5 Reasons to Use a Professional Real Estate Agent
Have you ever wondered why people use a real estate agent? I mean a true professional real estate agent. There are people that have a real estate license but mainly use it as a hobby rather than a real career. The most asked question we get a lot of times is “ What kind of value can a real estate agent bring to me?”
A Professional Real Estate Agent
For starters, the biggest problem in northeast Arkansas right now is having a professional real estate agent. There are a lot of real estate agents out there. It seems that everyone nowadays knows someone that sells real estate. What we are referring to however is someone that does this for a living. So what value does someone like that bring to the table?
To answer that question, we always refer to a video of Dave Ramsey that we watched not too long ago. He was talking about how real estate is just like anything else. Where 80% of the people make about 20% of the money in real estate and about 20% of the people in real estate are the ones who are selling about 80% of the market. So, it's very important to find a professional realtor as you're starting the buying process. The reason being is that a professional real estate agent knows the market and is very experienced with any circumstances or situations you may go through when purchasing or selling a home.
Real Estate Agent Commission
Once you have found your professional real estate agent, hopefully us, then the next biggest question we get before we guide them through the process is "What's this going to cost me?"
The earth-shattering truth of the matter is that as a buyer it normally isn't going to cost you much at all. A real estate agent's commission to most people seems to be a big mystery for most folks.
The real question that most people need to ask is "Without using a professional realtor, what can it cost me?". The problem nowadays is that when people don't use a realtor, they run into not knowing all the things that take place during a home purchase like all the legalities and timeframes that go along with it.
For instance, is your home buying contract legally correct? Are you leaving money on the table from not using a professional real estate agent? Could you be paying too much for a home because you don't know the market? Not having a professional real estate agent that helps people buy and sell homes everyday could cost you a lot more than commission.
However, when commission is discussed, most people don't realize that typically the seller is the one paying the commissions for a realtor. So, as a buyer most of the time you have virtually nothing to lose using a professional real estate agent and getting someone to help advise you through that process is a tremendous value. One reason using a professional real estate agent is because we are thinking about the things that you probably even haven't considered.
We're looking five years or more down the road to understand if your purchase is a good investment. The reason being is our hope is not just to sell you a home, but to help represent you when you get ready to sell it in the future. So, if we haven't helped you make a good decision now, you're not going to be so happy with us five, ten, or twenty years down the road either. So those are all things value wise that we're trying to consider when helping you through your real estate process.
From the selling standpoint of not having a professional real estate agent, the question you should be asking is "Have I left something undone in selling this property that can come back and bite me later?'. When you are dealing with people's money, they'll come back after you if things were done wrong or they thought something was misrepresented.
5 Reasons to Choose a Professional
Whether you are buying or selling a home, here are the 5 main reasons having a professional real estate agent help you with buying or selling your next home:
Survey
One of biggest reason of using a professional real estate agent is to have a survey done of the property. Did you know almost 90% of all home purchases don't get a survey. That is insane! People just don't think about it when buying a home. Just because you're buying a home and it has a fence on the property doesn't mean that the fence was built necessarily on the right property line. Guess what that leads to when you start discussions of altering the fence and who owns it? A big old headache and a ton of arguments. So why not have that survey scheduled by a trusted professional real estate agent that has the contacts to get the job done right and ahead of time.
Appraisal
Another important reason for using a professional real estate agent is making sure that the appraisal process is done correctly. Having an appraisal done will answer the questions of "Am I paying too much for this home?" or "Am I getting it at a good buy?". That's something that you need to know prior to writing that contract to make sure that you are protected and if the final numbers of the contract are realistic for a purchase.
Home Inspection
Banks love to see the appraisal information cause It helps give them peace of mind knowing that you're buying exactly what you think you're buying, but the next step for you is knowing if what you're buying is in the condition that you think it might be. A lot of people will do a quick run through of a home when they are buying. They may check everything to the best of their knowledge, and it may seem fine. However, do you have a professional home inspector that is going to be crawling in the attic, walking up on the roof, and crawling underneath the house if that's required? Before you answer that question, decide is your home inspector even someone that you can trust? With a professional real estate agent, we work to provide honest and trustworthy people like home inspectors to do their job right and on time when you purchase your home
Legal Work
There's just a whole team that is involved when buying or selling a home. As realtors it's not just us that help you get this deal and make you feel comfortable with it. We have connections and we have a whole group of people that we work with to make sure that at the end of the day you're happy, and you will be for a long time.
The other aspect that needs to be considered when using a professional real estate agent is just all the legality parts of buying and selling a home. There are so many things that go on behind the scenes that people just don't know. For instance, does the person selling the home legally have the right to sell the home in the first place? It's very important, probably the most important thing, that when you get the keys to that house that it's legally yours. There are a lot of people that are involved in making that happen and as a professional real estate agent it is part of our job to check the list and make sure it gets done.
Market Conditions
One of the most underestimated value of using a professional real estate agent is just we are in this business day in and day out, and so we hear of stuff that's popping up before it even happens. One of the things that gets talked about is how northeast Arkansas is such a seller's market right now for the year 2020. It is just a great time to be selling a home. So, as a buyer you really need every advantage that you can get. If a house is priced right, in the right location, and we just happen to be in the right place; then a lot of times if we are working with you we can call you up and say "Hey, I think I've got the right home for you."
Whether you are looking at buying a home or considering selling, the big thing is just making sure that you're protected. Use a professional real estate agent that has your interest at heart and will do their job to the highest standards. We would love to talk with you about buying or selling so you can move forward with confidence. Call Tim Ray at 870-974-3280 or Trenton Hoggard at 870-931-8784 today.
