Every year about six million homes are sold in the United States. It is possible to buy or sell your home without a realtor, and there has been an enormous proliferation in services aimed at helping people transact in real estate all on their own. Yet in 2018, 87% of buyers and 91% of sellers used a real estate professional.
In the age of DIY checkout lanes and apps to allow you to check in and out of hotels without ever speaking to anyone, why does nearly every property buyer and seller work with a realtor?
Realtors Will Tell You the Truth
Realtors are licensed professionals working with you in what common law calls a “fiduciary” relationship. In such a relationship, the person providing the service is bound by law to act in your best interests. If they don’t, there are very serious legal repercussions.
When you buy or sell directly, without an agent, you are expected to act in your own best interest while the other party does the same. If you fail to uncover something important before the sale goes through, there’s almost nothing you can do about it.
Real Estate Professionals Have Access
It would illogical to suppose that Internet searches can really give you the kind of fully rounded information you need for such an important transaction as buying or selling property. Here are just a few of the things realtors have an intimate, working knowledge of:
- Neighborhood stats, like crime, demographics, wealth, schools, etc
- The going prices for properties like yours or the one you’re interested in
- All the homes in the area that are currently for sale
- Home prices in the area for the last few years
- Short and long-term trends in the local real estate market
Realtors Are Extremely Convenient
If you sell by yourself, you have to find interested parties, answer the phones and questions, make appointments for viewings, and waste your own time if people don’t show up.
If you’re buying, you have find properties, set up appointments and play phone tag; and if a place is isn’t anything like what you wanted when you get there, it’s your time that will be wasted. A realtor saves both parties all this hassle.
Realtors Know How to Negotiate
Some people assume that direct communication between buyer and seller will be the easiest way of doing business. This only works if both parties are good communicators, honest, and motivated to get along.
A realtor can be the go-between so sales go more smoothly. A realtor can take the sting out of one party’s opinion before passing it on and help you understand when it’s right to ask for a discount or ask for more.
Realtors Understand Contracts
Contracts exist to protect everyone and lay out all the terms and conditions of sale. As such, they are extraordinarily complicated. If you don’t understand yours, you could end up losing enormous amounts of money; or even being sued.
Real Estate Professionals Know about Prices
What kind of property can you actually expect to find within your budget? That’s information your realtor can tell you at a glance. How much can you realistically sell for in this year’s market? Without a realtor, you’re making stabs, perhaps not in the dark, but definitely at least in the dusk about these all-important financial considerations.
Realtors Know All about Paperwork
Most people are stunned by the amount of paperwork that goes into buying and selling property. Purchase agreements alone run 10 pages on average, and there are federal, state, and municipal paperwork requirements that have to be done perfectly lest you end up in court or slapped with fines. A real estate professional is the best one to tackle all that.
Getting Help
There’s a reason most people use a realtor. A good realtor will save you money, hassle, stress, and time. Whether you’re looking to buy or sell, a call to Teresa Mack will put you on the right road to a smooth and successful transaction.
