As Thanksgiving approaches, we wanted to express once again how grateful we are for the REALTOR® members who are part of our EMTAR family. Throughout Wilson, Smith, and Dekalb Counties and the surrounding areas, the agents and brokers who call Eastern Middle Tennessee home continue to make a tremendous positive difference for your fellow REALTORS®, for your buyers and sellers, and for our communities.

And so, here are just 15 of the many reasons why we are thankful for our members:

1.  You lead with your heart. We know you aren’t in real estate just to check off another deal or make a buck. You truly care about the buyers and sellers you work with and are dedicated to helping them navigate the largest transaction many of them will ever make. It’s a love for what you do and for the people you serve in the process that motivates you deep down.

2. You uphold a high standard of ethics and fairness. Because you are a REALTOR® and a member of NAR, you are committed to adhering to our REALTOR® Code of Ethics, which is based on professionalism, serving the interests of clients, and protecting the public. This makes a big difference in how you conduct business and how you serve your clients.

3. You are there for your fellow REALTORS®. It brings us joy to see our EMTAR members helping each other. Whether it’s mentoring a newer agent, stepping up to teach a class, offering insights during a networking event, or checking on a fellow member to see how they’re doing, you care not only about your own interests but also about those of others.

4. Your expertise shines through. Buying a home is simple, right? Hardly! It typically requires a variety of forms, reports, disclosures, and other legal and financial documents. As a knowledgeable REALTOR®, you know what's necessary in Tennessee, which helps your clients avoid delays and costly mistakes

5. You give back. EMTAR members know how much they have been helped along the way, and you appreciate the value of being involved in a local REALTOR® Association. For that reason, you are eager to step up to serve, volunteer, celebrate others’ accomplishments, join in on enriching events and opportunities, and find other ways to pay it forward.

6. You speak the complex language. There’s a lot of lingo involved in real estate, from the search process to final transaction details; you understand it all and are skilled at keeping your clients aware of what the terms mean throughout the process of buying or selling a property.

7. You share objective information and opinions. On the buyer side, a great real estate agent guides clients through the home search with an unbiased eye, helping them meet their objectives while staying within budget. You’re also a trustworthy source when your clients have questions about our local amenities, utilities, zoning rules, contractors, and more.

8. You’re savvy to the power of advocacy. You know the effort it takes to ensure that issues important to private-property owners, buyers and sellers, and our real estate industry remain front-and-center when important legislative and regulatory decisions are made at the local, state, and national levels. That’s why you are eager to do your part to make your voice and the voice of your fellow REALTORS® and clients heard when it matters most.

9. You are connected. Especially in our area’s vibrant, fast-moving market, property rarely sells because of advertising alone. A large share of real estate sales come as the result of agents’ contacts with other industry professionals, previous clients, and others in your sphere. Many times, it’s who you know!

10. You offer expanded search power. Clients want access to the full range of opportunities. Using a cooperative MLS, you help them evaluate all active listings that meet their criteria, alert them to listings soon to come on the market, and provide comps data. You save them time by filtering out properties that still appear on public sites but are no longer on the market.

11. You are in your clients’ corner. There are many factors up for discussion in any real estate transaction—from price to repairs to possession date. REALTORS® like you look at the transaction from the buyer or seller’s perspective, helping negotiate an agreement that meets their needs.

12. You ensure a current experience. Most people buy or sell only a few homes in a lifetime, usually with quite a few years in between. Laws and regulations change. You may handle hundreds or thousands of transactions over the course of a career, so you know what’s new and what’s different.

13. You provide security. Risk is a fact of life. To minimize it, real estate agents follow protocols to ensure your own safety, as well as the safety and security of your clients and their properties. As a REALTOR®, you prescreen prospects and accompany qualified prospects through the property. You also help educate parties about how to prevent pitfalls, such as wire fraud, that can put sales at risk.

14.  You are a steady rock during emotional moments. A home is so much more than four walls and a roof. Buying or selling one can stir up all the feels. Serving as a concerned but objective third party means you help your clients stay strong and focused on the issues most important when emotions threaten to sink an otherwise sound transaction.

15. You make us smile! When we at EMTAR think about you, when we see you at events and classes and celebrations, when we hear about the many ways you encourage and uplift your fellow REALTORS®, when we get notes from buyers and sellers expressing gratitude for the high quality of service you’ve provided—in these and so many other times, you bring us joy!

Of course, we could go on. These reasons only scratch the surface of why we appreciate our EMTAR members—no doubt we will share more of them in future posts!

In the meantime, we wish you yours a blessed and meaningful Thanksgiving next week, and a memorable holiday season as we move toward the close of 2024 and prepare for what promises to be another eventful year ahead in 2025. Thank you for who you are for all of the good that you do!

About EMTAR: Chartered in 1969, our Association’s 1,300+ REALTORS® are a proud part of the 36,000+ members of Tennessee REALTORS® and of the 1.5 million+ members of NAR, all working to serve the public and protect the rights of America’s property owners. EMTAR members are known not only for their unmatched real estate excellence and high ethical standards, but also for being generous, hospitable, others-focused, loyal, hardworking, and eager to help wherever and whenever help is needed.