Guest contributor Jose Perez of PCMS Consulting says:

Truth or fiction — how real is this story? Imagine for a moment a young, Millennial couple...

Meet Justin and Kelly, engaged to be married and ready to purchase their first home. They're looking forward to working with a real estate agent for the first time. Being Millennial consumers, they naturally started their home search online.

Months ago, they downloaded several home search apps to their iPhones and tablets. They signed up for alerts. All of this happened prior to engaging a real estate agent. They've done significant legwork, and they're ready for the next step in their home search.

At this point they probably know as much about their local market as their agent does.

Today, their agent will be helping them look at potential properties for their first home purchase.

Their agent, Susan, happens to work for a local brokerage, and is the mother of one of their neighbors. So their agent referral comes from a trusted source within their personal network.

It's been a hectic day already for Kelly and Justin. As young, busy professionals, time is a precious commodity, especially carving out the free time necessary to visit potential homes.

They scheduled a meeting at the real estate office for 3pm. On their way over to the real estate office, Kelly was in the mood for a chai latte so they stop in at their favorite Starbucks. While waiting for their order, Kelly fires up a real estate app and checks on a few of their favorite listings again — so they could save time when they meet with Susan later.

It's still a little early, so Justin Googles restaurants in the neighborhood they're looking at. He sees at least four restaurants with 4+ stars within a few blocks of the places they have narrowed down, so he is pretty stoked. Justin and Kelly are big foodies, so having a vibrant restaurant scene where they buy a home is very important.

They've done a lot of research online, to find the perfect community to settle in.

Unsure of the directions Susan emailed them, they plug the address into their phone, and head on over. They park the car and start walking towards the office, located in a strip mall between a UPS Store and a nail salon.

Once inside the rather outdated lobby, they see no one at the reception desk. A few minutes later, someone named Cindy finally comes out and the following interaction takes place:

Cindy: "Hi. Can I help you?"

Justin: "We have a 3PM appointment with Susan."

Cindy: "Oh, um, Susan is in a closing. She told me to let you know she will be with you as soon as she can. You can wait in our conference room. She asked me to let you know you are free to use our computer while you wait. You can take a look at a few of the listings she picked out for you."

Cindy shows Justin and Kelly to the conference room, which is off the lobby. It is a little cramped and also outdated. They sit down; she gets them set up on the computer, and disappears. Justin and Kelly are naturally nervous about the big step they are getting ready to take. They are a little surprised at the look of the office, the fact Susan is late, and that Cindy is setting them up to look at properties when they have spent the past few months doing that in the comfort of their own home.

That said, they sit and wait.

To view the original article, visit the PCMS Consulting blog.

More in This Series

• Part 2: Real Estate Transaction: Creating Recipe for Disaster
• Part 3: Taking Charge With The Right Agent