There’s a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in the real estate industry, and it’s one that’s quickly losing meaning as it gets diluted by misuse: trusted advisor. Agents call themselves trusted advisors, implore prospective clients to find trusted advisors but never quite break down what the term means, or why it’s so important for an agent to be someone you absolutely trust.
Shall we?
If money makes the world go ‘round, trust makes the transaction happen. When you trust your agent, buying and selling becomes a much easier process and much more advantageous—financially and emotionally—for you. Trust takes center stage in a lot of ways for real estate agents, buyers and sellers, but let’s talk about some of the major encounters you’ll have where trust means everything.
You have to trust your agent with personal and sensitive information.
For a lot of people, a real estate transaction is one of the largest you’ll ever make. In order to find the right home at the right price, or to get pre-approval, or even just sit down and set real expectations, your agent will need to know some intimate details about your finances. Plus, once the transaction gets rolling, the agent facilitates the movement of money from buyer to seller, usually through an escrow account. Ever heard of wire fraud? Yikes. You must trust your agent not only with your confidential financial information but also with the ability to safely move money where it needs to go. Of course, plenty of secure technological solutions can help with this, and a trusted agent will do everything to mitigate wire fraud, but under it all there must be trust, especially with such large sums of money involved.
You have to trust your agent has the experience to price your home correctly.
Home pricing is a tricky business. Price too low and you could lose out. Price too high and your home might linger on the market for months, unable to be sold for the asking price because it simply doesn’t match up to the comps. (Note: Comps refer to comparable homes on the market.) When you trust your agent, you allow them to guide you in the pricing strategy, and you trust that the price they recommend is the sweet spot to get the most money from your home in the least amount of time.
You have to trust your agent will submit the very best offer to put you in prime location (pun intended) to get the home of your dreams.
In a competitive market, what separates you from the other would-be buyers out there is your offer. Waive contingencies? Submit your pre-approval letter? Yup. There are tactics to deploy when submitting an offer that places you in the best spot to get the house. Lean on your agent and trust them to explain all these techniques to you, so your offer stands out above the rest.
You have to trust your agent to expertly and carefully negotiate on your behalf.
Once an offer is submitted, the fun really begins. You already know the word I’m about to write. There’s one aspect of negotiation that creates the best outcome for all: TRUST. Remember that phrase back at the top of this post—trusted advisor? Well, it’s definitely applicable to real estate negotiation. Your agent should be trusted, A.K.A. someone who you are confident will have your very best interests in mind and a real advisor. An agent should offer an opinion, advise and guide you through the negotiation process, knowing when to stand firm and when to reassess your position as you get closer to closing the deal.
This is a blog post and not a novel, so we keep things short and sweet. However, we have dozens of ways we instill trust with our clients and we’re more than happy to share them with you. Email us today and let’s have a completely confidential conversation about your real estate needs: carlguild@gmail.com