A lot of views that people have of the role of a Realtor is pretty outdated.  Realtors do a lot more than send you homes that are for sale for buyers, or just post pictures of your home online for sellers.  With today’s technology, people actually have access to do both of those things on their own.  If you think you should buy or sell a home without a realtor however, you are sadly mistaken.  Below are a few of the benefits of using a realtor when it comes to real estate.

Pricing

Buying a home is a very big expense, so there is a lot of money on the line.  People are always looking for ways to get as much money as possible out of the deal.  When it comes to real estate, sellers think their home is worth more than it is, and buyers think the home is worth less than what it really is.  Having a realtor on your side will help protect you buy letting you know if a buyer is trying to low ball you, or if a seller has over priced their home.

An important role of a realtor is to research any home that you are looking to buy or sell, and make sure it is priced correctly.  For example, how would you know if a home you are interested in is overpriced? No one wants to overpay for such a large investment.  As a seller, how do you know if you are pricing your home too high?  It is a lot harder than just looking at what your neighbors home sold for.  Pricing your home to high will leave your home sitting on the market for months with no offers.  A good realtor will research all the relevant properties that have sold in your area, and be able to break down what a good price for home is and why.  This will not only save you a lot of time, but can also net you the most money in the long run!

Most importantly, an experienced realtor will know the best practices to get you the most money for your home, or be able to get the price down on a home you are interested in buying.  It really comes down to how much leverage you have during the negotiation, and a realtor will be able read the situation and negotiate the best deal for you.  For example, since it is a seller’s market, sellers will usually have more leverage because of the high demand for homes.  If the home is overpriced however, there won’t be any demand, which means the buyer now has more room to negotiate paying a lower price. Each transaction is different, and having a realtor will help you get the best deal every time.

Advisor

An important role that a realtor plays is the role of your advisor.  A realtor will help to negotiate the terms of the contract to ensure your needs are met.  Pricing is only the start of negotiating.  What about the appliances? What about other circumstances, such as the closing date, or any repairs?  Having a realtor on your side will make sure that the terms are fair for you and are understood by both parties.  This will help ensure a smooth closing, with no last minute surprises.

A realtor will also help you know what is normal, or customary in a real estate transaction vs the other side trying to pull a fast one on you.  AN experienced realtor deal with many of these transactions a year, so they will know what to expect.  If the other side tries to get you to do something out of the ordinary, your realtor will call them out and stop them in their tracks. 

An example of this is the buyer asking the seller to pay for a termite inspection on their home.  While a buyer may try to sell you on why this is needed, the truth is that the seller hardly ever pays for a termite inspection.  The buyer is usually responsible for paying for any type of inspection they want, including termites.  Without a realtor, you may have ending up paying hundreds of dollars for inspection when you didn’t even need to!

Connector

To make it through a real estate transaction, you are going to need more than a realtor.  For example, in Illinois it is customary to use an attorney.  If you don’t know a attorney that specializes in real estate, your realtor, who works with many real estate attorneys, will be able to recommend a good one.  Realtors are at the middle of every real estate deal, so they are connected with many different professionals in real estate.  They will be able to recommend people like inspectors, mortgage lenders, contractors, etc.  If you need to be referred to anyone involved in buying & selling a home, your realtor can serve as a one stop shop.

Having a realtor on your side can be very beneficial to do if you are looking to buy or sell a home.  Working with a good realtor will not only make your real estate deal as smooth as possible, it will most likely help you make (or save) thousands of dollars!  Please feel free to reach out to me here with any questions or comments.  Thanks and have a great day!

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