Real Estate Advice: Tips for Establishing a Good Client-Broker Relationship

In today’s real estate market, one of the keys to buying or selling your home is establishing a mutually beneficial partnership with the right broker. Hiring a skilled, qualified agent can eliminate the many frustrations that inevitably ensue with such a major transaction, especially in this low-inventory, and highly competitive market. An experienced broker can help guide and advise you through each step of the buying or selling process. He or she will be able to provide you with important tools, tactics, and tips for a seamless buying or selling experience.

How do you ensure you’ve picked the right broker? Comb through your personal and business connections, your various networks, and above all – get references. Most of us hire agents who are referred or recommended. Once you find someone you have good rapport with, who you think is a good fit, you can start to develop a strong client-broker relationship by keeping the following tips in mind:

Maintain Strong Communication

Most likely, you and your broker will have very busy schedules, so establishing and then maintaining a clear communications plan will be vital to a successful working relationship. Effective agents will always keep you well-informed, and will expect you to do the same. Clarify how this will work from the start; you may prefer emails or texts as opposed to phone calls, but your broker might only be able to respond at specific times of the day. Let him or her know of your expectations ahead of time -- your time frame for purchasing or selling your home, your priorities in terms of space and amenities, and any scenarios you you’re just not interested in pursuing.

While your broker will know the market and can assess the obvious selling points of your home, it’s always useful to provide more detailed information about what you really enjoy about your property. It will provide deeper insight to prospective buyers. If you are looking to buy a house, talk candidly about your likes and dislikes, and give constant feedback on what you’ve seen along the way. This will help your sales agent locate the perfect home for all your needs.

Rely On Their Expertise

When buying or selling a home, it’s easy to listen to advice from friends and family members or to gather information from online research. However, it’s really important to remember that you’ve hired an expert in the field, and you’ve done so because that person is a qualified, trained, trusted professional. Ask any and all questions – none is too crazy, and odds are, your broker has heard it all before. If you’re anxious about selling by a certain date, or not being able to find a suitable property due to the dearth of available inventory – don’t suffer alone. You have a partner for this mission who will help you make some big decisions and some contingency plans – should you need them.

Establish that level of trust with your broker, and use his or her knowledge to your advantage. That includes a powerful network of connections and resources, including appraisers, lenders, lawyers and contractors. – all invaluable information to you as a buyer or seller.

Be Honest

Tell your broker your wishes for your dream home, but also admit to your fears. Since the purchase of a property affects your finances, as well as that of your agent, honesty is always the best policy when it comes to money. You both benefit when a home is sold, or bought. Be up front about goals and expectations, and provide feedback along the way so that nobody’s time is wasted.

If you’ve spent time working on establishing a great working relationship with your real estate professional, everybody wins. Many clients will use the same broker for the purchase of their first home, as well as their last – and tapping into that network early on can only help ensure that every stage will be a successful one.