REALTOR® - A Realtor® is a licensed real estate agent who is a member of the National Association of Realtors® (NAR). As a member, a person subscribes to the standards of the association and its code of ethics. The NAR hold members to a higher standard, and membership in the NAR comes with access to real estate market data and transaction management services not available to non-members. ‘Realtor’ is a trademarked name, hence the ®.

REAL ESTATE AGENT - A person licensed to sell real estate. In Minnesota, they have taken 90 hours of state-approved coursework, have passed 2 exams (a state exam and a national exam), and passed other state requirements, like a background check, to become licensed in the state.

REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE - Brokerages serve as a type of supervisory management structure, supervising real estate agents. A brokerage will verify the licenses of agents, manage the office staff, and may provide additional services for agents, such as marketing resources and training. In return, the brokerage gets a percentage of an agent’s commission. Individual agents can also be brokers; Minnesota requires 3 years of real estate experience and additional coursework and exams to earn the licensure. Brokers may or may not continue to work under larger brokerages.

There are a lot of people involved in a real estate transaction and each can go by several titles. A quick breakdown:

REALTOR® / Real estate _______ [agent / consultant / advisor] - The primary person you work with during the process of buying or selling a property. They are an intermediary at many points of the transaction, communicate with the other side’s real estate agent, and can give insight to the process that allows you to make fully informed decisions. The amount of service provided by an agent ranges from hands-off to a step-by-step guide. Communicate your wants and needs while shopping around for an agent to work with. Do you simply want them to fill out the necessary paperwork after you find a house you like, or do you want them to take the lead on a home search, introduce you to competent lenders, and use their insight into the process to make the process as easy as possible for you? Assess your needs and find an agent that is a good match.

Brokerage - A brokerage is a company that holds a real estate agent’s license to practice real estate and its involvement with the agent can be minimal to high-touch. Generally, the broker/brokerage supervises the agent and provides support when needed, like a second eye at completed paperwork and advice in new situations that may occur during a transaction.

Loan officer - A loan officer represents a specific lending institution and helps you chose the best loan product their company offers based on your situation. They act as a liaison between you and their lending process. Because loan officers only have access to loans through their company, they only offer loans from their lender/company.

Mortgage broker - A mortgage broker shops for mortgage loans on your behalf. They look for loans across multiple companies, unlike a loan officer. A great lender will have wide access and knowledge about homeownership programs on the city, county, state, and federal level that may help you financially.

Closing agent / Closer- A closing agent reviews and clears title work to ensure the property you are buying or selling does not have any unknown attachments (like debts owed), and makes sure the seller’s and buyer’s closing documents are in order, correct, and signed on the date of closing.

Potentially, but unlikely. Real estate agents know the small but vital aspects of negotiating a closing that will keep you protected through and after the process - regardless of if you are a buyer or a seller. Partnering with an agent gives you security and peace of mind that an expert in the field is supporting one of the biggest purchases (or sales!) of your life.

You would have to price the home correctly to sell for its full potential value, or negotiate to the home’s worth as a buyer. Working with a Realtor® also gives you access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), an online service that real estate professionals use to learn about and share local property listings. It is an efficient way of sharing property information, facilitating smooth transactions, and giving clients access to the most accurate and up-to-date property information available.

Websites like Zillow, RedFin, and Realtor.com may offer low fees to list a home on their sites, yet the fee only covers a minuscule piece of the broad services, coverage, and support that a good Realtor® provides. Listings on those websites, and others like them, do not appear on the MLS and are out-of-date and inaccurate nearly all of the time. For example, the owner of Zillow.com’s home was estimated $2 million over its actual value…on Zillow.

Not a question, but I get where you’re going with it. First of all, a “down payment” is the amount of money a buyer is contributing at the time of sale to the cost of the house. Typically, down payment + loan = full cost of home. A down payment can range from 0% (zero dollars paid up front before a loan will kick in money for a home) to 20%+ (you, as a buyer, are putting a down payment in cash to the seller and the loan covers the rest of the house price to the seller.

A quick example: You are purchasing a $250,000 home with a loan that requires a down payment of 5%. 5% of $250,000 = (0.05 x $250,000) = $12,500. You provide $12,500 “cash” (in real life, you will most likely have your bank issue a cashier’s check) and the loan will supply the remainder of the house cost ($237,500).

* * This is a general overview of the big steps on the way to a home purchase. There are many other steps to the process that I will navigate with you. * *

1. Find a real estate agent to work with. There’s a bit of intuition to this - you can meet with several agents to feel them out and learn about the process. I would love to talk with you, so please reach out!

A heads up: A good agent will ask you sign a form called Agency Relationships in Real Estate Transactions. This form is not a contract and not legally binding in any way; it’s simply a form that gives potential clients an understanding of where their interests lie in a real estate transaction, and how roles in the process will play out, should they later sign with an agent.

2. Get pre-approval from a lender. It is crucial to the home-buying process to meet with a lender and get pre-approval. It will give you a better idea of what you can afford and makes you competitive with other buyers when you make an offer on a home. The lender will ask for:

- Personal information (driver’s license, SSN)
- Employment verification
- Proof of income
- Proof of assets (ex: bank statements)
- Check your credit score

In less than 72 hours, the lender will tell you how much their company is willing to lend you and at what interest rate. Now you are ready to seriously look at homes and are able to make competitive offers.

3. Look for a home. A real estate agent will ask about and listen to your parameters and considerations of what you’re looking for to guide your home hunt. How many bedrooms do you want? How many vehicles should the garage fit? Is it newly updated or can you imagine fixing it up over time? There is no reason to look at 20 homes that do not even remotely fit your needs, so this conversation is crucial and should be ongoing as you view houses and learn more about what is available for your price range in the market.

4. Make an offer. Once you find a house that you want to make an offer on, your agent will discuss the offer with you and draw up the standard homebuyers contract. The agent will deliver the offer to the seller’s agent and be in contact with the seller’s agent. If the offer is countered (countered = the sellers like most of your offer, but want to adjust something - for examples, the closing date, maybe some repair terms, etc.), you agent will spearhead the negotiations to get the offer to the point of acceptance. When it is accepted, it is time to close the deal.

5. Close the deal. When the offer is accepted or countered by a seller, an agent communicates with all parties involved to close the deal, tying up any and all loose ends in your best interests to ensure you get your home. They will guide you through the final walk through (is everything out of the house that you want out of the house? have promised repairs been made?), and prepare you for the closing meeting. Typically, the buyers, sellers, a representative from the title company, the mortgage lender, and a closing agent will all be in attendance.

* * This is a general overview of the big steps on the way to a home purchase. There are many other steps to the process that I will navigate with you. * *

1. Find a real estate agent to sell your home. There’s a bit of intuition to this - you can meet with several agents to feel them out and learn about the process. I am also a seller’s agent so let’s talk!

Even if you’re selling your home, a good agent will ask you sign a form called Agency Relationships in Real Estate Transactions when you first meet. This form is not a contract and not legally binding in any way; it’s simply a form that gives potential clients an understanding of where their interests lie in a real estate transaction, and how roles in the process will play out, should they later sign with an agent.

2. Preparing the home for market. Or what we agents like to call “staging.” This can be as simple as ensuring the house is clean and tidy for open houses, a fresh coat of paint on high-traffic rooms, or exterior greenery. Some agents work with professional stagers, who bring in furniture and home decor to showcase your home, and others agents can give you advice on how to make improvements with things you already have.

3. Open houses. Open houses are fantastic opportunities for prospective buyers to see for themselves what makes your home special. Your agent will host the open houses, and work with you to schedule them. It is also standard for the owners to do their own thing, away from the home, while the agent hosts the open house.

4. Field offers. Buyers interested in your house will submit an offer. You can either accept, reject, or counter the offer. If you…

Accept an offer - Formally accept the offer, schedule a closing, and get ready to move!
Reject the offer - Reject the offer and continue to review other incoming offers.
Counter the offer - If you like most of the offer, counter it with your desired modifications for the buyer to consider.

5. Close the deal. Once an offer is accepted, there are several other things that need to happen before all of the paperwork is signed and keys are handed to their new owners, typically on the buyer’s side. For example, buyers will have a professional home inspection performed, the buyer’s lender will order an appraisal to estimate how much they think the property is worth, and the lender will start processing the buyer’s loan. If / when everything goes smoothly, the deal “closes” - you sold the property and have the money in your bank account, less the balance owed on the mortgage(s).