There are advantages when working with multilingual agents
One of the most valuable skills for Realtors today, is fluency in a foreign language. This is particularly beneficial in Houston, as the city continues to attract a high influx of new residents from all over the world.
Realtors who are bilingual or multilingual often have the obvious advantage of being able to assist international clients whose native language might not be English. But, it goes much deeper than that, by building trust and making the client feel much more at ease about the whole process.
Gordana Vickers with Mike Bloom Portfolio at Carnan Properties, is a multilingual Realtor who is originally from Yugoslavia. She is fluent in Croatian, Serbian, and Bosnian, and can also converse in German, Italian, and Spanish.
She said that being able to speak with her clients in their own native languages makes them feel much more confident in working with her.
“As real estate agents, we have a fiduciary duty to our clients to educate them and win their trust, and you can’t accomplish that if there is a language barrier,” Vickers said. “So, it makes people feel more confident and less intimidated when they can speak with me in their native language.
“Real estate transactions in Houston are normally very detailed, and some can be very complex, so if the client doesn’t understand the language, that can be very intimidating and confusing for them. So, I feel like I can give them an advantage by being able to explain the real estate process to them in their own language.”
For example, Vickers said that she assisted a couple that moved to Houston from Italy last year to be near their daughter. The first two times that Vickers took them out to look at houses, the daughter came along to help with communication.
After that, Vickers said that she was able to converse with the couple on her own, and that she successfully conducted the entire real estate transaction with them in Italian.
“When you make an effort to speak with a person in their language, you demonstrate a higher level of respect. When language is a barrier, I really have to step up my game, and I need to make sure that I am communicating everything to them,” Vickers said.
And even if she isn’t from the same country as all of her clients, she said that they often just feel comforted in knowing that she is from a similar part of the world.
She said that they tend to appreciate that commonality, and that it helps them to be more open with her about their move.
She said that one of the reasons that she enjoys working at her company, is because it is an international office with many multilingual agents. When needed, she said that she has a large network of colleagues that she can call on when she needs assistance with other languages.
Bernstein Realty also boasts of having an agent base that embodies several different cultures and speaks a variety of languages, including: Farsi, Hebrew, Afrikaans, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and Korean.
They also have access to a Russian translator, when needed.
According to Mary Piper, director of relocation and operations, being multilingual is something that is very valuable for Realtors at her company, because they work with many global corporations that relocate large numbers of foreign nationals into and out of Houston each year.
“I am always thrilled when I am interviewing an agent who is bilingual or multilingual, because I always feel that this is a huge advantage for the agent, and for Bernstein Realty,” said Piper.
When assisting international clients, Piper said that while having an agent who can speak the same language is very important, that there is also a cultural familiarity that often comes into play. For that reason, it also helps when the agent has lived in other countries and have had international experiences of their own.
“Sometimes, when people are moving to Houston from overseas, they feel more comfortable knowing that their agent can relate to the differences that they are experiencing,” Piper said. “There is also a comfort in working with an agent who speaks the same language. Even if the client can speak English, somethings can be explained more fully when spoken in their native language.”
She added that when assisting international clients, that sometimes the spouse or partner might feel reluctant about the move.
This reluctance can be magnified when there is also a language barrier.
So, Piper said that having an agent who speaks their language can make a huge difference in helping that spouse or partner feel confident about their relocation experience.