Real Estate Professional Vs Realtor

Real Estate Professional Vs Realtor

What is the difference? This may be a piece on perception, if it is it is my perception. I see a Real Estate Professional is one that helps people that own real estate sell, protect, buy, invest and advise in real estate matters. A Realtor is someone that tries to get you to sell or buy real estate, they call with no real value, they hand out cards, ask friends and family all the time for referrals not providing any real value. I don't feel a updated CMA or current market analysis is real value. I know that a lot of agents think this is. Why is this? Because they have been told by associations and So Called Coaches that this is value.

What do I see as value? Depends on situation. You may need to do some simple Estate Planning. Real Estate is what estate planning is apart of. The estate or a persons positions is an estate. You can own land, have a lease, own personal items. I have handled several families estates in the past 2 years. I am talking about 8 families that had no Estate planning and they all had Realtors that helped them buy Real Estate. Real Estate is defined as land with improvements in the form of buildings that are attached to the Land. Why am I going on about this?

I sat down to write about the difference between Real Estate Professional and Realtor and this is where my crazy mind went. Why should a family  look into getting a living trust. Because it is a tool that will transfer real property and personal property without probate. Wouldn't a will do this? No the law is very literal. A Will is an expression of your will and not a legal statement of what you want. A living trust is a legal expression of your desires. Why is this? A Trust is Notarized by a notary. A notary is a court clerk at large. This means it is an official court document. A will is just that a paper with your expressions of your will nothing more until a judge says it is official. Now you have the state and courts in your life and now you have to prove to them the facts and pay the system for its verifying what your loved ones wanted done. 

I have a customer that got a trust in 2001 as I advised she pasted 2 years ago her sister is now the trustee of her living trust. Now we have 5 pieces of land to transfer and sell. I took copy of trust to Title company and this will be easy transfer to be able to market property for sell and transfer property. Conversely I have a customer right now that had no advisor and his grandmother left the property to him. We have to do and expedited probate it will still take 6 months and cost over $4,000.00 to probate plus 8 months payments to the bank on the house and you have $9600.00 in expenses. A trust would have cost between $500-$1500.00. Who brought real value to the customer? 

The Person that sold the family the property, the Realtor, or the advisor that encouraged the family to plan for something that will befall us all? Who brought real value to the customer?

When I call someone I am not calling to say Hi, to find out if you know someone that is looking to buy or sell that I can talk to. I only call when someone has expressed an interest in real estate. How? Logging into my website, requested a home valuation or just have a question. I feel that offers are just that offers no value. I see value as something real. Not, I may have a buyer, we will buy yours, you buy mine or if it does not sell I will buy your house.  To me this are worthless offers because of all the conditions that are required to make the offer to be good. To many conditions to make the offer have real value. Warranties or Guarantees are not written to protect the consumer they are all written to protect the company that offers the product. So  do these so called offers have real value?  You tell me.....  

I do not feel that I can make these offers and have integrity, I do not feel like I am being an advisor, protector or being real estate professional making these offers. I see this as a function of a Realtor, not a protector, not an advisor. This is why I have not called everyone I have sold property to and asked for referrals, I do not cold call and try and talk you into selling if you do not want to. I will not and refuse to engage in being a telemarketer. If you want real estate advise, I am here. Do you want the truth about value? I am here. If not use Zillow the home of the Realtor and not where you will find a true Real Estate Professional. 

Be looking for more value from me, be looking for interviews from local entrepreneurs, leaders and information from writers and podcast I have been listening too. I have to apologize for allowing myself to have listened to the coaches and gurus. I had allowed myself to become what I am not a Realtor. I am now back to being me a professional that happens to market and sell real estate.