5 reasons you should use a Realtor
You have just made your new year’s resolution and decided that it’s time to buy or sell. You pull onto the internet superhighway on your iPhone, smartphone, iPad, laptop or computer to check out all the new listings before you start touring all the open houses.
Sure, you have been watching HGTV and you’re thinking, “This real estate thing is easy.” You think you can do a really good job at finding a home or even selling your home yourself. You may be thinking any info you might need is all online, right? Quite the opposite, in fact.
Whether you’re a homebuyer or seller, we know that you think you may be able to do this on your own. It is advisable that you should leave this to the real estate professionals. This will more than likely be the biggest financial decision you ever make in your entire lifetime. You should always be represented by a professional Realtor if you want to get it right.
Here’s 5 reasons why you should utilize a Realtor:
1. Realtors have lots of professional experience, resources and other specialized services that can’t be matched by online websites/services.
The real estate language is a language all on its own. It’s full of abbreviations, acronyms, slang and jargon. Your Realtor is fluent in this language. Not to mention that buying or selling a home requires endless forms, reports, disclosures and other required and technical documents. Realtors have the knowledge to help you prepare and guide you through a killer deal – while avoiding all the pitfalls, delays or costly mistakes that can seriously damage you financially in the end.
2. Realtors have hyper-drive access beyond the internet.
The internet can be very ideal. You can find practically anything on the internet. With online real estate listing sites, you can find up-to-date home listings on your own, any time you want, right? Realtors have more access to even more properties. Sometimes properties are available but not “actively advertised” or simply upcoming listings that only a licensed Realtor would know about. A Realtor can help you find those hidden gems. A large portion of real estate sales occur even before hitting the MLS (multiple listing service) or going online. This is simply because customers are actively searching with agents who typically know exactly what that buyer wants before it hits the open market. Also, an experienced local Realtor is going to know the search area way better than you ever could. Have your eye on a particular neighborhood but it’s just out of your price range? Your Realtor is equipped to know the “in’s and out’s” of every neighborhood. Only a Realtor can direct you toward a home in your price range that you may have overlooked or didn’t find on some online website.
3. Never negotiate against yourself, experienced Realtors are well-versed in this skill set.
Any time you are listing or buying a home, you’re going to be confronted with negotiations. You do not want to be negotiating against yourself. In today’s housing climate the market is really heating up, the negotiation process is definitely going to require an extremely skilled negotiator. You should be expecting lots of competition, bidding wars, all-cash buyers who often write non-contingent offers. You will definitely want a professional with a strong skill set in negotiating on your side to represent your best interest. And it’s not always just about how much money you end up netting or spending in commission fees. A Realtor can draft a purchase agreement that outlines all the time for appraisals, inspections, contingencies, underwriting approval with or without conditions, and anything else that’s crucial to your particular needs.
4. Experienced Realtors are well connected in the community.
Not all Realtors will know everything, but an experienced Realtor will make it their mission to know just about everyone who can possibly achieve the goals required in the process of buying or selling a home, such as banks, lenders, mortgage brokers, escrow and title officers, appraisers, surveyors, real estate attorneys, home inspectors, contractors, home stagers, interior designers, marketing and advertising resources. Realtors have these connections and you should be taking advantage of them.
5. Realtors are your guidance counselor/data analyst/therapist/skilled negotiator and so much more.
Realtors are experienced and knowledgeable in a lot of different areas. A good Realtor invests thousands of dollars and time to advertise and market your home. They spend a lot of time researching properties and constantly driving around, checking out new and old listings for you. They also keep an eye out for properties that may fail and come back on the market. These are properties that you most likely would have overlooked if you had been representing yourself. When marketing a listing, they spend their own money on marketing and advertising and making a campaign that suits your home. They’re constantly researching comparable sales to make sure that they have the most current sales and trends in the marketplace.
If you are buying a home utilizing a Realtor for your search, representation actually costs you nothing. The seller pays the commission, which is negotiated between the listing firm and the seller at the time the listing is taken. If you’re not represented by your own agent, the listing agent gets the entire commission, so you might as well call on a professional to work for you since you gain all of this knowledgeable experience free of charge to you, the buyer. Not to mention, that the best of the very best are working for their clients at all hours of the day and night, seven days a week.
Just remember that this is the biggest financial decision in your lifetime, and guiding you through it is what experienced Realtors do best.