The Value of a Professional
An editorial from our staff: The real estate industry is one in which most of us have a stake. After all, the majority of us have owned or leased a home. We have sat at the negotiating table on our own behalf. We have been a part of the closing process at least once, and, for some of us, that process was complex. We have dealt with brokers, attorneys, lenders, inspectors, appraisers, escrow accounts, and more. We have done all of this simply by participating in a lifestyle that has been drilled into us since birth. We all have “inherent experience.”
Perhaps this “inherent experience” is what leads people to go it alone in real estate so often. I am aware of no other industry in which non-professionals attempt to participate at such a high rate, and in spite of monumental and life-altering stakes!
Any broker can tell you a story about a client’s sky-high valuation of their own property. Any attorney can tell you the same story about sellers and buyers acting rashly. These experiences are not, of course, exclusive to non-professionals; like any other industry, real estate has its share of hucksters – but even a rookie gambler knows where to place the chips.
But what makes a professional a professional? Is it membership in a professional organization? Is it state licensure? Is it the number of properties under management? Is it a score on a test, a designation after a name, or an average transaction value? I will posit that the true definition of a professional is much simpler:
A professional is someone with a fanatical dedication to understanding and improving the process for their client.
We are fortunate to have a very busy property management division that is a constant and relentless consumer of sound business judgment. In this capacity, we interact daily with tenants and owners, individuals and entities of all sizes. The majority of my victories (and at least a few of my defeats) have been in this arena, where the blood pressure is always high and the time always short.
A recent and nimble win was slimming a poorly-performing property’s expenses with a combination of reworked maintenance management and restructured financing. It should be noted that I am neither an expert in the building trades nor the finance industry. We were able to do these things because we have committed ourselves to fanatically understanding the process, and as such, we work with the right people and we know precisely when to call them.
As a property owner, I benefit from these professional relationships. That would not be the case if this wasn’t my day job, however. While it is true that anyone can interface with a particular vendor in the industry, the typical owner cannot match the volume of work between two industry professionals who, in all likelihood, have crafted a relationship over long careers and across many transactions.
Access to those connections, the knowledge of when to use them, and the ability to smoothly transact business is, after all, the core benefit of hiring a professional.
I have avoided, and will continue to avoid, the age-old adages about working with professionals. Our trade associations do a tremendous job of explaining how we can save you money, or even make you more money. You have heard it before. Instead, I’ll end with a question in two parts: are you fanatically dedicated to the process and how many chips are you willing to place on it?
Mike DeChristopher
Principal
Skywave Realty Services
(888)551-WAVE Ext. 102
mike.dechristopher@skywaverealty.com
