Avoided a costly repair for your clients?
If so, let me know. MSBR will be sending articles to local papers on how MSBR agents have helped their buyers and sellers. We need you real life stories! email them to debbie@msbrmd.com
Here's how one Charleston, SC agent helped his client avoid repair disasters
Home buyer Patrick Key admits he was naive about the real estate process after having been a renter for seven years. “I felt embarrassed that I didn’t know what I was doing,” says Key, a pharmacist in Charleston, S.C.
But his agent, David Kent, ABR®, CIPS, broker-owner and president of Charleston Home in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., was ready to help. Kent had an entry point to demonstrate his value as a real estate professional through education. From that moment on, Kent became Key’s real estate teacher during their nine-month journey together.
“David was such a joy to work with,” Key says. “When we viewed houses—way over 50 of them—he would talk in a low, soft voice and point to stuff that might be a problem.”
Kent showed the couple how healthy HVAC units should operate and identified the warning signs of roofs and foundations in disrepair, helping them to decide their threshold for tolerating needed fixes to a home. These are things they wouldn’t have noticed on their own, Key says.
“My job is to make it less complicated and lay out and explain the contract and potential liabilities,” Kent says.
These days, with such low inventory, buyers have to move quickly on their purchase. “But I want it to be a non-pressure situation. I give them a buyer’s guide, and I go through it initially. That way, they are prepared for a lot of things,” Kent says.
During client consultations, Kent emphasizes his negotiation skills, especially as they relate to property repairs. He also talks about himself as an agent and his sales track record, but that’s a secondary point. Kent aims to lean in on what he does for his clients. “Every step of the way, you talk about what’s going on and make sure their contract is structured to protect the buyer and still get the house,” Kent says.
Kent’s construction and sales knowledge helped Key avoid potential issues that could have cost him heartache and money. “We went to one house, and there was a massive rug,” Key recalls. “David pointed it out and said it was an odd location for a rug. I pulled it up, and there was a hole a foot wide that it was covering up.”
In the end, Key found a home that needed minimal work thanks to Kent’s expertise. And that’s the kind of value you want to bring to your clients, too.
Send your story to debbie@msbrmd.com