asking realtor for advice

[grey56]

My DH wants to finish off our two-car garage as a family room, I do not.  Your advice to me was to have a realtor out to the house to advise us on good changes and bad changes.  Do realtors really do this, even if we have no intention of selling anytime soon?

We love this one realtor Michelle, who represented the sellers when we bought our current house.  We then used her to sell our old house.  We also recommend her a lot, and she is currently finishing the paperwork to sell a friend's house. 

She knows when we bought our house, and we want to be honest that we aren't selling.  But we do want feedback on some ideas we're kicking around.  Namely, we'd like to add some space somewhere - it's a 3br/1ba ranch, and we'd like a 3-4br/2.5-3.5ba house.  (My DH works from home and would like a dedicated office, I'd like a guest room, plus a room for us and our DD.  I'd also like a master bathroom real bad.  We also may have another child maybe?)

What do you all think?  Have you done this?  Asked for a realtor's help, giving nothing in return?  Would a $50-$100 GC be appropriate in this situation, or just awkward/tacky? 

Thanks!

[sailorgray]

I am not an expert, but I think if you emailed her and asked her opinion on the matter you wouldn't owe her anything. Every REA I have spoken with says the best gift is to give their name to someone else. I would thank her and say that you will definitely be recommending her to your friends.

Now if you want her to actually come out to your place and get suggestions, then I'd ask what she charged and if she says nothing, I would get her a $50 restaurant GC.

[tarheels]

You're thinking too hard. I think I might just send her an email like this:

"Hi Michelle,

Hope you're doing well! I know John and Sue are so happy with the service they've received from you.

Could you quickly help settle a debate between me and my husband? He wants to turn the garage into a family room and I think it's a terrible idea. What do buyers think of converted garages? We're not selling any time soon, but want to be mindful of the market.

Thanks,
Jill"

Don't go into the backstory and the whys - the question itself is straightforward enough. And there's no need for her to come see you in person or for this to take any more of her time than what it takes for her to type a couple sentences in response.

[ktzmoh]

I like the email tarheels suggested, but if you are also thinking about adding additional space and investing in an addition, then I'd absolutely ask her to come to the house and just talk over some of your concerns. I think it's a smart decision on your part to consider the potential return on the investment.

If the realtor has good business savvy, she knows that staying on your radar screen is good in the long run - both for future referrals and for when you guys want to sell /buy yourselves.

This is all part of their job - cultivating relationships with homeowners.

[grey56]

Ok, sweet. I just sent a quick email asking her advice similar to what you posted.

I just hate when people ask me to do stuff for nothing, I didn't want to annoy her.

[grey56]

Happy to report that she wrote back last night and wants to come by next week to go over some ideas she has for us. Thanks for the suggestion to reach out to her!

[EloiseWeenie]

I'm not a realtor, but as a buyer, I hate garage conversions. My current neighborhood is filled with them, and it was a huge turnoff to my H and I when we were looking (and now we're looking again for a bigger house). I have yet to see a garage conversion that doesn't scream "GARAGE CONVERSION." I'm sure there are some out there, but around here, the driveway goes up all the way to the house, with no new landscaping, with a fresh brick wall with a huge window.