I was recently contacted by my former college professor. He’s redesigning his Sociology of Work course and he asked me if I could submit something regarding my profession. Here is the second part to what I wrote:

If you’re looking to purchase a home, the first thing you need to do is hire a real estate agent. It’s not against the law to buy a house without any agent representation. However, if you are a Buyer, hiring a Buyer Agent does not cost you a single penny. In a real estate transaction, the Seller pays the Listing Agent and the Buyer Agent.

Before you jump on Zillow, ask your family or friends if they have any Realtor recommendations. As the customer, it’s important you find an agent that you are very comfortable with. Don’t rush into making this decision. If you have multiple recommendations, you should meet with the Realtors that catch your interest.

In our industry, some Realtors will do anything to secure you as a client. They’ll use big words to impress you, they’ll take you out to eat, they’ll pull up in a fancy car, they’ll name drop t, and they’ll talk about their sales statistics. When you interview a prospective Realtor, it’s important you: (1) tell them your real estate goals; (2) ask them how they can help you achieve these goals. As I mentioned before, you are the customer.

When I meet with prospective clients, I’m also interviewing them too. Most agents will view you as a commission check. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a charity. However, I’m selective on the people I take on as clients. There have been moments when I felt I could help a person, but he or she hired another Realtor. There have also been moments when a prospective client thought I could help him or her, but I either fired them as a client or I referred them to another Realtor. Most importantly, there’s been countless moments when my vision matches my client’s vision.

The next step is to speak with a mortgage lender. It’s crucial you talk to your Realtor about this. In an oversimplified explanation, a real estate transaction can be broken down into two parts. The first part relies on your Realtor guiding you through each purchase contract contingency. The second part, which is equally important, is your mortgage lender handling all your loan paperwork. Yes, you are the client and it’s your choice on what mortgage lender you want to use. It’s very important your Realtor has a good rapport with the mortgage lender you choose.

Now, it’s time to go shopping.

-RO

#realestate #ryanoda