If you didn’t read my last blog post How an Assistant Can Give Away Her Job, it’s a great companion to what you are about to read.
As a lone admin, I had reached a point where I needed leverage. I had too much on my plate and it was time to give away part of my job. I knew early on that this day would come and when it did, I was giving up the contract to close portion of my job.
As a high C on the DISC, one would think that I would love the transactions. Well, yes and no. I loved the paperwork; making sure all the correct boxes were checked. Busting people on everything they did wrong and devising a way to fix it. Checking things off the list as they happened.
But for me, this was the part of the job that had the most client interaction. And I’m terrible on the phone. I’ll admit it. I don’t know how to comfort someone and instill confidence in them. I can’t empathize with them when they want to sell their house and are having a hard time finding a rental and want to cry on my shoulder about it. I have a hard time taking on other people’s problems.
So, when I started looking for a transaction coordinator to take that job away from me, I wanted someone who was everything I was not. I mean, they had to be great with paperwork and have an eagle eye for catching mistakes, but they also needed to be great on the phone. They needed to be able to talk to people in a way that made them feel comfortable with letting our team handle their problems.
That’s where Courtney Downer comes in. We’re coming up on her one year anniversary with our team and boy has she been rocking it! I totally pat myself on the back for hiring her every time I hear her on the phone with clients or co-op agents and handling them like a pro.
Another thing I wanted my new hire to do was to negotiate inspections. During my time as the only admin on the team alongside two sales agents, I didn’t have time to do that part of the contract to close process. And I’m not sure I really wanted to anyway since that requires talking to a lot of people about sticky subjects.
But I knew that if we took negotiating inspections away from the agents, this would free up a big chunk of their time for them to get more business, spend time with clients, or just relax with their families.
So that’s what I did. I trained Courtney on everything I knew about the contract to close process and my lead agent Ron Henderson taught her how to talk to people about the inspections and the resolution of unacceptable conditions.
This has totally turned out to be a huge win for our team!
There are times when the sales agents need to get back involved. Occasionally, the clients feel like they need a second opinion and then Courtney will have the agent call the client. Occasionally, the client will want additional inspections and the agent will have to let them into the house. But for the most part, Courtney takes them through the inspection process and our agent calls them when that part is over just to congratulate the client on getting one step closer to closing.
I asked Courtney to sit down with me and tell us about her experience as our transaction coordinator and how that’s working out for her:
Resource Videos
Here are some of the videos Courtney watched to learn more about how to negotiate inspections:
- Negotiating home inspection repair requests with Brad Anderson
- To Repair or Not to Repair in Real Estate – Jessica Edwards
- Home Inspection Negotiations
- Cobb County Real Estate Agent: My best home inspection tips
Email to Sellers
Dear (Client),
We received the full inspection report today and I’m attaching a couple documents to this email.
The first document attached is the RESOLUTION OF UNACCEPTABLE CONDITIONS ADDENDUM. The buyers have indicated on paragraph 1 a list of items that they would ask you to repair before closing. You can choose to repair all of them, just a few of them, or none of them, but please keep in mind we want to keep these buyers on board with the purchase if possible.
The full INSPECTION REPORT is the second document attached. There are a lot of little items mentioned in the full report but the buyers are only concerned about the repair items mentioned in the Resolution of Unacceptable Conditions. Everything else is fine and the buyer will accept them as is.
If you need assistance in locating vendors to help with any of these repairs we have a list of preferred vendors on our website. Sometimes just talking with a repair expert about the issue goes a long way in helping you make your decision.
Thank you,
Email to Buyers
Hello (Client),
We have received a copy of your whole home inspection, which ________________ sent to you by email (this morning/late yesterday).
Remember, the purpose of a home inspection is not to prepare a lengthy repair list. All homes have defects; it’s nearly impossible to acquire one that is perfect. The home inspection report is an excellent tool to equip you in making an informed purchase decision and give you a working knowledge of any significant defects.
If you’re not sure what action you would like to take, perhaps make a list of pros and cons, or highlight some of the areas of the report that stand out to you. I will also review the report and call you (this afternoon/tomorrow morning) to discuss how you would like to proceed.
Please feel free to call or email me if you have any questions or review the report and would like to discuss it before (this afternoon/tomorrow morning).
Thank you,
Comments/Questions?
Does your team have a transaction coordinator who handles inspection negotiations for your team? Tell us how your TC works in the comments. If you have questions for Courtney, leave them in the comments. I’ll have her respond!