The Importance of a Realtor

Everybody has an opinion on how to purchase real estate and, once they know you’re considering this big purchase, they’ll all offer advice. You’ll be inundated with tips, referrals and a surplus of information. While many people have good intentions, the reality of it is – everyone has enough knowledge about real estate to be dangerous!

The first things you should do as you start your quest for your ideal piece of real estate: Put together the right team of people. These professionals will use their experience to advise you throughout the process, helping you to save time and energy, and decreasing your chances of a costly mistake.
    The first person to choose as part of your team is a coach. Coaches use their expertise earned over many years to help you through the process. CEOs, presidents, executives and world-class athletes have coaches, and there’s no reason you can’t too. This does not mean you give up control. You’re the boss. It’s not hard to find a good coach if you know what to ask and what signs to look for when interviewing your candidates.
So, just who is this coach? Well, a good real estate agent would make an ideal coach. Not just any real estate agent, but a good one. The beauty of using a top-notch real estate agent as your coach is there’s NO cost to you for this person’s expert time and services. Your coach/real estate agent gets paid by the seller when you purchase the property! You may think we want to push the use of a real estate agent because that’s our profession, but let us explain. We’ll illustrate our point with a story:

Years ago I contracted to have work done on my patio. I was very unhappy with the work and the craftsmanship. Unfortunately, I put down a substantial deposit. After several discussions with the contractor, I realized my only recourse for restitution was to go to small claims court. Eventually, months later, we went before the small claims court mediator.

I was well-prepared when it was my turn to present my side of the story. I had contacted and received advice from several law firms. I spoke with friends who were attorneys and believed I had enough ammunition to go into the courtroom and win this battle. Several attorneys were willing to represent me that day, but I thought their fee of 40% was much too steep for what I perceived they had to do: simply show up.

During my presentation to the mediator, he asked if I had a certain piece of evidence in my possession, which I did not. Suddenly, I remembered one of the attorneys asking me the same question. I chose not to get the evidence when the attorney first brought it up because, in my mind, it was inconsequential. So within minutes, and after I had prepared for months and lived with an ugly patio, the mediator rendered his decision. I lost $5,000.

I thought I could do this process on my own and save the $2,000 attorney’s fee. Hindsight, of course, says if I had not tried to be such a know-it-all, and if I had valued the experience of an attorney, I could have walked away with $3,000; instead I got nothing. Except an ugly patio and of course, a lot of wasted time and energy.

The moral of this story: Use a professional! If I am not someone who is in the courtroom dealing with civil litigations on a daily basis, why would I attempt it on my own, without a professional? A coach, in this case, would not only have represented me and spoken the language of the legal system, but he would have advised me. Most importantly, the coach would have anticipated various scenarios and requests from the defendant and mediator.
The same applies to real estate! If you are not dealing with real estate on a daily basis, why would you chance it on your own? My excuse was I didn’t want to share with the attorney any of the $5,000 I expected to win. But in real estate, the buyer doesn’t have to spend a penny to get the skilled, experienced services of a good real estate agent.
Some of you might still say this has nothing to do with real estate. Maybe not, but it has everything to do with the importance of teaming up with a professional. Throughout this reference guide you will read many stories which show real estate buyers choosing to do it their own way -- and losing thousands of dollars. A few may win, but many more will lose. And loss can come in many forms, including financial issues, legal problems, wasted time and emotional stress. As much as you think you know, there will probably be a point during the transaction when there is something you won’t know – and it could cost you greatly!