I Don't Want A Fool For A Client

My wife and I have moved a number of times in the normal course of life's changes. Each purchase and sale experience was different, but in every case we utilized the services of a licensed Realtor®. In several cases, I used a Realtor® even though I held a real estate license at the time. Why? There is an old adage in the legal profession that says, "The lawyer who represents himself has a fool for a client." The same can be said for selling real estate.

But I don't use a Realtor® just because I'm afraid that I might make a mistake. The Realtor makes me more money when I sell, and saves me money when I buy.

When we had to move from New Jersey to California in a hurry, a Realtor® handled the sale and the closing months after we had moved. He hired tradesmen on our behalf to address issues that the buyer had with our house. If we had traveled coast to coast to handle those details, it would have cost us many times his commission. (Not to mention the time we would have missed in our business.)

Once in California, we just couldn't find a house that we could afford. Our Realtor® called us one day and said, "A deal just fell through on a house that is perfect for you, and the price the seller had accepted is in your range. Drive here right now, because you don't want to miss this!"

She was right, and we purchased the house that afternoon.  It turned out to be our dream home for the next 13 years!  Our Realtor® took the time to understand what we wanted, and was genuinely committed to our happiness.  We trusted her and she didn't let us down. When we sold that house, we made a lot of money.  The reason?  We consulted with our Realtor® who prevented us from pricing it too low.

When we moved to Texas, we just wanted a "temporary" house, and had very clear ideas of how much we wanted to pay. Our Realtor® showed us homes in our price range, but we just weren't happy with any of them.  We were new to the area and did not know what was really out there.  We were so focused on price that we almost missed out on a great house.  Finally, our Realtor® said "If you would let me, I think I could show you some much nicer properties for only a little bit more." Once again, we decided to trust our professional Realtor®.

Rather than "settling" for a temporary home, we wound up buying a terrific house in a much better neighborhood. Instead of looking to move out as soon as we moved in, we stayed happily for the next 7 years, until we found the "perfect" house. That's the one we live in now.

We used a Realtor® to sell our "temporary" home and to subsequently purchase our current one.  We had to trust her to make sure that both transactions went smoothly, and they did. 

I consult with multi-million dollar businesses, understand law fairly well, and know how to market.  Regardless of my business background, however, when it comes to handling my real estate transactions, I'm smart enough to know that I don't want a "fool for a client."

John, Great advice! I appreciate your words. As a REALTOR, I chose to have representation when I bought property outside of my geographic area. Although licensed in Texas, I certainly did not have to seek the expertise of another agent. What I find is that "real estate is local." Thus, how and why I do things the way I do in San Antonio may be different than how and why agents do things in Houston. In addition, there was no way I was going to call each and every listing agent in order to gain access to each property I wished to view. Having one person do it all is the way to go!