When you choose to work with a realtor, you have options for what you want the relationship to look like. You can be either a client or a customer. But what is the difference?

Before you decide on your relationship with an agent, you'll sign a form called "Working with a Realtor" and then you have to choose whether you want to receive customer or client service. Let's look at what set's client and customer experiences apart.

Client

We did a previous video on 6 ways we protect our clients' interests, which went over some specific ways we make our clients our top priority.

This video details some ways we work in our clients' favour.

In that video we talked about how, as your agent, we would represent you, fulfill our contractual agreement, follow your instructions, disclose key info to you while keeping your info confidential, and negotiate on your behalf.

For clients, we'll give you our professional advice and opinion, make suggestions, and put in significant time and effort to help your buy or sell. To put it simply, we have to put your needs above our own, and we're legally and ethically required to do so.

For client sellers and buyers, we are here to meet your best interests. If you're a seller client, you'll get all of the things mentioned above and much more.

If you're curious about what we provide our clients, check these links out:

10 Steps to Selling Your Home

10 Steps of the Home Buying Process

Our Marketing Works

Customer

A customer is someone who purchases goods or services from a business. If a buyer wishes to work with multiple agents and doesn't want to be obligated to any one of them, they will select to be treated as a customer.

If you're a seller customer, you'll be given specific or a-la-carte services that have been agreed upon, like having us do a CMA to price your home, for example.

If you're a buyer, the process of home searching is left up to you. You form your own opinions and make your own choices with no help from an agent.

The salesperson of a customer can only present information but can't give advice or guidance for the customer. It's sort of like "here are the facts, you can do whatever you want with them."

Customers will be treated fairly and honestly, and provided with material facts about the property. But since clients are represented by agents, the interests of the clients have to put their interests above customers.

So, if a home showed up on the market that met the criteria of both a buyer client, and a buyer customer, the client would get inside the property first and receive preferential treatment. And if you are a buyer customer, any important info we receive from you would be disclosed to any of our client sellers.

In fact, since customers aren't represented, the salesperson isn't obligated to show the customer any home at all. The agent might just give them a home tour after any interested clients have passed on the home.

If you want the best service, being a client is definitely a smart choice. If you're thinking of working with a real estate agent at Blue Coast Realty, we'll go over this in more detail so don't sweat it.