This may be THE MOST VALUABLE INFORMATION you receive
BEFORE BUYING OR SELLING REAL ESTATE.
There are real estate CONSULTANTS and there are real estate AGENTS. Some real estate agents call themselves “consultants” but they aren’t. In fact, they don’t have a clue as to what it means to be a bonafide real estate consultant. Let’s look at each and you’ll quickly discern the differences – significant differences that will impact your bottom-line.
After reading this information you should be able to decide
which you would prefer to have working on your behalf…
Traditional sales agents or Accredited Consultants?
Accredited Consultants in Real Estate (ACRE®) - Only a very small fraction of one percent of all agents in Florida have earned this designation but I am sure that there are others, without the designation, who deserve to be called “consultants” based on the type and level of service they provide. That said, my experience tells me that there are only a few… very few.
We each have college degrees; Susan’s degree is in Nursing and Tim’s is in Education and Administration. While we value our education, you should be aware that a degree is not required to practice real estate in the state of Florida; nor is it necessarily an indicator of a professional’s abilities. Other life and profession experience are highly valuable as well. I’ll not provide our entire resume here but it may be important for you to know that our experience includes management, negotiations, entrepreneurial ventures and real estate investments.
Other agents may call themselves “consultants” however if they don’t offer varied services designed for the real estate consumer’s individual and unique needs they remain salespeople in practice. If you are left wondering what it is exactly you are paying for and only have one choice in method of payment, you may not be getting true objective counsel in meeting your unique real estate needs.
True real estate consulting is a totally different model — a whole new approach in real estate.
What Is Real Estate Consulting and How Is It Different?
The traditional real estate business model offers customers a “all or nothing” or “one size fits all” solution to their real estate needs with only one way to pay for those services - commission.
Real Estate Consulting offers choices in the services a customer can choose or use to accomplish their real estate goal. Along with these choices in services the customer has transparency in how these services are paid for.
What is transparency? Transparency explains to the customer exactly what he/she is paying for with the services he/or she needs, unlike the commission structure that often leaves the client scratching their head and asking themselves what was it exactly that I paid for?
Real estate consulting gives the customer choices in the services he/she needs and how those services are paid for.
The Real Estate Consultant is often retained and compensated the way other professionals who provide a service are compensated. (Such as CPA’s and Attorneys)
Consulting covers a variety of skills and can be used to reach a variety of outcomes. Sometimes the best choice for a consumer is not to buy or sell at all! A traditional real estate sales person’s lively hood is based on the commission when she sells the house. If her lively hood is based on whether or not she sells a house, you have to ask yourself who’s best interest does she have? This isn’t to say she is trying to coerce or place undue influence on your decision to buy or sell, it is human nature to want to satisfy our own basic needs and she won’t get paid if she doesn’t sell a house.
Traditional real estate agents need you to either buy or sell a home that is how they get paid through the commission that is offered when a home is bought or sold. In other words they need to sell a house to get paid. This situation may not lead to the best objective advice to you the consumer.
- The Consultant is retained to provide unbiased counsel to help the consumer make the right decision based on their unique needs and individual preferences.
- The Real Estate Consultant is getting paid for the services, expertise and experience he has in consulting you to make your best decisions.
Which scenario do you think is going to be better for you?
What are the Differences Between a Consultant and a Sales Agent?
The real estate salesperson is only compensated the way other salespeople selling a product are. They get paid when the product or service is sold. Selling Has one single focus – to SELL something. For the Salesperson, when there is no transaction, they don’t get paid. How then can a traditional real estate agent offer objective, unbiased advice to the consumer, when the only way they get paid is if they sell something? Your particular needs or situation may not require the sale or purchase of a home.
A real estate consultant, on the other hand, isn’t trying to “sell” a client anything. Like other consulting professionals a real estate consultant only expects to be paid for their time and expertise. Homeowners and home buyers can hire a real estate consultant to do as little or as much as needed and or desired.
Which do you think better meets your needs?
Traditional real estate services pay the real estate agent/salesperson a commission when a home is purchased or sold. What does this mean for the consumer? The real estate client or consumer has no risk because the fee is paid at the closing. If you don’t sell or buy a home there is no commission and no fee is paid. Marketing services are bundled into the commission, making it hard for the consumer to distinguish what it is exactly that they are paying for.
Real estate consulting services offer the real estate consumer different options for the services they need. Real estate consultants offer hourly rates for individual services, they can bundle services that usually combine different tasks associated with the sale or purchase of a home, and they can also offer the traditional commission based plan.
The traditional commission method may be right for some clients as it offers zero risk to the consumer. The real estate agent takes all the risk, however, with this risk, comes a higher fee for the service. The commission structure generally obscures what it is the client is paying for.
Consulting services offer transparency in how the customer pays for the services they need. Consulting services develop a unique plan to help the consumer accomplish their real estate goal and allows him/her to know exactly what they are paying for. The risk is shared by both the consultant and the consumer, this in turn results in lower cost to you the consumer.
The real estate consumer shares the risk through individual or bundled services, pay for only the services that are needed, save money by being involved in the home selling or buying process and get objective expertise and counsel designed to give you exactly what you need.
The traditional commission structure is a “one size fits all” proposition as opposed to the real estate consultant who offers a “tailored fit” for your needs and objectives.
Real Estate Consulting is all about HAVING CHOICES!
Choosing a real estate Consultant puts you in power giving you more control of the desired outcome, what services you need and how you pay for those services.
Consulting provides you with total transparency that is typically lacking with other real estate business models. You want what you want and want to know what it is you are paying for.
Hiring a real estate consultant is the smartest choice you can make if you need to buy or sell a home. You will receive clear objective advice without the pressure and confusion associated with traditional real estate services.
As Accredited Consultants in Real Estate, we give you the best opportunity to receive objective council on your real estate needs. There will be no confusion as to what you are paying for while we are helping you reach your goals more efficiently and effectively.
