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If you are considering the purchase or sale of a home, this article was written for you! If you are wondering whether it makes sense to hire a real estate professional to help with the process, you are asking the right question.
The purchase or sale of a home is one of the most important transactions that consumers enter into in their lifetimes. It also represents one of life’s most significant financial commitments. For these reasons, consumers, whether they are purchasing or selling a home, benefit from hiring a real estate professional to assist with the process.
Nobody would ever rely on an unverified social media opinion to treat a serious medical issue. Nobody facing a significant legal challenge would attempt to represent him or herself in court. So, why would someone attempt to purchase or sell a home without the help of a real estate professional? The answer is right before our eyes. Many consumers have not been properly educated as to what a real estate professional actually does... until now, that is.
For years, many (if not most) homesellers listed their homes with real estate professionals to take advantage of the incredible exposure that the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) provides. If this is all the real estate professional did, the cost for doing so might be questioned. In reality, the real estate professional was delivering a much fuller package of services. The marketing of the home through the MLS was only part of it.
Homebuyers and sellers are more knowledgeable today than at any other time in history. As consumers of products and services, buyers and sellers have become more conscious of the prices they pay and the value they receive. Today’s real estate professional clearly understands that the best consumer to work with is an educated consumer. This article serves as a co-teacher.
When speaking of real estate professionals, the term REALTOR® is often used. It is important for buyers and sellers to understand what this term means. Before becoming a REALTOR®, he or she had to obtain a real estate license. Typically, this entails completing a state-approved real estate course and then passing a rigorous state examination. To proudly call oneself a REALTOR®, he or she must obtain membership in the Local, State, and National Association of REALTORS®
As part of his or her membership, a REALTOR® agrees to uphold a strict and comprehensive set of ethical standards called the REALTORS® Code of Ethics. Adherence to the Code is what distinguishes a REALTOR® from other real estate professionals. As a comparison, all real estate licensees, whether REALTORS® or not, are bound by state license law. State laws often establish what are known as minimal standards of acceptable care.
By also agreeing to abide by the REALTORS® Code of Ethics, a REALTOR® rises above minimal standards to a higher level of true professionalism. According to the Preamble of the Code of Ethics, the term REALTOR® exhibits a combination of competency, fairness, and high integrity. REALTORS® pledge to observe the spirit of the Code in all of their activities and to conduct their business in accordance with all aspects of the Code.
Housing fulfills a long-term essential human need. And, purchasing a home is not like buying other tangible items. For example, there is generally far more emotional involvement with a home purchase or sale. We view our homes as an extension of ourselves. Beyond our homes, we have an instinctual need to be part of a community. This gives us a sense of belonging to something greater than ourselves.
A home purchase or sale process can trigger a rising tide of emotions. These emotions are all good in the end and can encompass excitement, concern, worry, disappointment, hope, satisfaction, and ultimately fulfillment. It is difficult for a consumer to separate themselves from these emotions.
This is where a real estate professional steps in and infuses the necessary knowledge, skills, and objectivity for the client. At the center of the home purchase or sale process is the real estate professional whose job it is to carefully orchestrate everything. The real estate professional is like a shepherd who oversees the transaction–from start to finish.
As you read this overview, keep in mind that the laws of some states can vary. The nature of the specific agreement and/or relationship between the client and the real estate professional can vary as well. It is important that clients have the flexibility to enter into the relationship that best serves their needs. Freedom, choice, and transparency are part of this process.
Real estate professionals may represent their clients as agents. Then this occurs, a seller enters into a listing agreement through which the seller legally appoints the real estate professional (or the real estate professional’s broker) to act as the seller’s agent. Similarly, a buyer enters into a buyer agency agreement through which the buyer legally appoints the real estate professional (or the real estate professional’s broker) to act as the buyer’s agent. Depending on the terms of the relationship, the agent can be in position to act as the client’s advisor, advocate, and negotiator.
Advice: Today’s real estate transaction is more detailed and complex than at any other time in history. It is more challenging today for a consumer to purchase or sell a home on their own. This is why having ready access to a real estate advisor is so important.
Some consumers believe they can get all the information they need with a simple Internet search. The problem is that these searches often produce an overwhelming number of hits. It is challenging to sift through all the misinformation, disinformation, and marketing items to find what you need. It’s hard sometimes knowing what or who you can trust.
Well, your dedicated real estate professional can be trusted. He or she is your resource for honest and objective information. Your real estate professional knows what data to search for using the tools at his or her disposal. The data they obtain is verifiable and legitimate. With data in hand, the real estate professional knows precisely how to apply it to the benefit of his or her client. In this sense, a real estate professional is a data application specialist. This is similar to what a doctor or an attorney does for their patients and clients.
Advocacy: When a real estate professional advocates for his or her client, he or she is promoting the best interests of the client. Again applying a medical and legal analogy, a doctor is the patient’s healthcare advocate and an attorney is the client’s legal advocate.
Negotiation: Of all the services a real estate professional provides, negotiation is perhaps the most crucial to a great outcome for a client. Serving as a negotiator is also part of what an advocate does. An experienced and trusted negotiator can rise above the emotions. By being objective, the negotiator can often obtain a better result for the client than the client might have obtained on his or her own.
A negotiator explores and evaluates potential outcomes and helps select the one most important to the client's needs and desires. The negotiator then works diligently to help the other party understand that it is also in their best interest as well. No homebuyer or seller should ever discount the importance and value of this service.
In Michigan, for example, there are a number of important duties and services that a real estate professional provides to his or her client. These apply regardless of whether the professional represents a buyer-client or a seller-client.
Duties: Here is an overview of the duties that a a real estate professional provides to his or her client when acting as an agent:
– Exercising reasonable care and skill when representing the client (including informing the client of all relevant and important facts);
– Performing the terms of a seller’s listing agreement or buyer agency agreement;
– Loyalty to the client;
– Compliance with all laws, rules and regulations;
– Referral of the client to other licensed professionals when necessary such as attorneys, tax advisors, and inspectors to name a few;
– Accounting for deposits and other monies received by the agent; and
– Maintaining strict confidentiality.
Services: Along with the duties we just discussed, a a real estate professional also provides a number of valuable services. Here is a sampling of just a few:
– Marketing of a seller’s home utilizing the Multiple Listing Service as well as other Internet-based avenues;
– Handling notices, disclosures, offers, and counteroffers as part of the representation and negotiation process;
– Once a purchase agreement has been signed, guiding the client through the detailed process of preparing for a successful transaction closing.
There are great number of other functions that a real estate professional provides to buyer-clients and seller-clients. When buyers and sellers face the exciting, and potentially daunting, task of buying and selling a home, it is clear that a great a real estate professional can bring a sense of calm and confidence to the process. By handing the pressure of attending to all transaction details over to their a real estate professional, a buyer or a seller can relax and actually enjoy the process.
Ultimately, the pleasure of a successful real estate transaction is worth the price of a real estate professional. For sellers, the price might include a higher sale price negotiated by their real estate professional. And for buyers, their real estate professional might be able to procure a better deal as well. All real estate professionals have one goal in mind–helping their buyer-clients and seller-clients fulfill the American Dream of homeownership.
Now that you know everything your real estate professional might do for you, be sure to thank them at the closing!
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Copyright © 2025 by NCI Associates, Ltd.
Content by Jack K Waller
Jack is the owner of NCI Associates, Ltd., a Michigan-based education and consulting company that provides education services to the real estate industry. See TeamNCI.com for more information. The information in this article is subject to change and does not constitute a legal opinion nor is it intended to be relied upon as such. No representations or warranties whatsoever are herein made. For permission to reprint this article, please email info@TeamNCI.com
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