Congratulations! You’re buying a new home. Or planning to sell the one you have. Or perhaps both. And of course you want the whole process to be handled smoothly, professionally, promptly, and with as much as possible left in your pocket. It’s time to get a REALTOR® on your side.
But to do what, exactly? What can you expect to get from today’s real estate professional? What should you expect? REALTORS® need to keep up with a volatile market and ever-changing technology, of course, but they must also adapt to the changing needs and expectations of their clients. What does today’s consumer expect?
First things first:
- Communication Communication Communication. I can’t stress it enough. And it’s no longer as simple as it sounds to get right, not in the age of tweets and Iphones and texting and Ipads. Our whole concept of “communicating” has changed, and continues to evolve almost daily. Where once there might have been some time to “get back to” a client with the answer to some requested information, today it’s usually expected much more rapidly-even instantly. Too leisurely a return call, or e-mail, or text message, can sink a professional relationship. A savvy REALTOR® will take immediate note of the method that each client obviously prefers to use to communicate. Some clients now rely almost entirely on texting-preferring instant access and brief content, easily fit into a spare minute here and there. Others might consider anything less personal than an extended telephone conversation to be an irritating and useless shortcut. What kind of “communicating client” are you? You want a REALTOR® who shows he or she both knows and cares.
- Totally Tech. Even if you spend a minimal amount of time on your computer, you know how easy it is to find the answer to almost any question with the click of a mouse. Today’s successful REALTOR® has to be at least that tech-savvy and efficient, and a lot more. That includes being familiar with all the frequently visited websites that monitor consumer trends, so your REALTOR® knows before you do what you’re going to find “out there” and can be ready for your questions. He or she may not have all of the answers, but will know where to get them. Being “the source of sources,” acting as a kind of information conduit, is just what many clients are looking for in today’s unpredictable real estate market. You should ask no less of whoever you’ve chosen to work with. And speaking of tech-savvy, your REALTOR® shouldn’t expect you to have all the newest gadgets. But you can and should expect your REALTOR® to have them. As an absolute minimum, a Smartphone or equivalent mobile device that allows on-the-go e-mailing should be in every REALTORS® toolkit.
- Marketing Marketing Marketing. If you’re looking to sell a home, your REALTORS® portfolio of crucial tech skills should go far beyond Smartphones and web sites. It should include expertise in using every electronic tool available to market your home. Over the past few years, the internet has become the very first place people look for a home-before opening a newspaper, before calling an agent, before anything. And it will soon become the only place where people look for a home. If your REALTOR® doesn’t already have an impressive online presence, he’s as good as sunk and so is your listing. A pretty website isn’t enough; it must be hard-working as well. That means your REALTOR® must understand and invest in online marketing-using every available tool to drive traffic to the site, and your listing, in preference to all the others.
With all that being said, it’s also true that a roomful of the latest technology by itself cannot find the right home for you, or help you to sell yours. That’s where the final quality you should be looking for in a REALTOR® comes in-and in many ways it’s the most essential one: the altogether human aspect of buying or selling your home. Your REALTOR® is in the service business with all that implies-a responsibility to be considerate, attentive, and accessible. You should feel genuinely certain yours is listening closely to you, your feelings and concerns. If so, you’re on your way to the best possible outcome. If not, you should be on your way to another REALTOR®.
Dylan Taft is a tech savvy Ulster County, New York real estate professional, working with a small but, dedicated staff. Visit Dylan’s professionally optimized website for more information on the latest property marketing strategies, and details on the Ulster County real estate area.
