Four Reasons to Hire a Real Estate Broker When Selling or Buying a Home

There are a great number of services available to assist both homebuyers and sellers hoping to handle their own real estate transactions. Although you can save a bit on commissions, doing it yourself can end up costing you more in the long run. Whether you’re buying or selling your home, the decision can major, and the process itself can be quite overwhelming and emotional. You shouldn’t rule out hiring a real estate agent or brokerage firm to help you, just yet. Here are a few reasons why it’s good to hire them and have them on your side.

Easy Access to Properties & More Potential Buyers

Since your real estate agent will act as your liaison during the home sale or buying process, you won’t have to go through too much trouble to gain access to properties. Real estate agents and brokers are highly experienced and they understand what is required to sell your home, while purchasing a new one. They can work with you to get your asking price, or in some cases above your asking price, and also get a great deal on a new property.

If you have a certain criteria for the new home you want to purchase, your real estate broker will gather up all of the potential properties that meet them. They’ll also contact with other real estate selling agents to schedule your home viewing appointments. However, if you decide to fly solo when buying, you will have your work cut out for you. Not only will you have to find all of the properties on your own, but you will also have to play phone tag with selling agents.

Even if you’re a seller you’ll be on the receiving end of the phone dealing with potential buyers, scheduling your own appointments and conducting your own viewings. If you’re too busy to answer calls or respond to them it’s highly likely that your home could be on the market for a long time, since buyers will most likely move on to other interests.

No Need to Negotiate on Your Own

Negotiations between buyers and sellers can be a bit tricky. Although handling your own negotiations can provide more transparency and ensure your best interests are met, it’s not guaranteed that the other person you’re negotiating with will be very reasonable.

If you’re a buyer and there’s something you don’t like about a home, you also won’t be able to express this to the current homeowner, they may get insulted. When working with a broker, you can be open and honest. If you’re planning on fixing up the home after you purchase it, your buying broker can convey your feedback to the seller’s broker to help you better negotiate a discount.

Your broker will also play hardball during tough buying transactions so that you don’t have to. This will improve your position for buying the home you want, as it eliminates any bad blood or animosity between you and the seller.

For sellers, the same is true. Your greatest benefit during your home sale will be a hard-nosed real estate broker. They’ll protect your best interest and get you the best offer/selling price.

Avoid The Complex Offer to Purchase Contract

Whether you’re buying or selling, the offer to purchase contract is meant to protect you, should the deal go south. For instance, you can back out if your conditions aren’t met, such as failure to include financing in the conditions of the sale and your mortgage approval falls through. In this case, if you paid a deposit you could lose it entirely. Legally, the seller can also sue you for breach of contract.

Real estate brokers are extremely experienced in dealing with these type of contract and the conditions of them day in and day out. They can advise you on how to use the contract to protect your interests and inform you and the seller’s agent which conditions should be included, and which can be safely omitted.

Money Savings Aren’t Guaranteed If You Go It Alone

If the main reason you’re deciding not to hire a broker is to save money, you may want to consider your decision more carefully. In most cases, both parties involved in the transaction won’t see benefits from eliminating the commissions that would be paid to brokers.

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If you’re the seller and you’ve decided to attempt to handle it on your own, it’s likely you’ll price your home based on an area comparison analysis of sales prices of other neighborhood properties. Keep in mind that the properties were most like sold with the help of a real estate broker, resulting in a better deal.

In order for a buyer to reap the benefits of a private sale, the seller would have to be in agreement to split any potential savings of not having to pay broker commissions. At the end of the day, the buying and selling processes aren’t as simple as most would assume. Difficulties can arise, and it’s always a better idea to have a professional, licensed real estate broker on your side.