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540-962-1155

You’ve come upon that time in your life when you need, or want, to make a move. Whether you’re buying your first home, upgrading from your starter home, or downsizing now that all the kids are out of the house, working with a real estate agent is likely the best move you can make.

There are two sides to any real estate transaction: the buyer and the seller. Your relationship with your agent is going to differ slightly depending on which side you’re on. Further complicating matters is the likely scenario in which you are both selling and buying a home, usually represented in both transactions by the same agent.

This situation can get murky really fast, so we’ve put together this article on everything important you’ll want to know about real estate agents before making the move.

How can we help?

FACT: According to National Association of Realtors, more than 8 out of 10 real estate transactions occur with the help of a real estate agent or broker.
Source: realtor.org

There’s a good reason for that statistic; a real estate professional is going to be intimately familiar with the home buying and selling process.

They will be experienced in what it takes to market a home, as well as what you need to successfully negotiate a purchase. More importantly it’s their full-time occupation, allowing you to live your life while they handle all of the tedious particulars.

Benefits to buyers

Understand home financing better. One of the most valuable benefits of working with an agent is their help with understanding how much you can afford for a new home. Aside from recommending trusted lenders, real estate agents are spectacular resources for insights into neighborhood specific information and trends.

Your real estate agent might have great information on HOA obligations for a specific building or development, and could save you huge headaches from upcoming fees or special assessments. For first-time home buyers, agents can be invaluable in helping you understand all of the added costs of owning a home, such as: taxes, insurance, maintenance, and the like.

Get the most up-to-date property listings, comparisons, and benchmarks. There are dozens of resources to search for homes, but the most up-to-date and reliable data is always going to come from the MLS or directly from the broker. While you, and millions of others, can lean on all of the resources available publicly online to get an idea of the market, your real estate agent is going to be able to keep you updated to-the-minute on the status of properties.

They will be your best resource for information on how long a home has been on the market, if it’s been listed more than once, how it compares to neighboring properties, and any insights from previous inspections.

Benefits to sellers

Get marketing & guidance from a seller’s perspective. The agent will provide comparative market analysis that will be a strong estimate of the home’s value for pricing based on comparable sales in the area, condition of the property, and state of the market.

Skilled agents will also provide valuable exposure to court prospective buyers. Only licensed agents and brokers can add your listing to the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for syndication to other agents and even web portals.

Ultimately, your representative will help guide you through the complex selling process. They will verify that any buyers you are working with are pre-screened, pre-qualified, and generally capable of completing the transaction. The agent will work with the buyer to negotiate the final price, as well as any adjustments that are requested based on inspection results (with your direction being the final say). They will also handle any earnest money deposits from buyers and prepare certain documentation within their domain such as purchase contracts.

 

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