I have just received my license and my broker is in the process of changing me from inactive to active status. I am just wondering if any agents in the DFW area see a need for a Showing Assistant. I am a single mom wanting to build a career that allows me to revolve my schedule around my daughters schedule.
Thanks for any input....mommy first!

What would you consider to be the duties of a "Showing Assistant" ?

Driving (or meeting) the clients to homes that the Buyers Agent assigns me to show. Setting up and operating Open Houses for the Sellers Agents. Basically all the tasks that most men don't enjoy doing.
If I am missing any other duties that could be included, please add them to the list:)

My showings are at all times of the day and all days of the week so what are you proposing, to show homes when your available or what? Your kids are a major priority, so how are they going to fit in with your plan?

As a single mother I see it best for you to be the agent and have others assist you. You can control your hours better this way and you will make more money. I suspect your basically thinking your going to be paid for these activities on an hourly basis, or per showing basis, which will also limit your income and opportunities.

No you don't have to hire an assistant but make arrangements with others on a work co-op basis. I did this when I started because I started part-time and it worked well. And we also discovered a group synergy. Another point is all the members of this group were not with the same brokerage, but we had the same needs and were able to help each other, something to consider.

It's not easy but it works. you can still sell your services to others while you build but don't make that your focus.

I agree with Brian- I think you are going about it from the wrong angle. I am a full time Realtor since 2003 and a full time mother of a 10, 8 and 6 year old. My real estate schedule revolves around my family schedule. Period, end of story. If I worked for someone else that simply wouldn't work. If you are someone's employee/assistant your priorities are not their priorities so it would be very difficult for you to make the two mesh. If you are your own boss you set the schedule and the hours, not the other way around. Also, you will make way more money working for yourself.

Mommy First, in your ideal scenario, what kind of compensation would you earn? Would you be paid on an hourly basis? Percentage of commission split?

And based on what you have stated, I don't think the situation that you are looking for would necessarily give you the flexibility that you (and your family) need. Perhaps it's time to rethink how your strategy can meet your objectives. Best of luck.

I'm not sure I would want another agent showing houses to my buyers. If I'm eventually going to need to help them decide which house they want, and if I'm going to be writing up and negotiating an offer for them, having passed off the responsibility of showing the houses to someone else (and therefore having never actually seen the place myself) is going to put me at a disadvantage when it comes time to working out the finer details.

As for attending open houses...I already can (and have) worked with other agents to host open houses for me for free. It's a win-win for everyone even without me having to pay anyone: it gets exposure for my listing, and the other agent gets possible buyer leads walking through the door.

By the way, those are actually the things I would rather spend my time doing. It's the more mundane stuff--dealing with paperwork, making sure my website is up-to-date, filling out warranty forms, scheduling termite inspections, pulling comps for appraisers, and the like--that I'd much rather hand off to someone else.

Either way, working at the convenience of other agents is only going to put you in the position of having LESS flexibility than were you to work independently. Yes, buyers and sellers need you to be available, but I would wager that they're going to be more understanding that you have competing commitments than an agent who needs you to show a place for him/her tomorrow at 2:30, period, end of story. In my view, being in charge of your own schedule is actually the more flexible option.

Hello!

I'm not quite clear on whether you're trying to hire a Showing Assistant or if you're looking to become one for other agents.

I will mention that in GA, an unlicensed assistant is prohibited from peroforming the tasks that you describe. So, if you're thinking of hiring a Showing Assistant, make sure you remain compliant with the rules for the Real Estate Commission in your market.

Good Luck!

I use a Showing Assistant from time to time and it's great. If I have more than one buyer that wants to see property at the same time, I just call the showing assistant and she shows it for me for a flat fee that is paid at closing. If the people want to put in an offer I do the negotiating and the writing up of the contract. The showing assistant is responsible for giving me full details about the house.

But two issues for you. You have to do it at the time the main agent wants you to. That could cause some issues for you on time. The one thing it will help with is that you don't have to do any prospecting, negotiating or any of the other things that a lot of agents don't like about the business.

If you could get set up with a couple of high production agents to do this for them, you could easily make $6,000 to $7,000 a month just opening doors and being pleasant.

If you're strictly a Buyer Broker, can you really delegate the responsibility for showing the subject property off to a third party (like MommyFirst), and still maintain a fiduciary to your Buyer Client?

Well yes. Opening a door is not really where the fiduciary duty is - it's in making sure the house is worth the asking price, writing and negotiating the contract and getting the deal to closng. The showing agent is not their agent - I am. The showing agent needs to be licensed, but they are not my buyer's agent where the client is completely passed off to them and basicially becomes their client.

I've actually thought about starting a Showing Assistant business. I could probably make a good living just showing homes for busy agents for a flat fee paid at closing. The biggest plus for the agent is that he/she maintains these people as his client. Basically - he/she does the first buyer consultation and puts them under buyer agency. Then sets them up to receive property and follows up with them etc. When they are ready to look at houses, he sends me the list, I call and schedule the appointments and show the properties to their client. Then I send the agent a complete report on the condition of the properties, which ones the client seemed to like the best etc. Agent follows up with his clients and we go from there.

When the clients find the home they want to put an offer on, I call the Agent and a time is set for the clients to meet him at the office and he writes the offer, negotiates it and takes it to closing. ALL I do is show the properties and make the showing appointments.

For an agent who is a good prospector, this could be a gold mine for them. Instead of showing homes they could be prospecting for more business. Very efficient.

But in the performance of your Due Diligence on the behalf of the Buyers, wouldn't you still have to visit the Subject property to make this determination that the property is worth the amount of the OFFER, and ascertain that all other aspects of the property (besides price) are in keeping with the best interests and expectations of the Buyer Client ?

As long as the showing agent provided a good enough report on the property then no you really wouldn't have to visit it. You could if you wanted to. Once the showing agent said they wanted to put in an offer, you could scoot out by yourself, walk through this one home quickly and go back to the office to start the contract.

A ton of time saved by the agent. The agent doesn't need to see 10 properties to properly write up the contract. Appraisers don't go inside their comps - they are already sold. They base their value opinion based on what's in the system. Besides, if there is something that off about that house do you really think the buyers or the showing assistant are going to tell you?

This is a great way for an agent to double their buyer side production without giving away all their methods and systems to a buyer's agent who will inevitably leave and take YOUR clients and systems with them. Then you have to start all over again with a new buyer's agent who will do the same thing.

The showing assistant doesn't know where or how you got this lead, they also don't get the loyalty of the client nor the future referrals - you do. Great way to go.

But then the Showing Assistant may know the wants, needs and desires of the Buyer Client BETTER than you do, as well as their observations regarding neighborhood quality, schools, zoning considerations, and other environmental issues.

Body language displayed during a showing also tells me boatloads about what Buyers DO NOT LIKE, and I would be remiss to not be in a position to observe that, along with all of the other clues that are given during a showing . . . . price is just one small, though important, factor in the purchase decision.

Conducting showings is actually one of the simplest, and is among the more pleasurable and relaxing activities that we perform in this business; plus showings help keep me acquainted with the inventory currently available in our Market.

OOP - THERE IT IS! You LIKE showing property. That's good, but there are a lot of agents that have leads that are dying because of time restraints and having a showing assistant is one way to get more business done in less time.

As for their wants, needs and desires. Believe me - your buyers know their wants, needs and desires a whole lot better than you do. If they have decided to put an offer in on a particular property are you going to tell them no it doesn't meet what they told you at the buyer's consultation? I don't think so. If we could be the decider on which property buyers purchase then we would only have to show one house. Or like House Hunters - 3 and you choose. LOL

Also, my showing assistant always gives me their reactions in her reports. For instance, the buyer picked out 2 split-entries to look at. Showing assistant said in her report that while in the homes they commented about how they didn't like the fact they had to come up the stairs from the garage. I didn't need to be there to know that this floorplan was something that they didn't like - I can be told. I also can't tell you how many times in my years of doing this that someone said they didn't like something and then bought a house with exactly that thing. Condition and location can change any buyer's mind about certain things.

As for neighborhood quality and what not, you can not red line areas. So you can't tell your clients that this area has mostly white doctors living in it and they are not very nice and will blast their opera music until at least 9pm every night. Against the law. You can tell clients, and I have, that no matter what house they buy, they should go over in the evenings and check it out and they can call the police department and give them the address and see what kind of activity goes on in there.

But again, these are things that should be covered by you in the buyer's consultation and your showing assistant will also give that information in her report.

I'm with you, though, I like showing properties, but I also don't want to lose leads that I worked hard to get in the door but don't have time to show properties to. This is just another team type of business model.