What Do Sellers Expect From Their Realtors?

Home sellers expect certain things from their realtors. These expectations are usually simple and straightforward. Realtors are expected to find potential buyers, handle the details of the sale, offer advice, offer constant updates and assist in whatever capacity they can. 

Sellers may have different properties and asking prices, but they all share the same needs and concerns. So if you recently joined the real estate industry and you don’t know what sellers expect from you, the following information will teach you what you need to know.

1. Constant Communication

This is a very basic expectation among many home sellers. Most want regular updates on buyers, potential buyers and interested parties.

When sellers don’t get these updates, they often become upset or even irate because they perceive that their realtor no longer cares about their interest. This varies from person to person but most sellers will expect updates from their realtors several times a week.

This is particularly true if the seller feels that a sale is imminent or if the buyer is serious. When a buyer fails to give updates in these situations, sellers usually interpret that as a sign of incompetence or disinterest. Again, the important point here is perception.

It doesn’t matter if the buyer is serious or if they are only exploring options. What matters is the seller’s expectations and the realtor’s role in meeting such expectations.

On the other hand, if there aren’t a lot of prospective buyers for a particular property, the seller may demand regular updates about buyer inquiries, both on and off the internet.

They may also demand constant updates if they are planning to adjust their price or if they would like to discuss strategy with their realtor. There are even cases where sellers encounter problems and they want their realtors to help them solve such issues. 

In any case, communication will always be one of the most critical tasks a realtor can do for his or her client, and without it, the entire transaction process will just fall apart. So before you work on anything else, make sure that your communication skills are suitable for your work. 

2. Facilitation

Most sellers don’t know anything about selling their homes or properties, and they expect their realtors to handle most of the work.

Whether it’s processing documents, talking to officials, dealing with complications or researching potential buyers, sellers expect their realtors to handle everything, including those tasks that they’re supposed to handle themselves. 

For example, if the seller wants to promote the house online, they may also expect their realtor to take care of the internet marketing side of things. If they plan to put up a lot of signs then sellers may expect their realtor to create and put up the signs themselves.

And if they want to reach out to a specific buyer or set of buyers then they will also expect their realtor to handle the details.

There are even home sellers that want to sell their homes by using drone aerial photography, and they expect their realtor to handle the details of such services.

This isn’t to say that all sellers expect their realtors to take care of everything, but as far as most are concerned, it’s a realtor’s job to deal with the details because the average person knows that he or she doesn’t have the training, background or expertise to take care of things on their own.

So when a seller hires a realtor, it’s always with the implicit assumption that the realtor will take care of the minor details.

3. Organization

Selling a house requires a certain amount of planning and organization, and most sellers expect their realtors to handle these types of tasks.

Realtors are expected to set up meetings, develop schedules, plan tours and work with third party personnel (when necessary), and each of these tasks requires organization. So aside from promoting properties for sale, realtors are also expected to act as organizers and planners.

For example, if a seller insists on personally touring prospective clients throughout his or her property then it’s up to the realtor to organize these visits. They will need to plan the time, the refreshments and the talking points to impress the buyers.

If buyers want to speak with the seller or if they have any special questions then it’s up to the real estate agent to act as a kind of third-party mediator to help push things along.

On the other hand, if the seller wants to promote the property on the internet then he or she may ask the realtor to organize a meeting with an online advertising company to work on the project.

They may also promote the property on a real estate site or promote it on a third-party platform.

There are even some people who promote their properties on social media. It all depends on the seller, and it’s usually up to the realtor to get things done. 

Finally, if the seller is getting a lot of different offers from multiple buyers then it’s up to the realtor to organize their names and offers into a neat, easy-to-understand package that the seller can look at and analyze at their convenience.

If there are any other details that need to be considered then the realtor will need to take care of those as well.

4. Adviser

Most sellers have little to no experience with the real estate industry, which is why they often rely on their realtors for advice and information.

The average seller expects his or her realtor to advise him or her on all kinds of issues, from real estate prices to legal issues to documentation to advertising and more.

Depending on their situation, some sellers may also ask their realtors to provide them with options.

For example, if multiple parties are interested in buying a particular property, the seller may ask the realtor to help them decide which prospective buyers they should speak to and which ones they should ignore.

On the other hand, if the seller’s property is not getting a lot of prospective buyers then it’s up to the real estate agent to find the answer. The usual reason is that the price is too high but there are also cases where the property has certain problems that need repair.

Unfortunately, most sellers are not satisfied with a simple answer. They also want explanations and solutions, and they expect their realtors to give it to them.  

Finally, sellers also expect their realtors to advise them on different scenarios.

For example, if a particular property has a market value of one million, the seller may ask his or her realtor the likelihood of selling the property for that amount.

Likewise, if the seller is getting multiple offers from different sellers, he or she may ask her realtor for advice on the best course of action to take, particularly if the buyers demand immediate answers.

5. Handyman

Realtors don’t fix up homes of course, but there are situations where sellers need the help of professional contractors to fix up their properties.

And if they do not have the time or the connections to find the right contractor or group of contractors then the realtor may have to help them find the services they need.

Sometimes, the only way to sell a house is to fix their problems, and many sellers expect their realtors to help them find professional teams who can help them with their house problems.

Whether it’s repairing damaged roofs, cleaning up dirty basements, replacing damaged fixtures or renovate old sections of the house, sellers often ask their realtors for assistance and advice.

Sometimes, this assistance comes in the form of advice or information on where to find qualified contractors, but there are also situations where the seller expects the realtor to handle all the details of repairing his or her own property.

In such cases, the realtor can refer their client to a contractor, but there are also real estate companies that will help set up a meeting between their clients and local home repair contractors.

These tasks may not seem relevant to real estate, but remember that a realtor’s job is to close sales, and sometimes, the only way to do that is by repairing or renovating the seller’s property.

This is why a lot of realtors often know a lot of contractors and outside specialists. Knowing third party experts can really speed up a stalled real estate deal. 

Conclusion

Homebuyers and sellers often expect a lot from realtors. After all, it’s their job to close deals, and that often requires more work than most people think.

Buying and/or selling a house requires paperwork, negotiation, and processing, and there’s also the problem that most people expect their realtors to take care of everything. 

In this sense, most realtors don’t just act as brokers and facilitators. In many cases, they also function as marketers, organizers, communication officers, strategists, advisors and in some cases, troubleshooters.

So if you’re new to the real estate industry, always keep in mind that it’s a lot more complicated than you think.