The Many Hats of a Real Estate Agent

Real estate agents have to juggle a lot of hats during a real estate transaction. It isn’t uncommon for a realtor to stack a couple of hats on their heads at one time! Real estate agents will do whatever they need to do in order to please their clients, as well as grow their business through word of mouth from those happy clients. 

The problem with trying to juggle all those hats: stressed out, high strung real estate agents ready to snap at any moment.  The solution: removing one of the heaviest hats and handing it off to another professional in the real estate business. A transaction coordinator is always happy with a new hat!

Hats Real Estate Agents Wear

Real estate agents are responsible for selling homes for those ready to move, as well as finding dream homes for buyers ready to settle down and grow some roots in a community they love. What does it take to make the magic happen? A real estate agent wearing a whole lot of hats, and wearing them in style. 

File Clerk/Paperwork

If you’ve been through the selling process, or buying process, of a home, you know how much paperwork has to be filled out and filed. Depending on the state you live in, paperwork often changes. It’s imperative clients fill out the most up-to-date forms, and they are filed at the right times so no deadlines are missed. One mistake could mean the loss of the house, or huge delays. Both situations will anger and disappoint potential home buyers and home sellers. This hat is a heavy hat to wear. 

Stager & Photographer

Homes won’t sell if people can’t see pictures online. It’s what buyers do. We want to buy a house, we start checking out listings online and the first thing we do is check out the photos taken of the house. Interior and exterior photos have to look beautiful. 

Staged homes photograph the best, and homes that are still lived in, need to look as clean and uncluttered as possible. Rooms need to look big, light and bright, and the exterior of the house needs to look well-kept and have curb appeal. It’s up to the real estate agent to make the magic happen! 

Marketer

Pictures aren’t enough! The pictures have to be used to help market the house. Managing listings requires quite a bit of time and effort, which takes real estate agents away from growing their business, and tend to their clients.

Negotiator

People want to get the best price for their home when selling, and buyers want to pay a fair price for a home. Negotiating is part of the real estate transaction process. It can often result in hurt feelings, and heated reactions when a seller feels slighted about an offer presented by the buyer. Being the voice of reason, and having years of experience, means you wear the negotiator hat often. 

Scheduler

Buying and selling a home requires multiple appointments for inspections, showings, cleanings, and repairs. It doesn’t seem like a lot, right? Just make phone calls and arrange the appointments. However, it can mean making four different phone calls to four different people just to schedule an inspection! The real estate agent, inspector, home owners, and home buyers often want to be present at the inspection - have you ever tried to coordinate four to five different schedules to make ONE appointment happen?  

Resource Manager

If you’ve been in the real estate industry for a long time, you’ve amassed a great deal of service providers you trust to do basic and larger home repairs, handle landscaping, do mold inspections, and more. When home buyers and sellers are hunting for these kinds of service providers, a real estate agent is the first phone call! And if you’re handing out references for these services, they better do a darn good job, or else. No pressure, right?

Security

Homes can be on the market for weeks, months, even years. Homeowners want to continue living life, and part of that life includes vacations. How nerve-wracking can it be to go on vacation when your house is listed, and showings where people will be in and out of your house frequently? How can the homeowner be sure the house will be safe? Often, the real estate agent steps in and keeps an eye on the house and their belongings.

Therapist

Selling a house as well as buying a house are high-stress life experiences. Emotions run high. People become overwhelmed. Emotional support is what clients most remember after the adventure is over! Clients remember how you made them feel, and the way you make them feel. Even if things go wrong, if you’re transparent and able to handle every situation with kindness and understanding, it goes a long way! Being the shoulder to lean on, and the ear to listen might be the heaviest of all the hats, but it’s one that you’ll have a hard time handing off to anyone else. 

Are you tired after learning what a real estate agent does for each client, or is it just us? How can a real estate agent alleviate some of the weight these hats are bringing down on her shoulders? Toss one of the hats to someone else, that’s how.

One Less Hat to Wear

When real estate agents throw some hats into another professional’s ring, they can reclaim some of their time and focus on their other tasks. So what real estate professionals can take on a significant role, freeing up substantial amounts of the real estate agent’s time? A transaction   coordinator.

A hat a transaction coordinator can wear: new listing management. This frees up a real estate agent’s time. Also, during a real estate transaction, a transaction coordinator takes on much of the transaction paperwork. Paperwork that requires a lot of attention, because the details are intricate and plentiful. Real estate agents need to focus on their clients, and the homes they’re buying and selling. 

However, being pulled away to handle paperwork for hours every day is a hat most put on after a full day of working with clients. Or, if they have to make calls pertaining to the paperwork, the hat goes on in the middle of the day, which pulls them from their clients!

Find Value in a Real Estate Transaction Coordinator

In order to please real estate clients, and win some referrals to grow their real estate business, a real estate agent must wear many hats. Having to juggle multiple hats can stress out even the most organized, laid back realtors. It doesn’t have to be like this. Get your time back and drop your stress level down. It’s as easy as hiring a transaction coordinator. Paperwork is our passion and our profession of choice, and a hat we wear with pride.