6 Reasons You Should Never Try To Buy Or Sell Without An Agent
Save the DIY routine for your bath soaps and birthday presents. When it comes to real estate, you shouldn’t chance it without a professional. Buying or selling a home is a colossal investment, and mistakes can end up costing you thousands of dollars.
Let’s go over just 6 instances when buying or selling a house without the assistance of a professional could turn into a very messy mistake.
NEVER ENDING NEGOTIATIONS
While many people think they are good at negotiating due to saving a couple thousand dollars off of the sticker price of a car, this is not really the case. For a huge investment like a home, it’s best to leave it in the hands of a real estate professional that has the experience of bullishly negotiating for the best price possible.
Negotiations don’t end at the listing price – that’s simply where they begin. There are hundreds of points in your listing agreement that can be, and should be, negotiated and if they aren’t artfully done, you could end up leaving thousands on the table.
MISSED CONNECTIONS
One great thing about dealing with realtors and real estate agents is that they tend to be connected to nearly everyone in the community. Chances are they know the right brokers, home inspectors, lawyers and more to insure that your sale or purchase goes as smoothly as possible.
Not only do real estate agents know vendors and other professionals, they also widen your pool of potential buyers when you are selling. They know other agents working with buyers who just might be in the market for a house like yours. It’s part of the reason why it pays to work with a First Team agent; we work with more buyers in Orange County than any other brokerage and represent 2X as many buyers. That’s a lot of connections in your favor.
ETHICAL DILEMMAS
Another reason to use a real estate agent is because they have to adhere to a strict code of ethics to remain licensed. This can help insure that you aren’t being swindled. Real estate agents keep your sale honest and legal by reviewing disclosures, handling legal issues and keeping everyone involved up to speed.
REAL ESTATE FULL TIME JOB
While many people think they can buy and sell a home on their own, do you really have the time to do everything that’s required? Can you rush home from work every time a potential buyer drops by? Can you answer the phone at all hours? A professional, potentially an agent with a master’s degree in real estate, has the experience and time that you don’t have. When you have a professional ready and waiting to handle issues, take the next step and make important split second decisions, then you have the upper hand in your purchase or sale.
FALSE POSITIVES
If you don’t have an agent or other professional to help you, chances are you will waste a lot of time. If you are buying, you will look at houses that don’t meet your needs. If you are selling, you will waste time showing your house to people not qualified to buy.
MISPRICING
One huge mistake many people make is paying too much for a home. They may also put a home on the market for too little or too much. It will either not sell or sell for less than it is worth. You can avoid this by working with a professional. For example, First Team agents use a Comparable Market Report or CMA to help you find the right price. Each CMA report is customizable and provides a realistic home value range for your property based on similar and comparable homes in your area. This report is essential to deciding price because the agent has the ability to eliminate or add homes based on very specific criteria so you have a customized and true comparison of homes which are like yours.
Thank you for reading. I hope you found this information useful.
Jeff Pittman, Realtor in Ladera Ranch – Orange County, California