Today, choosing the right Realtor for you is far more complex than it was just 10 years ago. It has always been important to find a Realtor whose personality works well with yours, someone who really listens to you, someone who is experienced in and knowledgeable about the business of real estate, contract law, environmental issues, recent changes in tax law, lending issues and more. Can you imagine a first-time home buyer working with an agent who knew nothing about the qualifications and limitations of the $8,000 tax credit? Or a commercial property buyer working with an agent who is clueless about 1031 exchanges or what a Baseline Environmental Assessment is?
Nowadays, a Realtor must have more than a cursory knowledge of the business of real estate, a firm handshake and toothy smile. In addition to staying abreast of an ever-changing real estate environment — from environmental and political issues to writing skills which accurately reflect the "meeting of the minds" between buyer and seller, a Realtor who hopes to survive and thrive must be tech savvy. The days when real estate agents could eschew new technology are gone. Those agents who are unable or unwilling to adapt to the revolution happening in personal communication and information technology will lose out to those agents who do.
Imagine this: Just ten years ago, most of the websites on the internet today weren’t even a glimmer in their webmasters’ eyes. Five years ago, only the very elite knew how to send a text message and most real estate contracts were either hand-delivered or delivered by facsimile (fax). Twitter, Facebook and "social networking" were terms unfamiliar to most Americans. Laptops and notebooks were fun little accessories but not essential and e-mail was how you sent daily jokes back and forth to your friends.
By contrast, consumers today expect their agent to be available by cell phone, e-mail and text message. Buyers expect their agent to be able to answer their questions about a property even as they are across the street looking at a different property. Sellers expect their agent to market their home on Craigslist, Social Networking sites, and promote the listing with the agent’s own e-mail marketing programs. Putting the listing on the MLS, holding an open house, lighting a candle and praying that the home sells is not effective real estate marketing today. They expect their agent to have a website or two and keep abreast of the technological changes in the business as much as the educational ones.
Simply put, The cheese has moved.
About Don Phelan More than 22 years in real estate, Member: RE/MAX International Hall of Fame, Graduate, Realtors' Institute (GRI), Certified Residential Specialist (CRS), Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR), Electronic Marketing Professional (e-PRO), Three-Time Editor's Choice Award Winner, International Library of Poetry.
