So, you’re finally thinking of buying a home. There are a proliferation of services that help homebuyers and sellers to complete their real-estate transactions, and you are trying to decide whether to hire a real-estate agent. The decisions made during the process – be it buying or selling – are critical and will affect you long after the act. While doing the work yourself can save you significant commissions, some things are just better to leave it in the hands of the professionals. Below we will offer you some compelling benefits to hiring help when it comes to the sticky business of real estate.
Advantage #1: Negotiating requires skills to perfect
While direct negotiation between buyers and sellers can be more transparent, it is only dependent on the fact that both parties are reasonable and can get along just fine without third-party interventions. Unfortunately, each with their own interests to protect, the relationship is not always easy. If you have an agent, you can express your displeasure to him/her and have it communicated in a way that will work to your advantage rather than irk the other party. Acting as a messenger, your agent may be better able to get out a greater deal than if you do it yourself.
Advantage #2: Having a guide
Finding homes is not difficult. Anyone with access to internet or newspaper can find properties for sale. However, what happens once your eyes landed on your dream purchase? Do you understand how a contract works and where to find hidden things that might trip you up? Do you know how to make an offer? Are you certain that your seller or buyer is not taking advantage of you? There are so many questions that you will encounter when buying or selling a home. An experienced agent will be able to navigate through this tricky business and advise you on how to proceed.
Advantage #3: Gaining more access
By contracting a real-estate agent, you will open up doors to many more properties listed by other agents than if you go about this business alone. Agents have different networks that are not privy to people who are not in this business. By contracting an agent, you will gain access to homes and selling networks that you may otherwise not be able to come across by doing your own research.
Advantage #4: Saving time
If your aim is to save money, and if time is money, would the equation not balance out if you hire an agent? An agent’s full-time job is devoted to real-estate transactions and all related businesses. For example, when looking to buy a home, you will need to track down homes that will meet your criteria, get in touch with the seller, and make appointments to view the homes. If you have time to spare and would be able to participate in these phone tags, then what is stopping you? However, if you wish to conserve your time for other priorities, hiring a real-estate agent to do the grunt work for you may be the way to go.
Advantage #5: Avoiding Pitfalls with Listing Agents
Listing agents act on the seller’s best interest, not yours. It is a listing agent’s job to sell the home for as much as possible and with terms that benefit only the seller, their contractor. If you rely on the advice of a listing agent, it is not at all advantageous this way. Furthermore, it would force the listing agent to cater to you, which is a conflict of interest. To have someone completely on your team, hire your own buyer’s agent who will help you purchase your ideal home for the best terms and for the lowest price possible.
Buying or selling a home is a huge step to independence and maturity. Hopefully the abovementioned points will help you decide whether or not to hire help. If you would like a friendly professional’s help to find condos or homes for sale in Kitsilano, please contact me.