1. Realtors Are Real Estate
Specialists. Not all real estate professionals are created
equally. There are approximately 2.3 million licensed real estate
professionals, but only members of the National Association of
Realtors can call themselves Realtors. This association of about
750,000 brokers and agents provides a Code of Ethics to standardize
professional behavior, and it offers advanced educational
opportunities to its members, enabling them to offer accredited
sub-specialties such as buyer's representation (ABR,) residential real
estate expertise (CRS,) or Internet readiness (e-PRO) to the public.
2. Realtors Lower Your Risk.
When you have a Realtor as an advocate, you share some of the risk of
home buying with your agent. Otherwise, it's buyer beware. Incredibly,
many states do not have laws or regulatory bodies in place that
protect homebuyers in many situations. If you have a Realtor as your
advocate, he or she will make recommendations that will assure that
you are buying a home that is safe, environmentally sound and priced
fairly according to the current marketplace.
3. Realtors Work For You At
Their Own Risk. Can you name another profession that will go to
work for you on a contingency basis? Or without a contract? Even
attorneys charge by the hour except for some high-risk law suits. You
don't typically pay for any services up front with an agent and that
is because agents are paid on the back end by the lender's proceeds.
When you think about it, that is an incredible endorsement that your
lender is willing to finance your brokerage fees. That means you and
the seller have no out-of-pocket expenses. Therefore, it's in your
agent's best interest to work quickly, diligently, and use all his or
her resources to help you meet your goals, or there is no payday. But
don't be surprised if your agent asks for a commitment from you in the
form of a contract. Wouldn't you do the same if your time and money
were on the line?
4.Realtors Understand The
Current Market. Real estate professionals have invaluable
house-by-house, street-by-street, and market-by-market experience
which can't be learned overnight. Realtors who have weathered the
pendulum swing between buyers' markets and sellers' markets know that
the real estate market can turn abruptly. Rising and falling interest
rates affect the number of available homes for sale and their prices
within weeks or days. All it takes is the entrance or exit of a major
employer, and hundreds of homes in a neighborhood can be affected. As
neighborhood experts, experienced brokers and agents can help you with
home buying strategies and proposals that will get the right house at
the best price and terms.
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 home builders and their products, according to NewHomeNetwork.com.
Realtors cooperate with each other through an organization called the
Multiple Listing Service (MLS) that allows them to share their current
inventory with each other. Your agent can also show you homes outside
of the MLS inventory, including for-sale-by-owner homes, new builder
homes, and institution-operated homes. However, no Realtor can be
expected to show you this unqualified inventory without a
representation agreement that assures him or her of being paid at
closing.
6. Realtors Have Information
You Don't Have. MLS data entry can take from one to 10 days,
depending on the listing agent, his or her broker, and the rules and
technology of the MLS. By the time the home is posted on the Internet,
it could already be sold, so when you shop for homes on the Internet,
you may not be seeing the most current inventory. That's why clever
agents network with each other. Your agent will tell other agents
about you and your wish list in exchange for information about
upcoming homes for sale which are not yet in the MLS or the Internet.
Many homes are bought and sold this way without a sign ever going into
the yard. If you want to be the buyer positioned to make first and
best offers on these desirable homes, hire an agent and be willing to
go under contract. If an agent has found out about a home for sale
that has not been listed, whom do you think he or she will tell first
- you, or a buyer who is committed to him or her by contract? Again,
commitment works both ways.
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
legal documents have turned the home transfer into a potential
minefield. Realtors work with contracts daily, and can fully
understand which points are harmful and/or beneficial to you. From
helping you make a reasonable offer, to providing for the discovery
and disclosure of material facts, your agent can also correctly
interpret information for you. If you found out the neighbor next door
to the house you are buying is building a new fence, would you know to
get a new survey ordered? Your Realtor will make sure that the new
fence doesn't encroach on your new property.
8. Realtors Work For
You...And The Transaction. Your agent not only represents your
interests but also works on behalf of the transaction. Does that seem
like a conflict of interest? It isn't. Buyers and sellers are natural
adversaries. You want to buy for the least price, and the seller wants
the most. Agents must be skilled negotiators to keep pride, ignorance,
or stubbornness from getting in the way of a fair deal for both sides.
As the buyer, remember that you are the one in control. You can
instruct your agent how far to go in negotiations on your behalf. One
day, you'll be glad your agent helped you keep your cool when the
seller refused to leave that old chandelier.
9. Realtors Offer Flexible
Services. Realtors' services are somewhat negotiable. The more
risk you ask your agent to take, the higher the fees on the back end
(closing) will be. Also, the more your broker serves as your advocate,
the more you can expect to pay. 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 fees along the way and to shoulder more responsibility.
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 after living in it only two years? 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 and make them better investments, 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. So keep in mind that every time you put a
Realtor to work, you are working to keep your homeowner benefits in
place.
