What Our Jobs Really Entail: The Working Jobs of Realtors

I have been hearing a lot of talk lately about Realtors/Agents and some who think we are becoming obsolete. The public's perception is that we are just a bunch of greedy, overpaid agents who don't give a damn about what our clients concerns are or what is in their best interest. We simply just want to get them into a house and get our checks without actually stopping to consider what might be best for you, the client.

So I hereby dedicate this post to all of you. This post is about what a true Realtor/Real Estate Agents job actually entails. In fact, as you will see, there are 7 jobs that we do, not just 1.  

Financial Adviser - When we first meet with a potential client, the first thing we have to do is determine whether we think you are qualified to purchase a home. Sometimes this is as easy as asking what your income is, if you have a down payment and closing costs, how your credit rating is, etc. However, with first time homebuyers, this means that sometimes we as agents have to sit down with our clients and work out a budget or a savings plan, teach them how to handle the stress and enjoyment of owning a home, including all of the wonderful tax benefits that come with it.

We also have to walk them through each step of the loan process. Everything from finding a great loan officer, applying for a mortgage, submitting the paperwork, waiting on the lenders approval, ordering the appraisal, meeting the lenders requirements, signing loan documents and funding. We work hand in hand with your loan officer to make sure everything is taken care of.

Counselor - This comes in when working with either first-time buyers or sellers, or those who just worry about every little detail when it comes to buying or selling a home. We have to find out exactly what your concerns are, what your goals are and the timeline you want to accomplish them in and then find a way to make it all work. We have to be there to answer questions, squash any concerns you may have and sometimes to calm you down at 3:00 in the morning from what you sometimes may think is the worst mistake of your life (I have had to do this before).

Now, I'm not saying that we mind doing this, because in fact we enjoy it. We know after everything is said and done we will hopefully hear those two words that make it all worthwhile: "Thank You". Those two words mean the world to us. It tells us that we did our job and did it well. It fills us with a sense of pride and accomplishment but most of all, we made you happy.

Negotiator - We as agents have to represent you in the best way possible, and that means that when the chips fall, we have to have a strong backbone to come in to the negotiating table and do our best to get you what you need and want. We also have to learn to compromise at the same time, which can be difficult at times. We not only have to negotiate with the other agent but we also have to negotiate with you. As you can imagine this requires us to be strong yet flexible as well. Think of it as walking a tightrope with no safety net about 100 feet in the air. If we fail to reach an agreement, then we have fallen off the tightrope and are heading for a nice block a cold-hard concrete.

Some of us have read several books on the art of negotiating. Some even go to expert classes to learn some new ideas, all of which can be very helpful to you. The point is, we have spent a lot of time and money into honing our skills for your benefit.

Transaction Coordinator - This is probably the hardest job of them all. We have to communicate with a lot of people everyday to make sure everything is progressing as it should. We have to communicate with the other agent, escrow officer, loan officer, title officer, appraiser, home inspector, termite inspector, and most importantly, YOU. We are also responsible for making sure every form is completely filled out, signed and turned in ontime. Sometimes this can add up to an entire day just making phone calls and faxing everything over to the respected parties.

Truthfully, this job is really paper-pushing. We have to make copies, fax things over, make phone calls and sometimes mail things overnight to make sure that we all close ontime for your benefit. We also have to solve problems along the way, either with escrow or the lender and some of which you may never know about simply because we don't want to put you under anymore stress.

Chauffeur - When showing a buyer homes, the average realtor will take you out three times, each time showing you an average of 4 homes a time. That is twelve to fifteen homes that you will see before writing an offer. Please, don't get me wrong, we love taking people out to see homes. But sometimes we never get to write an offer for you or you decide not to buy. With gas prices over $3 per gallon and rising, the cost of oil changes, tires and general maintenance on a car, this can definately hurt us over a long period of time.

Estimator - If you decide that you want to put in an offer on a home, we first have to determine what we think is fair market value. To determine this we have to look at how many homes are on the market, how long they have been on the market, conditions of other homes in the area, recent sales, backup and pending offers, etc. This can take us anywhere from 15 minutes to several hours, depending on the area and the data. For sellers, we have to factor everything above and also marketing costs. 

This can sometimes be the easiest job or the hardest, it really just depends on the area.

Marketing Director - In this market, we can no longer stick a sign in your yard and put it on the MLS to get your home sold. We have to do a lot of marketing. Each agent does it a little differently, whether it is running an ad in the local paper, putting it on a public TV station like PBS, or placing it in a Homes for Sale book. We also have to design postcards, listing flyers, mailers, etc. in order to try and get your home sold. This money comes out of our own pockets since we don't get paid until after your home sells and closes escrow. This can costs us anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand.

For buyers, we also have to come up with several ways to get you to call us. This means we have to brainstorm and try different ideas until one works. This can also costs thousands of dollars without working for us.

So as you can see the job of a Realtor is a hard one. We have to take on many different roles and wear different hats in order to do our job, all while walking a proverbial tightrope. I will grant you that their are some agents out there who don't care except about their paycheck, however that doesn't mean we are all that way. Most of us love our careers and love to help people like you acheive their goals. So please, the next time you think we are in it for the money, come back and read this post and see what we really have to do in order to fulfill your dreams and goals.

Oh, and for those of you who think we all make hundreds of thousands per year: According to salary.com the average real estate agent made just under $50,000 last year.

P.S. "Remember that if you are working with an agent in this market, you are working with someone who truly cares about you and their job" - Author Unknown