Closing the Deal

Well, in a little more than an hour, I will be accompaying one of my clients to the closing on her home. Closing, as in, the "close of escrow", or the the legal process of buying it. Although there isn't much for agents to do at closing, other than sit at the table, shut up, offer moral support to your client, and ask for a check with your name on it. For those of you who think that all we do is unlock the keybox and show up at closing, I would offer you the type of "ride along" program that police departments do, but I don't think that Crye-Leike offers that. We earn our money--trust me. Don't believe me? Then find your way over to a TREC-approved school (Tennessee Real Estate Commission, our governing body), spend 60 hours in a licensing class, pass the test (both parts!), spend another 30 hours on the "Affiliate Broker Course", get an Error & Ommissions insurance policy, pay TREC your 2-year license fee, and then go out and get yourself a client (oh yeah, if you want access to the MLS, that's extra). I'm not tooting my own horn.....I'm just saying that bad appraisals, home inspections, missing paperwork, disputed repairs, goofy lender's policies, 11th-hour delays, etc. are all a way of life.

The awesome thing about this transaction is that it will put me one step closer to obtaining the ABR designation--Accredited Buyer Representative. Just like you would be more confident in an accountant with "CPA" after their name, a buyer should be more confident in the ABR designation--it indicates a level of education and experience. Once upon a time, it truly was "Buyer beware"--everybody in the transaction essentially worked for the seller. Now, the environment of real esate has changed dramatically, and these three little letters will hopefully translate into more buyers, all of whom are confident in my abilities to serve their needs.