There are many ways to accomplish more as a real estate agent. You can work longer hours, but that’s not always easy or even realistic. Instead, what you might want to do is choose to use real estate virtual assistant services instead. These services are a great way to have more time in the day, and give some work to an assistant you can trust and rely on. Before you choose someone to assist you, make sure you’re clear on what they’ll be able to do. Here are some important things to consider.
What Are Real Estate Virtual Assistant Services?
Real estate virtual assistant services are services performed by someone familiar with real estate, who can assist an agent without being in the same physical location. While it’s possible to hire an assistant who’s not focused on real estate as a specific niche, that may not be the best choice. Because property (both purchases and rentals) can be very detailed and specific, you could be dealing with a big learning curve with a standard virtual assistant. Choosing one who specializes in real estate eliminates that problem.
The kinds of services provided by your real estate virtual assistant may vary, depending on what your state allows these assistants to do. Most states have specific areas of real estate that have to be handled by a licensed person. If you can find an assistant with a license in your state, you may be able to have them do more for you. When you choose real estate virtual assistant services, though, you generally need to be sure that you’re not asking the assistant to do anything that requires a valid real estate license.
How Can You Find the Right Virtual Assistant?
Finding the right real estate virtual assistant services is very important. You want to feel confident that you’re getting the help and support you want and need. But you also need to feel good about the person who’s going to be helping you. If your personalities clash, for example, you might not feel comfortable working with the assistant even if they do a good job. Getting the right help should be coupled with getting the right virtual assistant for the job. That’s the combination you should be looking carefully for.
Even though the real estate assistant will be working virtually, and not in the same office location with you, you’ll still need to interact with them frequently. You also want to feel secure that they’ll provide your clients and customers with the right information. You need real estate virtual assistant services that meet your needs, and that are focused on following all applicable laws regarding what an assistant can and can’t do without a real estate license. When you have someone like that on your side, you have peace of mind.
Should You Choose Someone Close to Home?
One argument about real estate virtual assistant services is that you might want to select someone who’s close to home. If you select an assistant who’s in your home state, they’ll generally be more familiar with the real estate laws in that state. While that’s a fair argument in some ways, it’s important to remember that the assistant can’t do anything that requires a real estate license. They need to understand real estate on a general level, but they don’t need to be explicitly trained on a particular state’s real estate law.
That means you can choose a company that offers real estate virtual assistant services all over the country or the world, and get an assistant you feel comfortable with. They might be in your state, or they could be in a completely different location, state, and time zone. As long as they’re available during the times you need them, and can do the job you’re asking of them, there’s no reason why they won’t work well for you, especially if you like their personality, and they’re dedicated to helping you with your career.
What All Can a Real Estate Virtual Assistant Do?
Among the most important considerations when choosing real estate virtual assistant services is what the assistant can actually provide for you. They can answer basic questions and provide information about listings, coordinate your calendar and appointments, and file digital paperwork without violating any licensing laws. If you have a property management side to your real estate business, there are also a lot of things your assistant can do to help with rental properties and tenant concerns.
The reason your virtual assistant can do so much more with rentals is that a lot of what someone does in the property management field doesn’t require a real estate license. So you can let your assistant handle leasing agreements, collect rent payments, process credit and background checks for new tenants, and schedule professionals to address maintenance requests. Of course, you can also have your assistant handle calls from prospective buyers, as long as the assistant gives out only the listing information.
Where a real estate agent can sometimes get into trouble is by asking their virtual assistant to act on their behalf. That can confuse clients and customers, and make them think they’re talking to a licensed agent. When you choose to work with real estate virtual assistant services, you have to be very careful that you don’t do that. Protecting your licensing status is very important, but you also have to make sure you’re protecting your clients and customers from any misinformation as they make real estate decisions.
Overall, the decision to hire a real estate assistant, virtual or not, is a very personal one. As an agent who wants to get more done, though, choosing to have an assistant help you is a great way to focus your time on other pursuits. You can network with others in your community, get involved with events, take more listings, show more houses in person, and just generally get your name out to the world. That can help your career take off, and you’ll have your assistant to thank for a large part of that.
