Why Military Families should use a Military Friendly Realtor

---

by Ed Kunkel, Jr., Realtor® and U.S. Army Veteran

Whichever professional you choose, they are your advocate to help you in your Real Estate matters.  That can be a good thing, or an unfortunate thing depending upon who you choose.

If you are new to an area, and want to find a home that is reasonably close to the base of the serving military member, is it important to you to have someone representing you that personally respects and understands how to serve you best?  Of course it is.

Your Realtor should live by the Golden Rule Always – Especially when helping Military Families

Recently I had the pleasure of helping a young Army couple find and purchase a home in Pierce County, Washington, and they were not exactly familiar with the area.  Initially, they had found some homes online that they liked, but didn’t know about their surroundings.

Some of the homes were either on busy streets, or located in a known high crime areas.   The home they bought fit their needs and budget, with no remorse for location or surroundings. You can imagine that their result could have been ugly if they had chosen a salesperson that didn’t care how or where they ended up.

Having the compassion to care about people and follow the ‘golden rule’ is one good practice, and along with using reasonable professional skill and care to help a client through the experience of home buying.

Your Realtor should have VA-specific Knowledge

So much goes into it. The Realtor needs to negotiate your best price and terms. They should know what to expect from the VA appraisal. They need to help sellers understand that an offer to buy using VA financing is not a sub-par offer in any way.

You should ask your Realtor if they are familiar with VA requirements with home ownership.  Can your agent pinpoint areas of concern from a home inspection that an appraiser may require to be repaired outside of what has been negotiated?

Your Realtor should know the Military Lifestyle

Something civilians can easily take for granted is the lifestyle of a military family.  It’s challenging and stressful for a family to uproot from their familiar surroundings and make connections with new communities.  It’s not just about a reasonable commute to the local base, it’s about finding a home in a community that best serves the needs of the family with their budget and lifestyle.

Finding that careful balance while working with the military clients that are viewing homes in another state takes patience, skill, and compassion for the transition they are about to make.  Added to that scenario is the quality of life of the family while the military member is deployed.  The soldier needs to know that their family is in a good place and cared for in their absence.

Use a Realtor who can Identify with You.

There is a personal interest that a veteran Realtor has in making sure that military members and their families are in good hands, it’s like following a code.  We’ve been there, and we have genuine concern that we’re doing our best to advocate for those that continue to defend our freedom.  For me, this is the most personally rewarding thing that I get to do – helping people and families fulfill their dreams through home ownership.

Ed Kunkel, Jr. is a Managing Broker/Realtor® at Keller Williams Realty in Olympia, Washington. Visit Ed here. Ed’s Military History: Veteran – U.S. Army and Air Force Reserve; Highest rank, E5; 11 years combined military service.