Create a Community Tour

You’ve heard the term tossed around quite a bit lately: "neighborhood expert." What it really means is that your value as a real estate professional extends beyond the basics – instead, your knowledge of a specific geographical area allows you to provide a variety of services to people looking to buy or sell a home in that locale. And a "neighborhood expert" is what more people are seeking in an agent. So, how do you prove that you fit the bill? One way is to create a community tour.

How to Create a Community Tour
When you’re taking homebuyers to view a property, don’t just drive them straight back to the office afterward. Instead, follow a predetermined route that shows the highlights of an area:

• Schools
• Parks
• Open areas for hiking/walking/dogs
• Shopping/dining
• Other notable community features or hotspots

You should plan this route in advance and even consider creating a map so that your clients can take it home with them to discuss. Of course, if a particular client has a specific interest, you’ll want to consider making an alteration to your tour. For example, if you know your buyer loves golf, you’ll want to mosey past the neighborhood golf course.

Why Create a Community Tour
A community tour may be particularly helpful for out-of-town homebuyers. In many instances, they’ve heard that they should consider a specific neighborhood, but they don’t really understand why. You can give them a more realistic understanding of whether or not your area is right for them. But the usefulness doesn’t stop there. Even local residents who are relatively familiar with an area can benefit from your tour.

Whether they’re seeing your community for the first time, or just seeing it with a new perspective, they’ll appreciate your knowledge, insights, and the effort you’re making to educate them.

How else do you demonstrate your knowledge of your community? We’d love to hear your thoughts and ideas.