When working with a Realtor you are trusting them with one of your most important items, your property and home. So why do we trust Realtors?
Because, your Realtor is highly trained and because they will find the best deal for you, and will be willing to work day and night to help you either find your dream home, or get the price you feel you deserve for your property.
Ethical Standards: Even though not all Real Estate Agents are member of the Nation Association of Realtors, those who do take part in it’s ranks agree to work by a code of ethics. What this means is that all Realtors deal with all parties involved in a transaction honestly. Penalties for breaking this code of ethics range from a $5000 fine or 1 year suspension or 3 year expulsion from the board.
Pricing Expertise: Most Real Estate Agents can set a price on a house the minute they walk into the building. They know and understand the market, and they know how well a neighborhood holds its value. While almost anyone can estimate rough costs on what a home can be online, Real Estate Agents have the experience to know if a house is under priced or over priced.
Requesting Repairs: Often one of the touchier subjects in this field of Real Estate Purchase involves the delicate dance of repair requests. Often time Agents will be aware of problems even if you cannot see them and will usually know and suggest a good independent home inspector.
Finding available homes: Though most homes are available to view online not all sellers want to advertise so wildly as this. In these cases only Realtors will be aware that these homes are for sale. Put it into other means what this means is that working with an Agent will grant you access to houses you may never know were on sale otherwise.
Tackling the Paperwork: If you have ever bought a house or know someone who has. Then you are aware of the shelves of paperwork you are going to have from the transaction. These probably include the written offer, the written and signed counteroffer, repairs, other little details and what was and not included in the sale. Either way the paperwork can be incredibly tiring. This is when the good Real Estate agent saves the day. Often these offers and counter offers are on a time limit. The odds of missing something, not initialing a margin or not checking a box, can drop substantially when you’re working with someone who knows the paperwork inside and out.
The Purple Room Phenomenon: Aside from the technical side of the sale that people often make mistakes in the paperwork. Agents know these houses inside and out. It’s called the purple room phenomenon. It goes like this. If the buyer wants a house with a purple room, an experienced real estate agent will know which house for sale has that room. Falling into the same boat as buying a home it can be difficult to find houses with certain particulars you may be looking for. IE an office room, mother in law suite, play rooms ect. Realtors will almost always help you find the home you are looking for.
Unemotional Negotiations: As level headed as you may think yourself to be. When you are fighting with a seller over adding a hose to a dishwasher, it can be fairly easy to lose your cool. Having an agent on your team to write down requests objectively and forwarding them ahead for you, not only saves you time, but saves you the worry of getting overly emotional about the deal. As an example lets say the seller is refusing to budge on the dishwasher hose, and you want to adjust your offer. The agent covers this part calmly. Experts would normally advise to let the agents take the heat in these difficult situations and negotiations.
Code Expertise: If you want to buy a charming property near a business district and turn the front parlor into a candle store, you need to know if the city will allow it. Typically, experienced real estate agents are familiar enough with the local zoning that they can make sure you don’t buy the wrong property. By the same standards and regulations, if you want to build a fence in the backyard or add an additional bedroom, an agent should be able to make sure you’re property where the city allows it. Another good example is if the house isn’t connected to the city sewer system, in this case the buyer will be required to spend tens of thousands to connect to the property, the real estate agent will ensure that the required information is disclosed before the deal goes very far.
Thorough Record Keeping: Although Real Estate Agents aren’t Lawyers, they can serve as a good resource even years after the deal has concluded. In certain states, Agents are required to keep full files of all documents of transactions on file for years to come.
While it is advised for you to keep your files for yourself, you can count on your agent to keep that information organized and safeguarded should any trouble pop up on your property years down the road. You’ll also be able to contact your agent at any time in the coming years should you have questions about the property yourself.
Avoiding closing problems: When a sale is nearing closing, all kinds of issues can kill a deal in the final moments. Agents know what to watch for to avoid these unfortunate last minute problems before its too late. As an example, the title of the house may not be clear. Some long lost relative might be listed on the title who hasn’t signed off yet on the sale or maybe the lender is causing a problem by not meeting the timeline on financing. Real estate agents are used to dealing with these types of issues and can work through almost any challenge that arises.
