Over the years, I have heard Realtors get a bad rap. You know everything from, “Realtors get paid too much money for doing nothing.” to “I don’t need a Realtor; I can negotiate things myself.”
The truth is, when you find a really good Realtor you know right away and they are worth their weight in gold. I am not just saying that because I am in the profession, but more so because as an owner of two real estate offices, I see every day how people are harmed when they have a bad Realtor. In addition, I believe most of the good Realtors don’t go around tooting their own horn. The average consumer will never know how much some Realtors do and how much they care for their clients.
For example, I can tell you over the years some of the crazy things we have done for our clients in the midst of selling their home. Here are just a few examples of some things my team members and I have done on behalf of seller’s, to help sell their homes.
- We were trying to sell some vacant land for an out of state client and I found myself standing in a 15-foot storm sewer with a video tech not once, not twice, but three times in the middle of winter trying to find out where the discharge pipes day lighted. All this in an attempt to sell a lot and consummate a deal for my client.
- Over the years, I don’t know how many times we have pumped water off pool covers so we could open the pool and present a good showing for the buyer.
- We have been on two-story ladders changing lights in a lightning storm, before a showing, so the house was light and bright.
- We have met with so many contractors at homes to get things fixed, for our sellers, that it’s too many to count. We have been present for so many repairs, from Radon system installations to icemaker repairs.
- Moving furniture is not out of the norm. This past year we moved an entire gym out of a basement before closing because the seller’s movers would not do it.
- We could have our own Merry Maids service for every house we cleaned over the years. A Swiffer WetJet has changed our lives.
- We have acted as babysitters for dogs, children, birds and empty houses.
- I can’t tell you how many driveways and walksways we have shoveled during Colorado Winters.
- During my career, we have helped people paint, stain fences, remodel bedrooms, baths, and kitchens. We’ve stood on roofs with insurance adjusters and climbed more than our fair share of ladders.
- Then there are leaks – we have mopped up water, we have drained hot water tanks with garden hoses to prevent people’s basements from flooding, and we have held buckets under leaky roofs to stop water from coming into window wells. I think I should have my plumbing degree by now.
- Then there are always our standard real estate duties like contract negotiations. When I think about how much money we have saved clients in just inspection resolutions alone, over the years, I am again reminded how valuable the Realtor, really is.
In conclusion, I could go on about all things our team has done to help a seller or a buyer make a deal go through. Our clients know how hard we work and how much we care about them and their property. The average public just continues to perceive that the average Realtor gets paid for doing nothing. That’s too bad. To all those Realtors that have hung a picture, climbed a ladder, stood in a storm sewer or did anything we have outlined above…kudos to you! You make all of us look good.
