Be a Great REALTOR® in Your Community: Education for Agents and Clients

By Amelia Addor, GCAR Education Coordinator

There are many ways to be a great REALTOR® in the Greater Capital District. You can serve your clients with dignity, utilizing the Code of Ethics, and following all the Fair Housing Laws diligently. But what does it mean to be a real estate professional if we do not consider the people that surround them? How can REALTORS® give back to the larger community itself?

Community means home, but that doesn’t just reference all those lucky people who already have a home. Those who are currently looking for a home, specifically first-time buyers, are flocking to upstate New York. According to articles from Business Insider, Times Union, and the Daily Gazette, census estimates show an increase in migration trends up to the capital region, specifically Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Albany counties. Potential new residents need to be educated on the resources from local programs, from HUD, from Credit Unions and Banks, and from governmental programs. Assistance available for First Time Home Buyers may not be easy to find for those entering this complicated and challenging real estate environment.

Education for the current REALTORS® is imperative in giving the correct information to new members. Joy Iafallo of Gabler Realty concurs, stating, “We have to help people who don’t know how real estate goes. You don’t know what you don’t know.” Building offices and growing the business physically can help become obtainable and attainable to those who are both selling and buying. In an era of change, it is comforting to many to be available for in-person consultations.

“Buyer’s and Seller’s representation done right means we can help the potential clientele who don’t know, learn what to know! They’re the ones who lead the REALTORS®, and if they’re at the wheel with all the right information, then the drive is going to be that much better for all.”