BUYING A HOME? ---- REAL ESTATE AGENT SERVICES ARE FREE TO A BUYER.
"Why should we hire a real estate agent?" Here are reasons why you might want to consider using a professional real estate agent to represent you:
1. SELLERS & BUILDERS PAY FOR BUYERS AGENT SERVICES & COMISSION. Get real estate agents professional guidance and protect your biggest investment your home.
2. Industry Experience: You don't need to know everything about buying and selling real estate if you hire a real estate professional to guide you.
3. Agents are Buffers: Your agent will protect your interest and will narrow down your property search to make it more effective and easy for you. Agents take the spam out of your property showings and visits. If you're a seller, your agent will filter all those phone calls that lead to nowhere and try to induce serious buyers to immediately write an offer
4. Neighborhood Knowledge: Agents either possess knowledge or they know where to find the industry buzz about your neighborhood. They can identify comparable sales and present these facts to you, in addition to pointing you in the direction where you can find more data on schools etc. For example, you may know that a home down the street was on the market for $320,000, but the agent will know that it was sold at $285,000 after 65 days on the market.
5. Price Guidance: contrary to what some people believe, agents do not select prices for sellers or buyers. However, an agent will help to guide clients to make the right choices for themselves. For example, if a listing is at 6%, an agent has a 6% vested interest in the sale, but the client has a 94% interest. Buyer’s agents will ask buyers to weigh all the data supplied to them and to choose a price. Based on that information, the agent will devise a negotiation strategy.
6. Negotiation Skills & Confidentiality: Agents are able to negotiate well because they are skilled at it and unlike most buyers and sellers, they can remove themselves from the emotional aspects of the transaction. It's part of their job description. They are professionals who are trained to present their client's case in the best light and agree to hold client information confidential from competing interests.
7. Handling Volume of Paperwork: Today's purchase agreements consist of multiple pages and complex contractual clauses.
8. Relationships for Future Business: The basis for an agent's success and continued career in real estate is referrals. This emphasis on building business relationships gives agents strong incentives to ensure every client is happy and satisfied.
9.Agents orchestrate contract to closing including loans, appraisal, title etc, taking the burden off you. Take advantage of low Interest rates - Own instead of renting. Source (about.com)
