“You Never Want to Guess”

Perhaps the most obvious benefit of in-house services is the ease, both professionally and psychologically, that having such resources brings to an agent’s business.

Melissa Morgan, who is a Realtor with the Buckhead office of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties, has found the one-stop services at her brokerage – such as the in-house legal team of Weissman, Nowack, Curry & Wilco that Georgia Properties utilizes – to bring an incredible level of ease to her real estate business, and in three distinct ways.

First, there is the ease of knowing the professional is just a phone call away.

“It’s very easy for me,” Morgan says, “to pick up the phone, have my attorney answer and then explain to her, ‘This is what I have going on; how do I resolve this legally and on behalf of my client?’ That’s a very big deal in today’s world, and is something that I truly appreciate.”

Second, there is the ease of knowing that whatever professional she is working with – say, SunTrust Mortgage, Georgia Properties’ preferred lender – they will perform the necessary task with the appropriate standards. Guessing, Morgan explains, is not a recipe for success in today’s housing market, and having an in-house lender effectively avoids that.

“Especially today, you want to be working with a lender who is qualified, who has resources and who follows up,” she says. “You want to be working with a business partner who can pick up the phone, call you and tell you that the appraisal has arrived at value.”

Russell Barber, a Realtor with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, also spoke of that assurance with SunTrust, which operates as Sotheby’s in-house lender as well.

“Having an in-house lender is so beneficial,” he says. “And to ensure that their professionalism matched what our clients expect, Atlanta Fine Homes extensively interviewed the lender; so I know, when referring a client to the lender, that they’ll take care of the client exactly as I would.”

And finally, there is the ease of turning everything on time, of having every necessary piece of the machinery in place so that the client’s wishes are granted in the allotted timeframe.

“When you buy or sell a house, everything depends upon the client’s closing date – the movers; the cleaners; the repairs,” Morgan says. “So if that date is long by any hour, day or week, that affects the client. You’re talking about days where people may be homeless, or money needs to transfer, or interest rates may expire; any delay in closing is quite significant.”