Ten Reasons You Should Hire a Real Estate Agent
Have you ever wondered about trying to buy or sell a home on your own using the Internet or some other advertising and marketing channel without the help of a real estate agent? While some people do fine buying or selling a home on their own, many do not. So here are ten reasons you should hire a real estate agent.
1. Education and Experience
A qualified real estate agent already knows all there is about buying and selling real estate which means you don't have to. Finding the right real estate agent means hiring a professional, full-time and experienced agent who knows the neighborhood and the community where you are buying or selling your home.
2. Agents are Buffers
For buyer's, a good agent will filter out all of the homes that do not meet your wants, needs, or price range. He/She will also make all of the necessary appointments to show you homes, will guide you through each home, and will reveal any problems the house might have or repairs in might need. If you are a seller, a real estate agent will only show your home to qualified buyers, will make showing appointments directly with you, and will not reveal any personal facts or information, such as foreclosure, an impending divorce, or some other personal situation, that might result in a buyer achieving a stronger bargaining positioning and being able to negotiate a reduced sale price or for extra perks.
3. Neighborhood Knowledge
A real eastate agent with experience in a community will possess intimate knowledge about your neighborhood. He/She will be able to identify comparable sales and inform you where you can find information about schools, crime, and demographics for the area. For instance, you may have seen a home down the street listed for $250,000, but an agent will know that its kitchen and floors had been upgraded and that the house actually sold for $195,000 after 80 days on the market and after twice falling out of escrow.
4. Price Guidance
Contrary to what you might think, real estate agents do not select prices for buyers or sellers. However, a good agent, with a thorough knowledge of the local real
estate market, will be able to help guide a client to make the right decision for him/herself.
5. Real Estate Agents Work For You at Their Own Risk
In most cases, real estate agents do not get paid until the sale closes. It's hard to imagine a business where an individual will put in so many hours of work without any guarantee of being paid. Therefore, if the agent doesn't do a great job and either sell your home and/or find you the perfect new home, he/she doesn't make a dime.
6. Real Estate Has it's Own Language
Since most people don't know the difference between a PUD and a CMA, you will be better off hiring someone that does. An experienced real estate agent knows the intricacies of the business, and will be able to help guide you through the entire transaction. If you don't know real estate jargon and try to do it on your own, you will likely make some very costly mistakes.
7. Negotiation Skills & Confidentiality
Since real estate agents are able to remove themselves from the emotional aspects of the transaction, unlike the sellers and buyers, they are better at negotiation. If you think an agent acts merely as a messenger delivering a buyer's offer to a seller and vice versa, think again. He/She is in fact a highly trained professional who knows how to present their client's case in the most positive light, while at the same time keeping their client's guarded information completely confidential from competing interests.
8. Handling Volumes of Paperwork
Purchase agreements today can run 10 or more pages, not including state and federal mandated disclosures nor disclosures required by local custom. One simple mistake, such as a missed signature, missed initial, or even a grammatical error could land you in court or cost you thousands of dollars. Having a good real estate agent will help to ensure that this doesn't happen.
9. A Good Real Estate Agent is Always Available
A good real estate agent will make him/herself available to help you seven days a week,
from morning until night if need be. A dedicated real estate agent is virtually always "on call" to answer any questions that you may have.
10. Develop Relationships for Future Business
Referrals are essential for an agent to have success and a continued career in real estate. Very few real estate agents would make it in the profession if they had to consistently create new business through their own effort. This simple reality gives real estate agents a very strong incentive to ensure that their clients are happy and satisfied. This also means that as long as an agent remains in the profession, he/she will be there for you should you ever need to hire an agent again.
There you have it, ten reasons you should hire a real estate agent. There are obviously more than ten reasons you should hire a real estate agent, but this short list should help you realize some of the many benefits working with a real estate agent has.
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