What is a Real Estate Advisor?
When you’re thinking about buying or selling a home, and especially when you’re trying to maximize your investments, things can get a bit overwhelming. Knowing what you need and how to read the market is challenging to say the least. That’s why many people turn to real estate advisors.
As a real estate advisor, my goal is always to help my clients maximize their real estate investments. Period. Once I understand your real estate goals, I do all the behind-the-scenes number crunching to help you get there. This includes helping you manage all the technical and financial aspects of buying or selling your home.
That looks a little different for each client, of course. Here’s a little bit more about how I work.
Why Choose A Real Estate Advisor
If you’re looking to buy or sell your home, you have a few options (see my tips on preparing for home ownership here).
If you’re really convinced you know what you’re doing, you can certainly try the ‘go it alone’ approach. There’s no law saying you have to work with a real estate professional to buy or sell a home. But forewarned: while you might think you’ll be saving money in realtor fees, you’ll typically end up paying a lot more when you try to handle it all yourself. In this scenario, what you don’t know can make you pay a lot more.
A better option is to work with a real estate agent, who represents your interests in all stages of the process, including negotiation. Real estate agents will certainly understand the market and the process much better than the average person, making them a great choice for many.
And a better option still is to work with a real estate agent who will also act as an advisor, helping you understand the long term financial implications of your real estate decisions.
If your goal is to maximize your financial investment (and not just find your dream home), then you’ll want to work with a real estate advisor.
Real estate advisors will represent your interests, and they will also understand the local market and the ins-and-outs of home buying. We bring an extra level of numbers-crunching and financial expertise to the real estate process.
My goal isn’t just to help you find your right house for right now. My goal is to help you find the right house to match your long term financial goals, too.
The Role Of A Real Estate Advisor
A real estate advisor is similar to a financial advisor, except our primary focus is on real estate transactions. In fact, I began my career as a Chartered Professional Accountant (CPA), so I bring a high level of financial expertise to this role.
Ultimately, a real estate advisor should have a great number sense, as well as deep knowledge of the real estate market and how to analyze it for both opportunities and risks. When I meet with my clients, I work to understand their financial goals long before we discuss how many bedrooms they need or what colour they’d prefer for their kitchen.
That said, my goal is always to help my clients not only make the best financial decision, but also one that will excite them. Sometimes that means making the most of the sale of their home, and sometimes it means getting the best value on their purchase. I take care of the negotiation, analysis and long-term vision and planning, so they can have peace of mind.