Real Estate Smarts: 51 Resources to Pass Along to Clients

You have the opportunity to educate your potential clients so that they can make an informed decision in the process of warming them up—and, yes, that even includes educating them to understand whether you're the right solution for their need.

In the case of real estate, there's a good chance that you, as an agent, have missed out on key opportunities to educate your clients around what they needed to do or how to prepare in order to buy their first home. You have the best opportunity to add value into their experience with you and this is one of the easiest ways.

We know you're an expert in this field, but having a list of resources to add as supplements to your knowledge to pass along to your clients will go a long way.

Library of Real Estate Agent Resources:

While we know you know the answers to most, if not all, of these common questions, it can be overwhelming and time consuming to have to explain it all to your clients. Simplify and back up the points you may make by sharing some articles that your clients can peruse on their own time and digest without feeling like you're giving them a lecture.

To make your educating process a bit simpler, we've compiled some articles and guides that can help your clients through the home buying journey, and give you an opportunity to reach out and provide some value in a way that will keep you positively top-of-mind.

How to prep for buying your first house:

It's easy for your clients to come to you and say they're ready to buy their first home. But are they fully prepared? These are great articles to pass along to those eager clients to set them up for success as they get ready to go down that road. They cover everything from the financial to the 'secrets' on how to get prepared for that big purchase.

1. How to Prepare to Buy Your First Home via Money Under 30

2. 4 Smart Steps to Take Before Buying Your First Home via Kiplinger

3. 9 Questions to Ask Before Buying Your First Home via Business Insider

4. The Newbie's Roadmap to Buying a First Home via U.S News & World Report

5. 10 Best-Kept Secrets for Buying a Home via HGTV

When is it better to buy or rent:

When those potential clients who have been renting for a while approach you but their budget may not quite be ready for buying in the area of their choice, these articles are handy to pass along to your leads. While it may not be the best for you and your business, isn't it better than possibly wasting your time with unqualified clients? Better to educate them now, because they'll certainly think of you later when they're really ready to buy.

6. Is it Better to Rent or Buy via New York Times

7. Is it Better to Buy or Rent a Home via Define Financial

8. Rent or Buy Calculator via Realtor.com

9. When You're Better Off Renting a Home than Buying One via Time

When to buy your first house:

As you're well aware, there's a good time of year to buy a house. But beyond that time of the year, sometimes your clients need to understand when it's best within their own life to buy their first home. Consider passing along these articles to the unsure buyer who may need a reality check on whether they're ready for this big step.

10. Millennial's Guide: Buying Your First House via Investopedia

11. These 5 Questions Will Tell You Whether You're Ready to Buy a Home via Time

12. October is The Best Month to Buy a Home via Time

13. How Do You Know When You're Ready to Buy a Home via Money Under 30

What the home buying process looks like:

Some of your clients may be shocked at everything that goes into the process of buying a home when it's their first time around. These articles will set them up to understand the journey and everything they'll need to prepare as they're getting ready to buy their first home.

14. Home Buying in 6 Steps via NAR

15. Guide to Buying a Home via US Department of Housing & Urban Development

16. New Research Reveals the Single Best Day of the Year to Buy a House via Business Insider

17. 10 Step Guide to Buying a House via Realtor.com

How to take out a mortgage:

Instead of going down the rabbit hole of having to explain the intricacies of taking out a mortgage and how exactly it can be done, send these articles over to your newbie home buyers who may need some help in the finances area of their buying process.

18. Mortgage Rates Briefly Explained via Money Under 30

19. Mortgage Calculator

20. How to Get Approved for Your First Mortgage via Money Under 30

21. Mortgage Basics via Investopedia

22. A Guide to Getting Your First Mortgage via U.S News & World Report

When to buy a second home:

Is it time for your clients to size up their home? Or maybe buy another house as an investment property? In the posts below, your clients can identify what they need to do to prepare for the big leap to buying their second home.

23. Does it Make Sense to Buy a Second Home? via U.S News & World Report

24. Buying a Second Home to Rent: Dos and Don'ts via Investopedia

25. 8 Questions You Should Ask Yourself Before Buying a Second Home via LearnVest

26. Buying a Second Home: Are You Ready? via HGTV

How to prepare to sell your home:

While there are those clients ready to buy their first home without realizing what it takes, on the flip side, you'll come across clients who want to sell but don't know quite what they need to do to prepare their home for the process. These articles will set them up for the big prep to getting their homes ready for their next owner.

27. 21 Ways to Prepare Your Home for Selling via Forbes

28. 10 Ways to Prep Your Home for Sale via HGTV

29. If You Want to Sell Your House This Year, Start Doing These Things Now via Time

30. 25 Tips to Prepare Your Home for Sale via Unclutterer

When to sell your house:

Just like there's a right time to buy, there's a right time to sell, too! Below are pieces that discuss the best time of year to sell, as well as when it may be the best financial decision for your clients to sell their home and start looking for another.

31. When is the Right Time to Sell? via The Motley Fool

32. When is the Right Time to Sell Your Home? via Realtor.com

33. Should You Sell Your Home? 5 Crucial Considerations via Trulia

34. How to Know the Time is Right to Sell Your House via Nerd Wallet

How to prepare for an open house:

These articles are the final preparation for your clients as they're placing their homes on the market and need to get ready for those potentially overwhelming open houses. They may underestimate the work that needs to go into the process of readying their home, especially if they're not using a professional 'stager.'

35. How to Clean When Your Home is For Sale via Realtor.com

36. 4 Steps to Staging for an Open House via HGTV

37. How to Prepare for an Open House via HGTV

38. 14 Steps to a Flawless Open House via U.S News and World Report

When to renovate and when to buy:

There's always the debate between whether it makes sense to buy a new house, buy a fixer-upper, or renovate your current home. Reading the tips below will help your clients decide on which direction to go.

39. Fix Up or Buy New: What's Your Best Housing Option? via U.S News and World Report

40. Pros & Cons: Renovating vs Buying a New Home via Coldwell Banker

41. Which Makes More Sense, Move or Remodel? via Bankrate

Best places in the US to live/buy:

For those of your clients looking to buy, but not sure where exactly they want to move or live, these articles are some of the latest lists with the top US cities to buy a home or invest in real estate.

42. 50 Best Places to Live in America via U.S News and World Report

43. The 2016 Top 100 Best Places to Live via Livability

44. Best Buy Cities: Where to Invest in Housing in 2016 via Forbes

45. 2016 Top 10 Affordable Places to Live via Livability

Contactually Content for Real Estate Agents:

Finally, some of our top blog articles written for you, the real estate agent. They cover everything from the top blogs and real estate influencers to follow on social media, to hosting a relationship building open house.

47. 3 Steps to Hosting the Best Open House

48. The 7 Best Real Estate Blogs to Follow Today

49. The Top 10 Real Estate Influencers to Follow on Twitter

50. The Consumer Journey of Buying a House

51. 8 Steps for Nurturing a Genuine Relationship with Your Buyers

Become the Educator

The power is now in your hands. Beyond warming up your leads from cold to hot, you have a chance to provide your clients and potential clients with value that will last far beyond the buying or selling of their home. You'll be remembered for the time and effort you put into each of your clients and in a world where most, if not all real estate agents, are getting business from referrals, this can be a key step in attaining them.

So, what's stopping you? If anything, it's a great way to connect with your network and potentially work as a way to qualify leads who may need the education in order to know that they may not be quite ready to buy that home and could save you a lot of time in the long run.

To view the original article, visit the Contactually blog.