Crazy about Real Estate!

Who’s the Boss in Real Estate?

Guys, we all know who’s the boss at home, right? A recent study I just invented for the purposes of this Blog posting - is that 75% of all housing decisions are made by the woman of the house, while the remaining 25% of the housing decisions are made by the man of the house waiting for the woman’s approval!  Ok, while that is obviously just a joke, this Post is not so much.

When buying customers are trying to choose a real estate professional to work with – to help them find a home and negotiate the myriad details - it is usually best to choose someone with a number of years of experience. If a real estate licensee’s only experience is from a really good, fast moving market, they will often lack the negotiating skills or know the peculiar nuances of the current trends necessary for maximizing their clients’ best interest in a slower market. Ideally, in Anchorage, that would mean a licensee should have been practicing real estate since somewhere around 2001. This is NOT to malign those with less experience – as the individual may be bringing some major expertise from another industry into their new real estate profession. Sometimes, the fact that a new licensee is NOT bogged down with the long list of stereotypical baggage that a more experienced person can have, can be their greatest asset for you!

Having said all of that, I want to press on to the more important matter of “Who’s the Boss” in real estate.  Our real estate laws, for the most part, are all designed around the concept of protecting the unsuspecting and inexperienced customer. The customer is to be protected always, and they are the boss of the real estate licensee they have chosen to work with. In fact, in Alaska, all real estate licensees are required to have a conversation with, and get the signature of all of their potential buyers and sellers on, a disclosure of who’s the boss before proceeding with any pursuit in real estate. Even assistants and staffers of those licensees advertised on the “For Sale” signs – and who are not licensed themselves – are not allowed to give any specific information regarding the home or the market.

But this is where it gets dicey for a guy like me who is posting a Blog to his own weblog which is about “All Things Real Estate”.  Many times, it’s the “Other” licensee or Lender or the Title Company who becomes confused over who’s the boss of your licensee!  Sometimes, your licensee needs to get downright belligerent with another party just to re-establish boundaries and protect your best interests.  But rest assured, YOU are the boss of your licensee and your licensee is required to work on your behalf – sometimes at the expense of his/her working relationship in the community.   But then, this is the tightrope a licensee has to walk because while you’re the boss, he/she is the expert with all the market information, negotiating skills & system in place to help you get what you want. In a nutshell, at minimum, this means simply to choose an experienced licensee whom you KNOW, LIKE and TRUST. That way, you’ll know you’re getting the best guidance and direction.

Ken Jelinek has been licensed in the State of Alaska since 1994 and has been with REMAX since 1997.  He is uniquely qualified for and focuses primarily on First Time Home Sellers - but is equally enthusiastic in helping First Time Home Buyers.  Click here for current info: http://www.OneGoodRealtor.com.