Katie Dirrig’s background in social work nurtured her helpful demeanor, making her work as a transaction coordinator a natural fit for her skillset.

In real estate, a transaction coordinator works alongside agents providing client care and support. Dirrig helps coordinate vendors needed throughout the transaction including inspectors, appraisers, attorneys, and lenders.

“The end goal is to help agents and their clients with a smooth, on-time closing,” Dirrig said. “Transaction coordinators help real estate agents to focus more on building their business and providing great service, and can save agents approximately 10 hours per transaction.” 

As a licensed agent herself, Dirrig can even help with writing client contracts, allowing agents in the field to get contracts signed in a more timely manner. She also has relationships with several lending partners, which can expand options for certain buyers.

As interest rates increase, many buyers are pausing their search for a new home, according to Dirrig. Some lenders are working with active buyers to provide creative financing options such as seller credits which can be applied to their loans.

“It helps to have good relationships with lenders,” Dirrig said. “Helping agents make these connections can make a difference for some of their buyers’ mortgages.”

Dirrig began her transaction coordinator position with Realty ONE and has expanded her reach to offer this service to agents in other firms. While some firms in niche markets may offer an in-house transaction coordinator, there are many boutique brokerages that may not be able to directly provide that type of support to their agents.

Some agencies do offer transaction support via a virtual, overseas team, but Dirrig said that doesn’t compare to working with someone locally. Local knowledge and connections help transaction coordinators understand the market and the needs of both sides of the transaction, which better serves the agents with whom they work. She also knows what it’s like to be an agent herself.

“It’s a lot of coordination,” Dirrig said. “I’m working with a lot of different personalities, and many have different ideas of various requirements throughout the process. Agents have a very solo career with many tasks, expectations, and a lot of pressure, so it’s really helpful to them to be that backup support.” 

With an abrupt shift to a more balanced market, selling agents have begun to do a lot more work on marketing their listings. They are back to hosting open houses, which Dirrig said they didn’t have to do a year ago. Having to focus more on marketing means listing agents must have a solid presentation, push homes on social media, and rely on others that can help with some of those tasks.

Dirrig also works on new construction transactions, which are a significant part of many agents’ business.  

“New construction transactions require different forms and it’s often a longer process,” Dirrig said. “On top of working with agents, I also work with builders and general contractors, so there are more people on the team. More coordination and more management from a support system like me can be helpful for the agent, and can create a better all-around client experience.”

Dirrig said every buyer is different, and no matter the type of home, she is delighted to be using her skills and knowledge to help ensure smooth transactions for both agents and buyers. 

Katie Dirrig is the owner and transaction coordinator at Pearl Property Support, offering transaction coordinator services, web development, social media management, and copy writing. Learn more at PearlPropertySupport.com.