind. A common mindset in real estate goes something like this: a client is like a bet the Agent makes, taking a risk on you. They work hard for you to ensure their gamble pays off in the end. At DBRE we are more than this. DBRE’s Agents our servant-leaders. While each new client involves risk we believe the risk is worth it since relationships and people are so important to us. Most times we are successful because we know that when the client succeeds we do, regardless of what that looks like in the end.
#4 Trust Us… We Got You!
We feel confident in saying that all of the Agents at Dani Blain Real Estate are salt of the earth people who know that we value putting people over numbers and taking care of our clients is of utmost priority. Plus, all our agents are backed by our entire family of agents.
Like all industries, Real Estate can have some bad apples in the bunch, but when you choose to work with a DBRE Agent, you can trust this person has your best interests in mind and will work hard to meet your needs.
The process could be difficult (especially in today’s market…) and it could feel like a roller coaster ride. The good thing? Your agent knows this ride well. They will brace you for the twists and turns and help you when you need to pause the ride – or ask to move on to a new one.
And there ya have it… what every Agent wishes you knew. We hope you learned a few things and we hope all your future transactions or current ones are just that much smoother!
This post is to “pull back the curtain” on parts of the Real Estate industry you may not have known about. All of our Agents have picked this profession because they love to serve others and they are good at what they do. They value and appreciate all of their clients and gladly do all of the fun and not so fun parts of their job.
We look forward to connecting with you, working with you, and hopefully finding you the home or property of your dreams. If you have any questions about the process, about a property, or even about our brokerage, please reach out so we can help.