A Guide To Working With Your Realtor
As Property Agents, our job revolves around interacting with, and working with people. It’s what we do! But there always are a few clients who unintentionally cross the line. Therefore, there are a few protocols a client must follow to keep their relation with their agent intact.
A few tips and tricks to keep the clients on good terms with their agents and maintain a good rapport with them, are:
• Show up on time for meetings and property showings
Property agents often have an intense work schedule, following up with clients and meeting their requirements, and taking up the entire responsibility of finding the right property for their client. So, when a client hires an agent, they must make sure to respect the agent’s time, and be courteous enough to show up to meetings or property showings on time. In case of any changes in schedule on the client’s part, they should be thoughtful enough to inform the agent about the expected delay, so as to not keep the agent waiting.
• Real Estate Agents work on a Commission basis. Most agents work independently and get paid only when they get a client to close the deal. When an agent is hired to source properties on behalf of their client, it’s their job to dedicate themselves to sacrificing their time and energy, and going out of the way to assist their client in finding the right property. This entails long periods of work and tedious hours of coordination. Hence, all the agent wants is that you, the client, stay loyal to them and their efforts.
It is, thus, considered ethical that the client does not approach more than one agent while looking for properties to invest in.
In case the client happens to tour a property in the absence of their agent, the agent cannot help them negotiate a deal on that particular property. Also, if you go behind the agent’s back and consider other real estate agents, the agent you hired in the first place, fails to get paid despite putting in taxing hours of work.
The Responsibilities of a Real Estate Agent
• Working with an agent helps a buyer / investor save time as they provide ready information on all the listings put out by every developer and seller.
• The agent has to go through the exhaustive list of properties / homes on the market, select the ones their clients would like to tour, and then set up showings so their clients can explore their potential new investment.
• An agent’s primary responsibility is to help their clients find the best possible properties to match their requirements. All the buyer has to do is, let the agent know the particulars of the property they are looking for. The agent will then begin keeping an eye out for all the listings on the market that match the buyer’s requirements.
• If the client comes across any ads or signs of properties on the market that interest them, they should ideally make sure to get in touch with their agent so they can help the client view the property, coordinate with the listing agent, and negotiate the best deal. You might be tempted to directly call the developer but by calling the agent you may get a better deal with the developer because agents work on multiple deals with developers and are able to pass on the benefits to buyers.
So always remember to go through an agent even for advertised launches of upcoming properties.
• To carry the above point forward, by being on the inside of the real estate business, real estate agents are well-aware of additional information that might not be published in newspapers and during advertising.
• Though very uncommon in India, a few agents, sometimes, also keep track of the open houses happening of other companies and keep the client in the loop regarding the same.
Thought not a common occurrence in India, open houses, open houses are a well-known process all over the world. So what are open houses ?
As we know, an agent keeps track of all the property listings on the market, even if they are listed by another agent or company. They are well-aware of all the factors that make a property more likely to be bought or sold. Hence, when the client is interested in a particular property, they can inform the agent to look into it. The agent might then arrange a personal showing for their client or inform them about an upcoming open house, if there is one,of the property. An open house is a private showing of a property where clients being represented by different agents and companies can tour the property with their respective agents. The agents then coordinate with the listing agent of the property for more details about the property and the best possible deals for their client.
What a buyer should know before investing in a property
• Inspection of the Investment
Many new properties are covered by insurance policies to protect buyers against any form of defects in the construction of the property. The real estate business is backed by strict consumer protection laws.
• Fire and safety hazards
Most of the lenders require the buyer to provide a one-year home owner’s insurance, which is a paid receipt for hazardous accidents and fires. The minimum coverage of the insurance equals the mortgage payment. As property agents, we specialize in helping buyers understand the process of insurance and everything related.
At Gupta & Sen, our main aim is to:
• Help our clients find the perfect home they had in mind.
• Help then find the best possible financing (if required)
• Help them negotiate and close the deal.
• Stay with them through the entire process of closing, and answer any and all questions they might have.
• Help our clients obtain a mortgage.
In the real estate business, the realtor believes in investing innumerable hours into helping the client look for, what might soon be, their home. Hence, selecting one agent, keeping them in the loop about the offers and properties clients come across, and sticking to them until the deal is closed, is the only responsibility of a buyer.
Do not miss a single article!
Submit your email id to get new articles directly into your email inbox!
- Top Ten Real Estate Law Firms in Mumbai - August 3, 2021
- Comparing Real Estate to Other Investments - May 21, 2021
- Evaluating Real Estate as Investment - May 17, 2021