Real Estate is a multi-faceted profession, much of the public does not clearly understand the inner workings, I hope this helps. Real Estate starts with a Seller who holds marketable title on a piece of real property. The property must be free of infringements, meaning clear of liens, all owners on the deed must mutually agree to sell and so on. Once this is established an owner of a property may connect with a Realtor or Real Estate Sales Person, (there is a difference), and can then initiate an employment contract to utilize the agents services. Along with this a Listing Agreement is contracted, this is the most crucial piece of documentation in the industry. Within this agreement the terms of the sale are drafted, a price is decided on, and a commission is agreed upon. This acts as the foundation for our relationship and legal security for all parties involved. At this point a fiduciary duty is placed upon the Real Estate Agent. This duty involves faithful representation and a responsibility to always do what is in the best interests of the client. Now the Seller has turned over the property to a Real Estate Professional and have placed all their hopes and dreams in the agents hands and thus the task of selling begins. This involves: advertising, open houses, brochures, promoting and making the property known to the rest of the Real Estate community. Almost all of the transactions in this Valley occur because of Realtor to Realtor communication, it usually doesn’t come from the other avenues I listed above. Now the activity starts with showings, prospective buyers previewing the property. It is only a matter of time before the right “willing & able” Buyer comes along and under the representation of their Realtor a purchasing contract or a Buy/Sell will be presented and usually after much negotiating both parties will come to acceptance and will create a binding agreement with certain steps that need to be completed to purchase the property. Most of the time a Real Estate transaction involves two parties: Seller & agent and Buyer & agent. The Seller is the one who pays both of the agents fee’s for being the procuring cause of the sell. The Buyer has no hand in paying any sort of Realtor commission, therefore it is entirely “FREE” for a Buyer to utilize a Real Estate Professional’s services……..unless for some reason an agent has additional fee’s for representation. In this market you might have to split the gas bill with your agent for driving around…….that’s a joke. This is the basics of how Real Estate works. There is much more involved, so keep an eye on this blog, we will cover everything from how it works to industry happenings and politics. For most of us, owning real property is the largest investment we will ever make, it can be nerve racking, emotional, and with the right representation, exciting and fulfilling. The best way to become comfortable with anything is knowledge and awareness…..that will be supplied free of charge through this innovative service provided by the Flathead Beacon.