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You may or may not have heard of Radon Gas. Its a poisonous gas that seeps into basement from the foundation. I’ve seen several home inspections turn up harmful levels in homes in Utah. A simple Radon ventilation system can fix the problem though. In old friend of mine, Travis Jewell, runs a company called Radovent that installs these systems in homes.
I’m balding, so I buzz my hair. I usually do it myself. My wife always tells me to just fork out $10 and get it done somewhere. Today I was in a hurry so I stopped in at the barber school for a $5 haircut. I got the rookie, hard to mess up a buzz right? It was his first haircut. After a few minutes of having my head manhandled an old gentleman with a nametag that said “Master Barber” came over to check on things. He took the clippers and started gently trimming around my ears. Immediately my shoulders unhunched and I sat back and enjoyed the rest of the haircut. He explained to the student that I can buzz the front of my head by myself, but when I sit in a barber chair, I can expect to have the back done expertly. He said the “Barber’s Area” is the lower 2 inches from the ears to the back of the head, its the part I can’t do well on my own.
I was amazed at how much more comfortable I felt knowing I had an experienced “master.”
It also made me think about real estate. There are many things you can do on your own when buying or selling a house. You can put your house up for sale all by yourself. You can view every listing on the MLS online all by yourself. You can even find your dream home all by yourself. But thats about all you can easily do on your own. What if it wasn’t just a buzz that would grow back in 2 weeks? What if it was a full blown cut and color for a woman? What if it was your largest single purchase or the sale of the most valuable asset you own? The rest is what I would call the “Realtor’s Area.”
The “Realtor’s Area” is the part that you can’t easily do on your own. Once someone makes an offer on your home, how do you know if they are qualified? How do you know if the 8 page contract is written in your favor, what contingencies the buyer has put in, or if their earnest money is even really on the table? Do you know the actual market value of the house you want to buy, can you negotiate the best deal possible with the seller or could you end up overpaying? These are things that an experienced agent can help you with. You can unhunch your shoulders, sit back and enjoy the transaction with confidence when you have an agent who has mastered negotiations, property valuations, contacts, marketing strategy, etc. I know my wife wouldn’t trust a rookie to cut her hair and I wouldn’t trust a newbie or part time agent to represent a client on a real estate transaction either.