Buying a home is one of the most important investments you will ever make. It may also be the most expensive, so you would want to get the best deal.
Real estate agents are professionals who can help you buy or sell a property. Working with them will help ensure that you have a successful and smooth experience in buying the house of your dreams.
Today, there are more than two million real estate agents working in the United States. This number speaks for itself about how the demand in the real estate market has encouraged people into this line of work.
Another good reason is that 52% of home buyers say the main purpose of a real estate agent is to find their desired property, according to Small Biz Genius. Homebuyers depend on an agent to negotiate the terms of a sale or to get a better price.
What Can Real Estate Agents Do For You?
Real estate agents can help you at every step of buying or selling a home. Think of them as your trusted advisors who will guide you in navigating potential pitfalls.
They will fill in knowledge gaps you may have so that you can make a well-informed decision when you buy or sell your property.
Realtors can do things that you may not be able to do on your own, such as:
- Helping you adopt a sound negotiation because they have enough knowledge about the industry and the experience to be able to negotiate on your behalf.
- Helping you market your home while they use their connections with other realtors to find potential buyers and likewise locate homes that meet your needs.
- Recommending other professionals who are involved in the real estate industry and the buying and selling process for properties, like certified home inspectors, lawyers or notaries, insurance agents, home movers, and proven contractors.
- Helping you understand and analyze trends in the real estate industry so that you will find the best deal on a house that fits your needs. They will simply help you get the most from your sale.
- Helping you understand the home you plan to purchase. They know important aspects that you should be considering that can have significant financial and legal impacts.
- Helping you through the process and paperwork that needs to be accomplished when buying or selling a home. Dealing with a multitude of documents can be overwhelming.
But it is crucial to get a clean and legal real estate transaction. Real estate agents will help you understand what is being asked for in the documents, the conditions included in the contract, and will help you with the details of finalizing a transaction.
The Benefits of Working With a Real Estate Agent
Can you really save a commission when you do real estate on your own? Or will working on real estate on your own end up more costly than a realtor’s commission in the long run?
A chart published by 2021 NAR (National Association of Realtors) Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends shows how new homeowners benefited from the services of real estate agents in these ways:
- Helped buyer understand the process
- Pointed out unnoticed features or faults with the property
- Negotiated better sales contract terms
- Provided a better list of service providers
- Improved buyer’s knowledge of search areas
- Negotiated a better price
- Shortened buyer’s home search
- Provided a better list of mortgage lenders
- Expanded buyer’s search area
- Narrowed buyer’s search area
These benefits show how working with a real estate agent can significantly lead to much less work and less stress for a home buyer. It can also hasten the process when you are selling your home.
The National Association of Realtors reported in 2021 that 51% of new home buyers said they would accept help from real estate agents in looking for the right home to purchase.
Other expectations from real estate agents include helping with negotiating the terms of a sale, helping with price negotiations, helping with paperwork determining what comparable homes are selling, determining how much a home buyer can afford, and helping find and arrange to finance.
Let’s take a closer look at the benefits of working with real estate agents.
1. Better Knowledge and More Experience
One of the privileges that you can avail yourself of when you work with a real estate agent is having easy access to properties listed by other agents. This access allows you to look at the inside track of new homes and see if they are available.
You will have the opportunity to view the availability of listings, and you can make the first offer.
Other advantages of working with real estate investors who have more experience include:
- Working for you full time to find homes and properties that fit your specifications.
- Scheduling appointments for you so you can check or inspect homes that you are interested in.
- Knowing and understanding the real selling prices for other homes similar to yours in size, features, and amenities.
- Providing you with calculations, so you will know if properties you are looking at are overpriced.
- Helping you to get the best possible price because they know the current housing market.
- Being able to sell your home through a smooth and efficient process.
2. Superior Negotiation
If you are an inexperienced buyer, you will benefit a great deal from a veteran real estate agent who knows how to spot issues with a potential home. They know how to thoroughly review the house and pinpoint potential needs for fixing.
Real estate agents are trained to negotiate to get you the best possible deal on a property you want to sell or buy. They have tried the most tried-and-true techniques that do not cloud their thinking.
More importantly, your real estate agent can help with negotiation by asking the seller to repair issues as part of the agreement or to sell at a lower price so that you can save money for future renovations.
A real estate agent is emotionally detached from the buying process, which makes it easier for them to negotiate when they detect problems with the property. They will be able to balance everything without clouded judgment so that you will get what you deserve.
3. Sell the House in the Quickest Time Possible
There are many ways that real estate agents can help you sell your house in the least possible time. For example,
- Filtering your property showings and visits so that you can focus only on the potentially good listings.
- Screening all phone calls to keep the serious buyers with whom they can immediately make a good offer.
- Gathering marketing materials
- Holding open houses
- Looking for homes that match your standards and criteria
With all the tasks that a real estate agent can do for you, you will be able to save time and do other important personal tasks like taking care of your family, your job, and other things.
And while they can sell your house at the quickest possible time, you will be able to save money from interest costs if you took out a loan to buy a new house.
4. Preparing Paperwork
Imagine all the paperwork about the purchase or sale of a home that needs to be done. For example, a purchase agreement consists of ten pages or more which has legal terms in wordy paragraphs. There may also be required federal and state-mandated disclosures.
Some mistakes and omissions in legal documents for selling or buying a house can cost you as much as the commission you are not willing to pay a real estate agent.
Remember that your agent is far more familiar with the needed paperwork. So consider hiring a real estate agent who can review your contracts and documents before signing.
A real estate agent can help you keep and organize all the needed documents. They will ensure that every document has current and completely filled-out information and signatures.
Your real estate agent can also act as a depository of your documents so that you will have reserved files in case you will need them in the future. They can keep your files even after several years since the sale.
5. High Standard of Confidentiality
Your financial details are very confidential, and you wouldn’t like to entrust them to a seller who has no legal obligation to keep such information confidential. Real estate agents are on your side, and they got your back whether you are selling or buying a house.
They have what is known as a “fiduciary” responsibility to their clients. This means that they have a legal obligation to put their clients’ best interests first. They are legally obligated to keep all information of their client confidential.
Since it is legally binding, you can report an agent’s misdeeds in disclosing confidential information if it ever happens.
The National Association of Realtors takes care of these types of issues as long as the seller of the property has a real estate agent.
6. Motivated
The success of real estate agents depends on their ability to find you a home according to your preferences. This alone motivates them to take control of their own financial destiny.
Practically, your real estate agent knows that his financial destiny will depend on whether he or she will be able to sell your property or find you the house of your dreams.
7. Understand Complex Transactions
Real estate is a complex process that involves complex transactions. A real estate agent can help you feel organized and fully aware of what is happening in your transaction.
There will be many unfamiliar details that you will encounter in your property transaction.
Your real estate agent will give you the information you need and advise on how you can progress on the transaction with less stress.
8. Knowledge of the Real Estate Market
Despite the ever-changing real estate market, your real estate agent is updated with these trends and will help you keep up with the changes. Real estate markets can change with minor price fluctuations and interest rates.
Your real estate agent knows the status of the real estate market in your locality because they are constantly monitoring these changes for buyers and sellers.
You will be assured that you will be given proper information and all necessary details so that you will be successful in dealing with the purchase or sale of your property.
9. Neighborhood Knowledge
If you want to fully understand the neighborhood where you will be living, a real estate agent can give you all the information you need.
You will get the specifics of things you are looking for in a neighborhood::
- The kind of neighborhood you want to live in.
- How far do you want to commute to work?
- Quality of schools,
- Crime rate,
- Potential commercial development
10. Inner Professional Network
Many businesses are fueled by an inner network that provides hidden gems. The real estate industry also consists of a professional network that will prove to be incredibly valuable when you buy or sell a property.
You can ask your real estate agent for the professional real estate associations they are associated with. These are professionals whom they consistently interact with about properties in the real estate industry in your locality or the place where you are selling or buying a house.
Working With Real Estate Agents Will Save You Time
The process of searching for a home to buy or placing your property to be sold can be time-consuming. Working with real estate agents will eliminate activities or events in the process that can take so much time when you are doing it on your own.
They understand what you need in the process of selling or buying a home and will work out everything to be successful in this endeavor.
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