10 Ways you benefit from using a real estate agent to buy a house

10 Ways you benefit from using a real estate agent to buy a house

It is no secret that anyone can buy a house without signing up with a real estate agent. After all, you will save about $3000 on every $100,000 of the price! That may be true, but you need to sit for a while and decide what that saving is worth to you. Are you ready to make home hunting your second job? Are you ready to devote all your time to get through the maze of paperwork, regulations, legal obligations etc? Did not think so.

Here are just 10 ways you will benefit from using a real estate agent to buy a house.

1. Ethical Concerns
All real estate agents are not members of the National Association of Realtors, but the majority of reputable estate agents do join the NAR and abide to the Code of Ethics.

The essential part of the Code is that it focuses to a large extent on honesty during transactions. Real estate agents under this code are compelled to place the interests of the clients first at all times. Additionally, the estate agent is under obligation to disclose the full nature of any defects or problems of a property and to ensure that their advertising is truthful without any misrepresentation.

Boards that are governed by the NAR do enforce these provision of the Code. Penalties range from a $5000 fine, suspension, or expulsion.

2. Just The Right Price
A seasoned and skilled real estate agent is able to set a realistic price on a property the moment they stepped through the door. It is easy to compare pictures and statistics online of fairly similar properties.

However, a real estate agent will be able to tell you what sets properties apart of similar properties in the neighbourhood if a property is under or over priced, and how well value is contained in a particular neighbourhood.

If you have the right real estate agent at your side, he will most likely know what you are looking for and spare you the viewing of houses that is not according to your liking.

3. Repair Requirements
More often than not, the most sensitive part of real estate buying is the careful matter of making the repair requirements. Real estate agents are experienced in identifying problems that are not obvious to the normal person. They can recommend an independent inspector that can provide a detailed report on the defects of the property.

At the best of times, these reports are a couple of pages long. Fortunately, your estate agent will know what is important to look at and what are not. It is important to know that repair requirements can make or break a deal. You can rely on your estate agent to guide you through what repair requests are reasonable and which are unwarranted without risking losing a house you would have loved to buy.

4. Discover All Available Properties
We all know that there are hundreds of properties available on thousands of websites where you can get access to available homes to buy. However, not all sellers want the world to know they are selling their homes. Therefore, it happens that only real estate agents are aware that the house is on the market.

There can be many valid reasons for this. Often financial difficulty, health problems, personal problems such as divorce, or death of a family member that calls for some sense of privacy, or not wanting the house to be advertised during the holidays are just some of the reasons.

If you want access to all the available properties, certainly your real estate agent knows about a gem or two that are not listed online that might just suite you like a glove.

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5. Paperwork Blues
It is no secret that buying a house involves a heap of paperwork and the process is tiresome. Fortunately, with a worthy real estate agent at your side, the day is saved. They deal with it every day and know exactly what must be done, how it must be done, and exactly when it must be done to get it right the first time. Because they know the paperwork regime inside out, it is unlikely that you will need to go back and forward and deal with home buying paperwork blues.

6. Aware of the Extraordinary
What to do if you require a very specific feature that your new house must have such as a large enough living room for your bespoke designer living room lounge set? Or if you specifically want a specific shape pool or a bedroom with blue wall paint?

It is unlikely that you will see or even find those specific features online. However, real estate agents know their properties and they are aware of the extraordinary features of each house. They are able to point you directly to those houses in the neighbourhood that have the features that will meet your requirements. Moreover, it will save you viewing 20 houses that would not hit the mark in the first place.

7. No Emotion Negotiation
As much as we would like to think we are even-tempered, composed, and sensible, when it comes to something as simple as a broken drain pipe that drips inside the kitchen cabinet it is the simplest thing on earth to flare a temper. Therefore, it is best to let an estate agent put your requests in an objective manner in writing without any emotions attached. Regardless what the negotiation might be, the best way is to let the agent deal with it.

8. Zoning, Regulations, and Ordinances Knowledge
When you are looking for a property that you partially want to turn in to a small business, you will need to know if the ordinances of the city will allow you and what provisions you have to make. With the help of a real estate agent, you can count on his knowledge to prevent you from buying the wrong house.

Additionally, if you want to make alterations to the property or put up a particular fence, the estate agent will help you to ensure that your vision and plans has potential before you buy a certain property.

In some areas where very old properties are up for sale, it is a requirement from the city that the owner needs to do certain upgrades in order for the property to be registered in the new owner’s name. With the help of a worthy real estate agent, these kind of requirements will be disclosed early in the negotiation stages.

9. Reliable Record Keeping
Real estate agents are not notaries or lawyers, yet they are good source of resources long after the sale is concluded. Licensed real estate agents are required to keep the entire file on record for a certain number of years before it may be destroyed. Should any problems arise after the sale with the property you can rest assured that the documentation is available and safe with your estate agent.

10. Just Before Closing Pitfalls
The closer a sale comes to closing, all kind of problems and pitfalls can smoulder the deal. Typically these problems include problems with the title deed or financing conditions that are not met.

Because real estate agents are familiar with all the types of problems that can threaten a deal they work proactively to prevent and deal with any problems as the closing of a transaction draws closer.