How to Pick your Designer or Realtor
It can be a tricky thing - deciding on which design team or which real estate team to work with. There are some key skills and attributes you should want in your interior designer or realtor. These suggestions come from not only our 15 years of running a busy interior design firm, but from our personal experiences as we’ve moved from house to house (9 and counting!), renovating, building new, living inner city, living in the burbs - you name it, we have done it. Being able to offer both design and real estate services, we offer clients a unique experience that blends skill sets into an amazing experience filled with possibilities! Which leads me right into attribute #1.
Personal Experience
The absolute best way a designer or realtor can help you, is by being able to put themselves in your shoes. It’s one thing to have sold homes or decorated homes, but the best advice is going to come from personal lessons learned. You never feel the pain of a client the way you do when it’s your own home, so being able to understand how and what a client is feeling or experiencing cannot be overvalued.
Over our many years of buying, selling and designing our own homes, we have seen what it takes to make projects and transactions go smoothly and we have also seen what it takes to make things go wrong. Don’t be afraid to ask whomever you are considering working with about their own personal experiences and listen for cues on how that can help you on your journey.
Listening Skills
It’s pretty safe to say that most designers and realtors that I know love to talk, but can they stop talking long enough to ask questions and listen to the answers? Being able to understand a home owners wants, needs and preferred style of communication is key to building a strong and effective working relationship. They should be asking a lot of questions about why you want to move or renovate, how your family functions in your home, space and layout requirements, style preferences, location preferences and so on. They should be taking detailed notes and leave you feeling heard.
And not an unimportant detail, you should enjoy being around this person. You could potentially be spending a lot of time together and you want to trust their judgement and have fun together.
Education and Industry Experience
Now we don’t believe that education is everything, but education as it pertains to what you are hiring this person for is never a bad thing and almost always going to give you better value and a better end result. As an example, a designer and realtor like Keith, brings to the table a University Degree in Business, Construction Management, Architectural Technology and Real Estate training from a local brokerage with the most in depth training program out there. It’s hard to believe that all those hours studying and learning isn’t going to impact how he works with you.
In addition to education, understanding the number of years someone has worked within the residential homes industry and how many clients they have worked with is also key. Some 400 plus clients later, we have learned a ton along the way - not just how to work with clients, but how to work with other industry professionals, how to problem solve, how to manage stressful projects and negotiations and ultimately, how to create a seamless and stress free process for our clients. These skills can only come from years of experience.
High Ethical Standards
Having a home owner’s best interests at heart is key to building lasting, positive experiences for everyone involved. Not only do our industries hold us to high standards, but we are personally invested in every home owner we work with. We want them to be overjoyed at the end of working with us because we have helped them find or create the home of their dreams. And to be honest, we just couldn’t sleep at night if we weren’t doing our jobs with integrity built into every piece of what we do. How do you know if someone you are about to hire has high ethical standards? Ask for references - at least one from the past and one they are currently working with. Read their Google reviews. Ask for referrals from friends and family. And then trust your gut.
If we can help you on your journey we are always happy to. Even if you are thinking of working with someone else in the Edmonton or surrounding areas, we are happy to provide you some guidance along the way. Reach out to us today and let’s discuss how to get you moving towards your goals!