Buying or selling a house or apartment is one of the biggest decisions of a person’s life, and real estate agents and brokers help people negotiate what can be a confusing process. Though both are often called real estate agents, agents and brokers have different roles. The broker has more administrative responsibility. There is usually one broker per estate, but often many agents are working with clients who are interested in the property. When someone wants to sell or rent his property he usually calls a real estate agent. A large chunk of the agent’s day may be spent on the phone obtaining listings for her agency.
The agent also arranges to advertise the properties she is showing, and may visit each property before it is shown to clients. She needs to know about everything from floor plans to heating systems to cesspools-she’s a matchmaker, and she’s got to know both sides of the equation. It’s also important for an agent to be familiar with the neighborhoods she works in, so she can counsel her clients about a property’s fair market value. A good real estate agent is informed about things like schools, tax rates, and public transportation systems, and should be aware of going mortgage rates. A real estate agent must manage delicate price negotiations when an interested buyer and seller hook up. “Negotiating skills are not just important but critical for real estate agents,” as one respondent put it. The agent also coordinates the “closing” when a property is sold, which means the actual signing of papers and transfer of a property’s title.
Networking is a big part of the job-most real estate agents develop a group of attorneys, mortgage lenders, and contractors to whom they refer their clients. Finally, a real estate agent should be able to discern and be sensitive to a client’s needs during what may be an uncertain time. In order to be available when their clients have free time, real estate agents work many evenings and weekends. An experienced agent will sometimes avoid some of the weekend hours by having an “open house” and drafting a new agent to go and answer potential buyers’ questions. Commercial real estate agents’ jobs involve more research on market trends and an even more detailed attention to the needs of buyers. Since they work longer on each deal, commercial agents and brokers make fewer sales than residential agents but receive higher commissions.
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