Things To Know About Your Community

Just as you likely pride yourself on being well-prepared from a professional standpoint, from being well-versed in real estate terminology to being aware of the local housing market, you should take just as much pride in being knowledgeable about your community. Questions from clients about the community are just as important as practical questions about real estate.

In fact, clients will probably value your answers to these questions just as much or more than the answers to specific real estate inquiries. Even if you answer their real-estate-related questions adequately, they may not know exactly what to do with that information once they have it; simply knowing you have an answer will be enough, and they will trust that areas where they lack expertise will be safely handled by professionals such as yourself.

Questions about the community, however, ring much truer for clients because they “hit them where they live,” literally and figuratively. These questions are not just theoretical but practical concerns; they deal with the day-to-day specifics of how your client will live their life in their new home as well as with the overall compatibility of your client’s new reality with the dreams they had for themselves.

By remaining knowledgeable on a few key elements of your community, you make yourself an invaluable resource to your clients.

Crime and convenience

Think about walking down the street as the resident of a particular neighborhood. What considerations might you have? How safe will you feel? How accessible are various attractions and services? Quite literally, put yourself in the shoes of a client who has potentially moved to the area. Be knowledgeable on everything from crime rates to walkability.

This doesn’t mean simply memorizing terms, facts, and figures. In fact, in terms of sensitive topics such as crime and safety, qualitative approximations of quantitative realities may be the best way to reach a client. You can refer to a neighborhood as “safe” and they will trust that you have done enough research to make that assertion.

However, make sure that you do have the quantitative evidence to back up qualitative statements. You do not need to have it readily at your disposal, but make sure that you can access it if asked.

Trivia and engagement

It is also a good idea to have a grasp of quality-of-life details as well as a few pieces of trivia. These factoids and insights are like the little knickknacks new homeowners set up on their mantelpieces to give their space a personal touch. Think of this kind of information as the “personal touch” aspect of introducing your client to a new neighborhood. They may have a curiosity on subjects ranging from opportunities to practice an active lifestyle to historic landmarks around town.

Many of this information is readily supplied on tourism board websites and city or travel brochures, but it is more meaningful coming from you because it means that you have taken the steps to go the extra mile in service of settling your client not just into their new house, but into their new community.