What Does a Bakersfield REALTOR Do? A Day In The Life

Over 80% of REALTORS® quit the real estate business during their first year. That speaks volumes about a career path that can be daunting. Successful Bakersfield Realtors often work long and unpredictable hours, deal with high-stress situations, survive in a highly competitive industry, and possibly work for weeks on a deal without getting paid.

This article will take a deep dive into the life of Bakersfield Realtors and their contribution toward buying or selling a home. We list their daily activities and even explore the many facets of a challenging profession.

So let’s walk a mile in a Realtor’s shoes.

How Does a Bakersfield Realtor Help Buyers?

When buying a home, an experienced Realtor can make an enormous difference. Realtors are licensed professionals who specialize in residential real estate transactions and have access to resources that many buyers don’t. At a high level, here’s what a Realtor does for a homebuyer:

Find The Right Property

A good Realtor will take the time to understand your needs and wants to find you the perfect property. Given your unique criteria, they will provide you with information on available properties, including photos, pricing data, amenities, utilities, and other detailed information.

Almost as important, they can filter out properties that are unavailable, which may not be reflected across other real estate websites. They also have access to multiple listing services (MLS) which contain listings from other agents that may not be publicly available yet.

As members of a real estate brokerage or a team, they may also have access to other properties that may never become publicly available or provide special access to those properties.

Negotiate The Best Price and Terms

Once you’ve found your dream home, your Realtor will help negotiate with the sellers or their agent on price and terms of sale. This includes things like closing costs, inspections, repairs, contractors, moving, etc. A real estate agent’s job is to get you the best deal possible without losing out on that perfect home.

Advise On Financing Options

Your Realtor should be knowledgeable about financing options offered by top lenders in your area. Although the lender should be the final word, real estate agents should be able to explain your options enough to provide some idea the cash needed for a down payment and closing costs required to close the transaction.

Coordinate Inspections & Appraisal

Before finalizing any purchase agreement for a house it is important to have an inspection done by a qualified inspector as well as an appraisal performed by an appraiser approved by lenders. Your Realtor should be able to recommend reputable inspectors/appraisers who are familiar with local market conditions so they know what they’re looking at when evaluating potential homes for purchase.

Responsibilities of a Buyer’s Realtor

Realtors provide buyers with invaluable assistance throughout the home buying process. Check out this itemized list of 80 tasks a Realtor does for the typical buyer. The best Realtors handle much more than this list. Also not included are the nuances and time involved with the numerous duties and responsibilities.

TAKEAWAY

How Does a Bakersfield Realtor Help Sellers?

Realtors provide an invaluable service to sellers. They market the property, research a realistic asking price, coordinate showings and inspections, negotiate offers from potential buyers, and handle all paperwork required to protect the seller and close the sale. At a high level, here’s what a Realtor does for a homebuyer:

Marketing

Realtors are experts in marketing properties. They know how to best showcase a home’s features so that it stands out among other listings in the area. This includes taking professional photographs and videos; writing a compelling description of the property; listing it on multiple websites such as YouTube, Zillow or Redfin; and posting it on social media. Realtors may also hold open houses to attract more attention to your home from potential buyers.

Pricing

Setting an appropriate asking price is paramount when selling a home. A high asking price deters buyers from making offers and risks a longer time on market with multiple price drops. A low price could leave money on the table. A Realtor will research recently sold, comparable homes in the area to derive an accurate value estimate and list your home accordingly.

Negotiations

Once the offers come in, a Realtor will guide negotiations between the seller and potential buyers. A Realtor will strategize about offer terms and counteroffers to satisfy both parties involved in the transaction.

Paperwork

Additionally, real estate agents will ensure that all documents are properly completed to facilitate the smoothest possible transaction. A good real estate agent will also have a supporting transaction coordinator and a real estate broker that double checks all documents for completeness and accuracy.

Responsibilities of a Seller’s Realtor

Realtors provide sellers with invaluable assistance throughout the home selling journey. Check out this itemized list of 80 tasks a Realtor does for the typical seller. The best Realtors handle much more than this list. Also not included are the nuances and time involved with the numerous duties and responsibilities.

What’s It Like To Be A Bakersfield Realtor?

Juggling Act

The best Realtors must be able to multi-task, simultaneously juggling duties like prospecting, showing homes, negotiating, writing contracts, attending open houses, hosting events for potential buyers or sellers, endlessly preparing documents, and more. Time management skills and dedication are imperative to become a top-producing Realtor.

Realtors must also deal with competing demands from clients. Buyers may want one thing while sellers may want something else entirely. This can create tension between both parties which the Realtor must attempt to resolve or risk blowing up the deal.

Personality

In addition to the technical aspects of the job, Realtors must also possess strong interpersonal skills to foster trust with their clients and maintain positive relationships with vendors. Listening closely to clients’ wants and deeds is integral to successful real estate transactions.

Realtors must be able to maintain good relationships with other agents even if they are aggressively negotiating on behalf of their clients. Most Realtors operate withing a small geographical area, so burning bridges can quickly take a toll on a career.

Rewards

At the same time, being a Realtor can be a rewarding career. It’s a very gratifying experience to help sellers make their next big move or hand keys to a buyer who just purchased their dream home.

A Realtor’s job can also offer a flexible schedule, and grant control over career growth and development. Succeeding as a top-tier Realtor can also lead to potentially high income. However, just like any other profession, results are driven by effort.

Challenges

Real estate transactions involve large sums of money and emotions can run high during these times. The process can be stressful and emotional for many people, as it often involves making a significant financial investment and may also be tied to a major life event, such as a move or a change in family circumstances.

Clients may also have sentimental attachments to a property they are selling, which can make the process difficult for them emotionally. As a Realtor, it’s important to be understanding and empathetic towards clients, and to work to manage their emotions in a way that helps to ease the process for them.

Time is always of the essence. Real estate agents often must work within strict deadlines or else risk cancelation by a buyer or seller. Each contingency like inspections, the appraisal, and loan approval are tied to a timeline which must be met and can only be extended with the other party’s approval. There’s no rest until the deal is closed.

Last but not least, a Realtor’s livelihood often depends on a certain number of successful transactions, but there is no guarantee that any deal will close. In fact, any deal can cancel right up until the day of closing.

With tight deadlines, competing demands from clients, the need to remain calm under pressure, and relentless multi-tasking, stress if part of the job description.

Business Owner

Realtors are independent contractors running their own businesses. It’s nice to receive a big commission check but much of that cash is used to cover a long list of expenses. These costs include:

What’s missing from the list are times when a real estate agent must chip in some cash in the 11th hour to save a deal. All it takes is for both the buyer and seller to dig in their heels over miscommunication about some patio furniture. Then the Realtor winds up footing the bill to appease both sides.

Closing Time

In short, being a successful Realtor requires hard work and dedication. A real estate transaction will flow as smoothly as possible if managed by a good Realtor. This often depends on the buyer and seller, but many deals would crumble without a Realtor’s guiding hand.

Realtors are sometimes viewed as salespeople who only care about making money, without regard to their clients. This is an unfair perception, since most Realtors take great pride in helping a buyer find the perfect home or helping a seller take the next step for the family. Moreover, any Realtor taking that approach would not last very long in the real estate business. Word gets around fast, especially on the internet!

Do you need a Realtor? Property Wonk is here to help. Contact us today to get started.