A local mountain Realtor can help you find your dream home while guiding you through one of the most complex and important financial transactions of your life.
When you need someone to help you buy or sell a home, there’s no shortage of real estate professionals willing to take on the job — but how do you know that the person you’re hiring is savvy, professional, experienced and ethical?
In Summit County, professional real estate brokers are true mountain guides that assist buyers and sellers with all kinds of complexities that can come up during a transaction. You want to use someone who’s a member of the Summit Association of REALTORS® to ensure you’re getting the most accurate market knowledge from a mountain professional guide.
“We only allow licensed Realtors into our membership,” said Dana Cottrell, a Realtor with Summit Resort Group and SAR’s president-elect. “Last year our association offered 24 continuing education classes specific to topics affecting Summit, Lake and Park counties.”
Cottrell said she believes SAR members are the best representatives for buyers and sellers in our mountain region.
“We’re your rock during a complex process,” she said. “Our members are passionate and have amazing expertise.”
The REALTOR® difference
Everything SAR provides for its members aims to make them better at what they do. When SAR invites national teachers to come up to Summit County to present, Cottrell said they often can’t believe how complex SAR’s members practice is.
“The things we do regularly up here may only be seen once in a career in other places,” she said.
“When you work with a SAR member, you’re working with someone who does business up here in the mountains,” she said. “That’s the idea — you want to pick someone who knows this market inside and out.”
Beware of online resources or companies that say you don’t need a Realtor, said Tom Coolidge, president of the Summit Association of Realtors.
“Real estate is often the largest investment you’ll make in your lifetime — you need professional guidance,” he said.
A local mountain real estate broker is going to provide you the best, most comprehensive, competent, local expertise to guide you through your real estate journey.
An expert guide
Buying a home usually requires dozens of forms, reports, disclosures, and other technical documents. A knowledgeable expert will help you prepare the best deal, and avoid delays or costly mistakes.
“We act as your buffer to help you stay focused on the issues that are most important to you,” Cottrell said.
A local mountain broker will know how to guide their clients to the right lender, and perhaps most importantly, these Realtors are going to spend an average of 50 to 100 hours managing each and every deal.
“Your broker will guide you through the process over the complete timeline,” Coolidge said. “Buyers and sellers have to be protected with integrity, local knowledge and professionalism through the entirety of the transaction.”
What can a Realtor do for you?
• Realtors vow to treat their clients ethically.
• Realtors help protect buyers and sellers throughout the transaction.
• Realtors negotiate the best price by using current and leading market data.
• Realtors know your neighborhood and community.
• Realtors are your advocates during one of the most significant financial transactions you’ll make in your lifetime.
• Realtors offer a human connection to a complex process.
• Realtors are supported by the nation’s largest professional trade organization — the National Association of REALTORS® — protecting your property and community long after contracts are signed.
Source: National Association of REALTORS®