Your success in any career relies heavily on positive daily interactions. As a Transaction Coordinator, you hope to find friendly faces across the real estate community—buyers, sellers, agents, and beyond! A strong real estate partnership does wonders for morale and motivates you to do your best every day.
What Does a Real Estate Partnership Look Like for a TC?
Granted, you work from home and lock eyes with your computer most of the time. (It’s not the most intimate relationship in the world!) But your entire workflow comes from realtors—the partners who matter most.
Real estate agents hire you to perform various administrative tasks. They can make or break your day with their mood, expectations, and workload. However, the quality of your career isn’t entirely in their hands: as an independent TC, you have some leeway in deciding who you want to work with.
Aside from realtors, you’ll develop important bonds with lenders, insurance agents, loan officers, and investors (just to name a few). But none will matter as much as the real estate partnership you create with your hiring realtor.
Why Is Knowing How To Build A Strong Real Estate Partnership So Crucial?Â
Even if the work remains the same, who you work with matters. From asking important questions, receiving feedback, or asking favors… you want a strong real estate partnership to fall back on. Take a closer look!
You’ll Expand Your Real Estate Network and Reach New Clients
A sturdy real estate partnership inspires a better quality of work. And stellar work is worth talking about. You can expect word to spread about your performance and take on new transaction coordination opportunities.
But that’s not all! Being a Transaction Coordinator to a well-known, well-respected realtor also means more exposure to their already-developed professional network. You skip quite a few networking steps by fostering a strong real estate partnership with the right person from the get-go.
Related: 6 Important Virtual Networking Tips for Transaction Coordinators
You Can Combine Your Talents and Learn From Each Other
A good partner sees you for all you’re worth. You’re not just a grunt, performing low-stakes tasks. You contribute good ideas, work efficiently, and make it possible for realtors to move swiftly and effectively through their daily duties.
The ideal real estate partnership is one where the Transaction Coordinator and agent teach each other, swap ideas, and exist in mutual respect. You should feel like each client is a new learning opportunity. But your realtors will be learning from you simultaneously.
You’ll Hold Each Other Accountable and Grow Together
Feedback shouldn’t hurt within a solid real estate partnership. It’s part of the job, after all! Whenever you realize a mistake or failure to negotiate the terms of your working agreement, you should feel comfortable discussing it with your real estate agent.
The reaction you should receive is, “thanks for pointing that out! I’ll do what I can to fix it.” And you should respond similarly when it’s your turn to accept blame. (It happens to everyone in real estate at some point or another — learn from the experience and move forward together.)
How to Build a Strong Real Estate Partnership as a Transaction Coordinator
If you’re struggling to find or establish a good real estate partnership as a Transaction Coordinator, you may need to shift your focus on the job. Check out five effective ways to form tight, positive connections with your real estate agent.
Set Clear Expectations From the Start
No matter how kind or knowledgeable you are, the failure to communicate expectations (and boundaries) from the start has serious consequences for a Transaction Coordinator. Your work overlaps with your real estate agent’s in several different places, so you want to minimize upset and confusion whenever possible.
For example, you should clearly state your hours of availability and technological aptitude before you begin work with a new realtor. Even the most experienced TCs are often surprised by how differently their clients work from one another. The best way to acclimate to varying work styles is to advocate for your own needs and abilities up front.
Communication Is Key
Ongoing communication is a must in any corner of the real estate structure. Not only are you responsible for voicing your own concerns and needs, but also for delivering updates about your clients and the documents you’re working on.
Think about it this way: homebuyers and sellers view you and their real estate agent as a single entity! When they ask one of you a question, they expect the other to know about it, too. It causes them undue worry when one of you is left in the dark or, worse, gives a different opinion altogether.
The ticket to presenting as a united front is frequent discussion. Leave no detail untouched when working in a real estate partnership.
Focus on Providing Value In Your Real Estate Partnership
A common Transaction Coordinator mistake is taking the “sit back and wait for instructions” approach with their realtors. You become more of an (appreciated) asset when you do some of the thinking work yourself.
For example, anticipate each step in the process you’re working on. Take the liberty of reaching out to collect signatures, prepare documents for review, or notify appraisers that you’ll need their assistance shortly.
It might be difficult to step out in front of your realtor if your real estate partnership is still new. But at least demonstrate that you’re thinking—taking notes and preparing to relieve them of some excess stress. At some point down the line, they may find it difficult to picture working without you!
Learn How to Compromise and Work Together
There are 101 ways to reach your final destination on any real estate project. But in a real estate partnership, you can only choose one. Discuss your thoughts and strategies with your realtor, but understand some compromises must be made for a truly cohesive relationship.
In the end, you’re both chasing the same goal: to help your clients! Keep a close eye on how often you give in to your realtor’s ideas and vice versa. The best real estate partners will give and take equally, so as not to cause strain on the job.
Patience, Kindness, and Gratitude Will Go Far
Practice using kind words (and a kind tone) each time you come in contact with your real estate partner. You won’t always be in a good mood or agree with the issues at hand, but you can exercise control over any situation by remaining calm, expressing gratitude, and discussing problems professionally until they’re solved.
On the flip side, be understanding when your realtor is having a bad day. Be part of the solution, not the problem! There is always something you can say or do to improve someone else’s work environment. Even when it’s difficult, rise to support your realtor in a real estate partnership.
A strong real estate partnership can make your role as a Transaction Coordinator more enjoyable and effective. Use these strategies to kick off new working relationships on the right foot or repair old connections. After all, when you have the right tools, nothing is beyond your control as a TC.
