Are you selling your house and/or buying a new one? It might be beneficial to hire a real estate agent.
Both buying and selling a home can be stressful and since they often go hand-in-hand, you may be in for an exhausting few months of dealing with real estate. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be exciting as well.
Some homeowners attempt to take on the responsibility of listing, advertising, and showing their homes to interested buyers. Likewise, some home buyers decide to surf real estate websites to find their dream home. Performing real estate agent duties on your own is undoubtedly the cheaper way to go, but it is the logical way to go?
In this post, we’re going to help you figure out whether or not to hire a real estate agent by looking at some of their duties in more detail. Realtors do a lot more than putting your home on a website and collecting a commission, so keep reading and you’ll find out what you’re paying for and why it’s beneficial to do so.
Real Estate Agent Duties to Seller
More people tend to hire a real estate agent when they’re selling their home. Here are a few of the main real estate agent duties for the seller:
Bring Market Knowledge to the Table
As an expert in the real estate market where you live, the real estate agent brings their knowledge to the table, first and foremost. If you’re trying to decide when to sell your home and what to price it at, a realtor’s expert knowledge can be invaluable.
The longer your house stays on the market, the more undesirable it becomes. If you list it at the right time, for the right price, however, the process goes much more smoothly. Trying to figure this out on your own would take weeks of committed research.
Advertise Your Property to Qualified Buyers
The one thing that realtors give you that you simply couldn’t have otherwise is the ability to advertise to qualified buyers. Anyone can get “pre-qualified” to buy a home, but there’s a big difference between this and being pre-approved for a mortgage. A good realtor will go through the process of ensuring that all interested buyers are actually capable of buying your home instead of wasting your time.
Having a “for sale by owner” site on your lawn makes you a target for scammers and schemers. A realtor allows you to cut to the chase and sell your home to the right buyer.
Show the Property
They’ll also take care of the logistics of selling the home, like showing it to potential buyers at open houses and private showings. They go through the channels of communication to set up these showings and they are the ones at the house to give tours and talk to buyers. This is an incredibly time-consuming process if you were to do it on your own.
Negotiate With Interested Buyers
When you’ve got interested (and qualified) buyers putting in offers, your realtor will sit down with you to see how you feel about each buyer and their offer. Ultimately, you decide whether you want to ask for more money or approve an offer, but your real estate agent will be the one negotiating with the other parties and their realtors.
Finalize the Sale
Eventually, when you have an offer that you accept, that’s when all of the real paperwork begins. This is mind-numbing stuff for most of us, but if you’ve got a real estate agent, you can leave them to it and sign on the dotted line.
Duties of a Real Estate Agent to Buyer
For buyers, the process is a bit different but no less valuable. Here’s what realtors do for buyers:
Get You Pre-Approved for a Mortgage
You can go to the bank and get pre-approved for a mortgage on your own, but a good realtor will help you fill out the application so you can get the best mortgage terms possible.
Listen to Your Needs
The way that it works with a real estate agent is that you tell them what you’re looking for in a house. Whether it be something in a particular neighborhood or a specific floorplan, they take this information along with your budget and set out to find the perfect home.
Help You Find Homes That Fit Your Needs
Scouring the listings for homes that suit your needs might be something you enjoy doing, but it’s what a real estate agent is best at doing. Once they’ve got your list of requirements, they bring back all of the best options and let you decide which ones to look closer at. If you don’t like any of them, they get back to the grind.
Negotiate With Sellers
When you do find homes you’re interested in, you’ll sit down with your real estate agent and come up with your top-end offer. They take this to the seller and their agent to negotiate and get you the best possible price for the home.
After that, they go through the inspection to determine any repairs that you want the seller to make before you take possession and then help you fill out the paperwork to close on the house.
This is how a real estate agent earns their commission. Different realtors have different commission amounts, but when you’re meeting with them, this will undoubtedly be one of the things that you’ll discuss. If you want more information about real estate agent commissions, then check out this ultimate guide that breaks it down thoroughly and clearly.
Should You Hire a Real Estate Agent?
Now that you know what real estate agent duties are, you can make the decision to either hire one or take them on yourself. If you want to save a bit of money on realtor fees, then you can try to sell or buy your own home, but know that it’s going to take a lot of time and effort to do so. Real estate agents are an important part of the home buying and selling process, so figure out if hiring one is right for you and find your dream home ASAP.
If you found this post helpful, come back again for more real estate and home tips.
