Why should you work with a REALTOR®? There are ten good reasons and many more why a real estate professional can make an important difference when you buy or sell a home:
1. REALTORS® Are Real Estate Specialists.
REALTOR® is commonly used as a generic word for real estate broker or sales associate, but only a member of the National Association of REALTORS® can be called a REALTOR®. The association provides advanced educational opportunities to its members and its members subscribe to a detailed CODE OF ETHICS in addition to the requirements of state real estate laws.
2. REALTORS® Lower Your Risk.
When you have a REALTOR® as an advocate, you share some of the risk of home buying. Otherwise, it's buyer or seller beware. You are paying the REALTOR® to assist you, advise you, and help you navigate the transaction legally and safely. Your REALTOR® will make sure you take appropriate steps to protect yourself. Incredibly, many states do not have laws or regulatory bodies in place that protect all aspects of homebuying. Only 20 states currently license or certify home inspectors, for example. Further, these and other professionals are only liable in civil suits for the amount of their fees, not for any costs incurred by the buyer or seller for problems or repairs that were undetected before the closing. If your REALTOR® suggests that you get a structural inspection, it is highly recommended to do so for your own protection. She or he will know how an inspection should be performed and will offer to attend the inspection with you.
3. REALTORS® Work For You At Their Own Risk.
It is hard to name any other profession whose members work on a contingency basis. Even attorneys charge by the hour except for some high-risk lawsuits. You don't typically pay for any services up front with an REALTOR® . That means your agent incurs the costs of doing business on your behalf until you find and close your home. Therefore, it's in your REALTOR's® best interest to work quickly, diligently, and use all his or her resources to help you meet your goals. REALTORS® will ask you to sign a Broker's Representation Agreement which allows him or her to represent your interests. Be sure to ask what the advantages are, and what your options are. Make sure you understand how the REALTOR® you choose will work with you, according to the laws and regulations of your state.
4. REALTORS® Understand The Current Market.
Real estate professionals have house-by-house, street-by-street, and market-by-market experience. Their experience is invaluable and can't be learned overnight. Rising and falling interest rates affect the number of available homes for sale and their prices within, sometimes in a brief time span. All it takes is the entrance or exit of a major employer, and thousands of homes in a neighborhood can be affected. As neighborhood experts, experienced brokers and their associates can help you with home buying or selling strategies and proposals that will get the price and terms you want.
5. REALTORS® Have Inventory.
Do you want to find a home quickly? With a REALTOR® by your side, you will. According to The National Association of REALTORS®, over four-fifths of existing homes in the United States are represented by real estate brokers. So are 70 percent of new homebuilders and their products, according to NewHomeNetwork.com. REALTORS® cooperate with each other through an organization called the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The MLS has the current broker-represented properties for sale in its database. Your REALTOR® can also show you homes outside of the MLS inventory, including for-sale-by-owner homes, new builder homes, and institution-operated homes.
6. REALTORS® Have Up-to-the-minute Information.
MLS data entry can take from one to 10 days, depending on the listing associate, his or her broker, and the MLS. By the time the home is posted on the Internet, it could already be sold. Clever REALTORS® don't wait that long to find a home for their buyers; they network with each other. Often, REALTORS® will tell others about you and your wish list in exchange for information about upcoming homes for sale. That's how many homes are bought and sold in a hot seller's market, without a sign ever going into the yard. If you want to be the buyer positioned to make first and best offers on these homes, hire an agent.
7. REALTORS® Understand The Complexity Of The Transaction.
Less than a decade ago, a home could be bought with a two-page contract. Now consumer-mandated seller's disclosures, environmental and structural reports, and other liabilities have turned the home transfer into a complicated minefield. REALTORS® work with contracts daily, and can fully understand which points are harmful and beneficial to you. From helping you make a reasonable offer, to providing for the discovery and disclosure of material facts, your REALTOR® can also interpret information for you. If you found out the neighbor next door to the house you are buying just built a new fence, what does that mean? You won't have to replace the fence on that side for a long time. To your REALTOR®, it means something else. She or he will recommend a survey to assure that the new fence doesn't encroach on your new property.
8. REALTORS® Work For You...And The Transaction.
Your REALTOR® behalf of the transaction. Does that seem like a conflict of interest? It isn't. Buyers and sellers are often natural adversaries. You want to buy for the least price, and the seller wants the best price. Agents must be skilled negotiators to keep bargaining chips from turning into deal-breakers. Both buyer and seller each have a measure of control. You can instruct your REALTOR® how far to go in negotiations on your behalf. One day, you'll be glad your REALTOR® talked you out of walking away because the seller wouldn't leave the chandelier.
9. REALTORS® Sometimes Offer Flexible Services.
Services from REALTORS® are somewhat negotiable. The more risk you ask your REALTOR to take or the more services you require, the higher the fees may be. New ideas are coming to the real estate industry, which allow the consumer to pick and choose real estate services based on what brokers offer in the marketplace. Some offer only full service brokerage services. Others offer menu services and are paid accordingly. If you want to save some money, be prepared to pay more up front and shoulder some of the responsibilities yourself. Perhaps you found the home you want on your own, and you only want a REALTOR® to represent you on the contract and at closing. Some REALTORS® will accommodate you, but keep in mind that their liability may only be limited to the actual job performed.
10. REALTORS® Are Homeowner Advocates.
Do you like the idea of deducting your mortgage interest from your income tax? Paying no capital gains when you sell your home up to $250,000 if you are single and $500,000 if you are married? If so, you can thank the only lobbying group in the nation that looks out for the interests of homeowners — The National Association of REALTORS®. Every year, the REALTOR® PAC perches on Capitol Hill and swoops down on legislators who try to overturn these generous government-sponsored homeowner benefits. The result is well worth it. These initiatives keep housing more affordable, enabling more buyers than ever before to move into a home of their own. Thanks in part to REALTORS®, more than 67 percent of the population are enjoying the benefits of owning a home.
One of the greatest endorsements you have for using the services of a REALTOR® is from your lender. Lenders are willing to finance agent commissions for buyers in the mortgage loan. That should tell you how important it is that you get proper representation. Many lenders agree you may get a better price for your home and better terms by having an advocate. Put a REALTOR® to work for you today. |