The Wizard of Oz told Dorothy to “pay no attention to the man behind the curtain” to distract Dorothy, but as a buyer or a seller you are overwhelmed with the options available to you and what is being hidden from you.  Having a Realtor to have your back is a comforting thought.  A real estate transaction does not have room for trial and error while learning a new task. Carefully select your Realtor and you won’t need to worry.  Here is a sample of 5 things that they do behind the curtain to have your back.

• Planning which all happens behind the scenes. With an experienced realtor they have been through the process many times and they can move through the stages of your home sale effortlessly.  It starts making your home presentable, establishing the right price, contracts, marketing, scheduling, answering not only your questions but all parties involved in a transaction. For buyers making sure the have the preliminary research for a purchase. Which includes qualifying, financing, potential sale of current home to analyzing areas of interest, school, and location information.  Just to name a few.

• Analyzing the best courses of action from every aspect of the transaction. From financing ability and the potential pitfalls in the kind of loan being used to approval issues, home inspection problems, timing, contract dates, the mortgage companies’ history and their rules and market knowledge plus a myriad of pertinent data.  Not to leave out the closing companies needs, the municipal requirements, and a plethora of details that run behind the scenes of the transaction.

• Fiduciary Duty which is a fancy way of saying that the realtor accepts the responsibility to act in another person’s best interests per our Code of Ethics.  Once you have signed an agency agreement between you and your realtor there is a fiduciary responsibility between the realtor and you the client.  Think of guardians, trustees, or personal representatives.  It allows someone to act on another’s behalf which entails ethics and care of another’s interests.

• Critical Dates in a transaction are imperative to be met on time.  The dates vary depending on each contingency.  Inspection dates, mortgage dates, homeowner association dates, closing dates, along with any dates that your municipality may require.  Failing to meet the dates can cause a default in the contract and potentially risk their escrow deposit, their loan to be denied, their mortgage commitment to be in jeopardy.  Realtors have your back in knowing the critical dates and updating all parties, so the dates are met.  

• Stress Reduction since moving is one of the top stressors that a person can experience in a lifetime. So how do you minimize the stress and maximize the good? Moving is exciting and having a realtor handle the issues for you.  The experience a professional brings to this is not quantifiable.  Things that you are not considering are often on the top of a list for your realtor. Utilities, insurances, moving companies, date logistics, hiring help, donating unused items, organizing your packing, security systems, electronics, trash pickup, mailbox keys and even forwarding information.  

FINAL THOUGHTS …Half the battle of a successful home purchase or sale is having a Realtor who has your back.  From day one they need to take charge and prove to you that they are highly capable. This allows you to focus on the parts of the transaction that you control and leave the details to your realtor.