How to Work With a Realtor

Find a Sequim buyer’s agent, and you’ll substantially increase your probability of finding the ideal home and negotiating the best possible price.  This is true.   Wouldn’t you like to know from an insider’s perspective how a buyer could make the most of working with a Realtor?   It’s not quite what most people assume it is.   So here’s a little tip for buyers from California, Nevada, Arizona, and Texas (and elsewhere) who are planning to buy a home or land in Sequim or Port Angeles.

Finding a great Realtor certainly involves some due diligence on your part, and you can do so much research on the Internet now. That can help narrow down the short list of Realtors you may want to work with.   But I want to share something with you that you may never have read before.

If there is one thing that Realtors really wish they could convey to buyers from out of state, what would that one thing be?   A good way to answer this is with a real life example.   The following is part of an email I received from a client I’ve been communicating with for months via email.   We were about to meet after she scheduled an appointment.

First, apologies for canceling our last meeting. . . . I did end up in Port Angeles after all but only briefly.   I was able to meet up with another Realtor (only time for one) at [broker name deleted] who showed me a few properties.   She was very nice but I don’t think I will choose her as a buyer’s agent and am looking forward to meeting you and I will call you and set up an appointment.   I don’t mean to seem fickle, but I’m looking for an agent who will help us negotiate prices.

Perhaps just reading this email already broadcasts to you what concerns me.   This person and I have been emailing for months.   I’ve been responding promptly to her questions, and we’ve had some great exchanges.   She’s had an opportunity to review my blogs and websites, and she is aware of my experience, which includes 30 years in real estate, 20 of which was as a real estate lawyer, and now a full time Realtor and Broker.   I’ve negotiated hundreds of transactions.   She knows all of this.   So when I got her email, I was not surprised, but I was disappointed.   She clearly knew she was being fickle as she mentioned it herself.

Imagine someone making an appointment with a dentist after talking with him for months, canceling the day before by phone, and emailing the following day saying, “Sorry I had to cancel our appointment, but I had something come up.   I did get a chance to come to town briefly, and I met with a dentist just down the street from you.   I don’t think I’ll hire him either.   I’m looking for a good dentist.   I’ll call to reschedule our appointment.”   Or try the same line with an auto mechanic or your Chiropractor or any professional.   It will not go over well.

Selecting a Realtor is an important task, your first most important task in finding and buying your next home.   Do your due diligence by reviewing their online resumes of course, and interview them on the phone or in person if you have the opportunity.   That’s all good.   But don’t play one against another in such a way that shows disrespect.   A Realtor deserves to be treated like a professional.   Due your due diligence, and then hire one.   Respect the others by calling them and telling them you chose another Realtor and thank them for their time.   Hire one and work with that Realtor, and be committed to working with that Realtor.

This is the key to a successful and happy relationship with your Realtor from the beginning all the way through closing.   Believe me, as a Realtor I certainly will pour out my heart and soul for every client who makes a commitment to work exclusively with me as a buyer’s agent.   I don’t ask for much in return, but I do ask for loyalty and commitment.   That’s a two way street.

Last Updated on March 18, 2010 by Chuck Marunde