With all of the hard work that real estate professionals put in, it’s no surprise that there are a number of people out there who don’t work as hard as they could. If you’ve had your own experiences in real estate, whether it was a long time or just the past couple of months, it’s very easy to blame everyone else and not put any blame on you. Real estate is a competitive business, and there are a number of different factors that go into a successful real estate transaction. One of those factors that can sometimes be overlooked is how listing agents or other professionals handle different situations.
For example, one of the toughest times for a real estate professional is working an agent’s schedule around their personal life. In most cases, listing agents or other professional real estate professionals have to work six to seven days per week. If you’re the listing agent, then you have to be ready to take time off work when your children need a day or two of parenthood. Your spouse may have to take a day off from work, too, and that leaves less money for things like home care and transportation, both of which are necessities. If you were to try to sell a house during these times without a backup plan in place, you’d probably have a much harder time getting the house sold.
Buyer’s Agents
Another issue that can cause a listing agent to work harder is the type of clients they have. If the real estate professional has many older clients who are not interested in selling their homes, they will likely work harder than a younger, more aggressive couple. This can mean extra work on the listing front, but it can also mean more money for the listing agent because of the increased client base. Buyer’s agents help real estate buyers navigate the real estate market. The agent representing the buyer will advise clients on an appropriate price to offer and present it to the seller’s agent. Buyer’s agents are legally bound to help buyers, the listing agent represents the home listing— and has a fiduciary duty to the home seller.
One way that an agent can work harder is to take care of any paperwork that they have. In today’s market, everything needs to be done quickly, even if it means mailing something in the wrong way. Clients are looking for a home very quickly, and even if a listing agent has some last minute listings to make room for, they still have to make sure that every piece of paperwork is filled out properly. A listing agent can usually handle anything from a short sale to a full service home inspection. If a listing agent is a true expert at what they do, they can almost always find work by using this method.
Listings Agents
Listings agents who work harder are often required to stay late after business hours to meet with potential buyers. There can be many reasons for this, such as showing up on time for appointments, making sure each buyer gets an appointment, or simply making sure that the home is clean and presentable. For buyers, the only concern might be whether or not the seller is selling the home right. Buyers are always on the lookout for good deals, and if a seller can’t find a buyer for their home within a reasonable amount of time, they might not get another offer. Working hard doesn’t mean working harder – it simply means listing homes to as many people as possible.
Both selling and buying real estate agents have to do a lot of research to find great real estate deals. As a listing agent, it is your job to find listings in the areas you are willing to sell, while being ready to answer questions about the home from potential buyers. As a buyer, it is up to you to determine whether or not the property you’re interested in is really worth the asking price, but it is always important to ensure that the listing agent is not working harder than necessary to bring in a sale.
Brokerages have both
Of course, real estate brokerages have both buyer agents AND selling agents. This is an important note to make. If you are one of the people out there that want the chance to represent both buyers and sellers, than maybe starting your own brokerage is the right path for you. It does not come without its own set of unique challenges, but the rewards can be great.
If you are the owner of the brokerage, you can choose to represent whichever clients you want, while providing your agents with the leads that you don’t want to work yourself. This way you can still make money off of all kinds of real estate clients. For example, if you only want to represent sellers, you can give all of the buyer leads to the agents on your brokerage. This way you still make part of the commission. Plus, you can build a company over time that will grow and make money even when you choose not to work as an agent anymore.
Conclusion
As you can see, each side has it’s own advantages and disadvantages. Whichever side of the coin you land on, work your hardest. There are successful agents on each side. The common factor is that they work hard to grow their business and don’t make excuses.