Real Estate Consultant Job Description
A real estate consultant is a relatively new career path option for real estate professionals. It is an offshoot of the growing trend towards consumer-centric representation in the residential real estate market. Real estate consultants solely represent buyers and focus their expertise on developing strategies to achieve the buyer's goals and objectives.
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Differences between a "traditional" agent and a consultant
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Buying a home is a complicated transaction. Real estate agents generally work to achieve one goal: completing a sales transaction and receiving a commission payment at the closing table. The point-of-difference with a real estate consultant is that they can offer a prospective buyer an "a la carte" array of services to select from that are customized to service the buyer's needs.
Consultants charge fees "ala carte"
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Consultants can also charge an hourly or flat fee for selected services, as well as a commission. After assessing the needs of the buyer, the consultant presents a proposal of services with the corresponding fees and/or commission rate. The consultant and buyer negotiate and structure a final agreement. The goal is to provide transparency to the buyer and some degree of assurance of income for the consultant.
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Consultants Focus on Needs Assessment
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Real estate consultants are relied on for their expertise in conducting and providing the buyer with an in-depth needs assessment. Services range from the traditional primary tasks involved in showing properties, and extend to include insights and expertise in analyzing area sales statistics, sourcing appraisers, referring mortgage service providers, contractors and renovation providers, examining contracts before making offers, closing and escrow expertise and more.
The consultant prepares and presents a needs-based analysis to the buyer, which is then used to determine and structure the buyer-consultant relationship. Based on the buyer's needs, services may also extend beyond the closing table once the buyer makes a purchase and becomes a new homeowner.
Becoming a Real Estate Consultant
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Because this career path is still new to the industry, there are no specific licenses required to function as a real estate consultant. In fact, some real estate professionals are currently leveraging this capability as a tool to re-frame their career and position themselves more competitively.
However, astute real estate professionals take continuing education to become certified. This enables consultants to demonstrate to prospective buyers that they are not merely attaching a new label, but they actually possess a working knowledge as a trained and certified real estate consultant.
Accredited Buyer's Representatives (ABRs) are the forerunners in the consultant trend. They perform similar extended duties and focus on buyer representation. They are certified by the National Association of Realtors.
The National Association of Real Estate Consultants (NAREC) also provides certified training to become a consumer-centered consultant.
Hiring a Real Estate Consultant
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If you are considering hiring a real estate consultant, as opposed to a traditional real estate agent, ask about their training and certification.
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References
- Photo Credit agent image by Mitarart from Fotolia.com house image by hans slegers from Fotolia.com
