1. Better Access, More Convenience & Property Marketing Power
Today’s housing market is full of clutter, whether you’re looking to sell or buy a home. With real estate agents handling the advertising and marketing of properties and containing easy access to properties listed by other firms and agents, you can quickly filter out what is not meeting your criteria. Their access to this information is your convenience.
Plus, agents are part of a huge professional network which is very important when it comes to selling or locating a property to purchase. In fact rather than a property being sold due to traditional advertising efforts, a large share are actually a result of a real estate practitioner’s contact list that includes previous clients, friends and family. Also, the relationships and connections that agents have formed throughout their professional experience make them the ultimate reference guide when it comes to the reputation of vendors. Why would you not want to utilize a service that’s tailored to your exact preferences?
2. An Expert Guide
When buying or selling a home, the process normally requires dozens of technical documents consisting of forms, reports, disclosures and more. Many of these are time sensitive and can be detrimental to a transaction. Real estate agents know and understand these documents and their jargon. So, the agent is able to effectively prepare the best deal, while keeping their client’s best interests in mind at all times and avoiding any delays or costly mistakes.
Opposed to popular belief, agents do NOT select prices for buyers or sellers. They simply provide price guidance to their clients that leads them to make the right choices for themselves after considering all supplied information. This guidance, stemming from factual data that agents provide their clients with, allows an appropriate price to be set. Then, based on the market supply, demand and conditions, the agent devises a negotiation strategy to protect the interests of their client.
3. Objective Information, Advice, Opinions & Loyalty
When a real estate agent signs a representation agreement with their client, the agent is agreeing to represent the clients interests and perform services agreed upon that are within legal limits. Typically, agents provide local information on utilities and zoning, deliver comparable properties sale prices and other objective information about each property. Then, that data is used to help clients determine if a certain property suits their needs and criteria or what type of offer they are willing to accept or make. Along with getting the facts to clients, agents point them in the right direction where they can find data involving schools, crime rates, demographics and more. They also possess information in regards to current market conditions, such as data on the average per square foot cost of similar homes, median and average sale prices, average days a property has spent on the market, and ratios of list-to-sold prices.
Agents are here to guide their clients and provide them with optimized service that represents their interests. Whether it be material facts or advising a client to seek legal counsel, real estate agents work for their client and act on that clients behalf throughout the transaction process.
4. Negotiation Knowledge & Skills
While real estate agents are essentially a buffer in the transaction process, an agent represents their clients best interests at all times. This is important to stress because an agent will take on that perspective while looking at various factors and negotiating the purchase agreement to include the best terms and conditions that match those interests. Agents are here to present their clients case in the best light. It’s also important to recognize that any information a client discloses to their agent will remain confidential- even after the transaction has been completed.
Agents are able to remove themselves from the emotional aspects of a transaction while they’re negotiating. They also are able to deliver information from buyer to seller or vice versa that would be detrimental to the purchase agreement if the buyer or seller directly delivered it. Selling a home that has been lived in for many years may bring on many emotions and memories that inhibit a seller from negotiating clearly or accepting a reasonable offer. And the same is similar with purchasers, buying a home is one of the largest transactions most people make and may become inherently overwhelming for someone inexperienced with the process.
5. A Hub for Up-To-Date Experience
With laws and regulations constantly being amended and created, real estate agents are required to continue their education and stay knowledgeable of all changes that effect their profession. Hiring an experienced agent will eliminate costly risks, ensure the clients interests are represented in the transaction, while also ensuring clients that the price being paid or accepted is in correspondence with the current market rate.
6. High Ethical Standards
Real estate agents are held to high standards that require honesty, fairness, obedience, confidentiality and loyalty to clients. They are here to represent you, their client, and act on your behalf to ensure that your interests are present throughout the transaction process. Plus, any information your agent is told will remain confidential throughout the transaction and after it’s completed. Overall, the real estate industry itself is held to high professional codes of ethics and has serious repercussions for licencees that do not follow these minimum requirements.