A real estate agent helps in taking the buyer to the right seller by finding a home that fits the buyer’s budget and lifestyle needs, helps in making an offer, negotiations, home inspection and closing the deal. Though it is not necessary for a buyer or a seller to hire a real estate agent, not hiring one could be a risky bet for either party. Both buyers and sellers can save some money by not hiring an agent since they would not have to pay any commission, but this might cause a number of difficulties. Let’s have a look at some of them.
1. Understanding the neighborhood
If you do not hire an agent, you may not be able to assess everything about your chosen neighborhood all by yourself. Most of the time, the sellers do not disclose the negative aspects of their area, and a real estate agent could come in very handy at this time. As an example, if you do not want to live in a very quiet and peaceful area, then your agent would tell you that you should choose to stay in Dallas or Allen.
2. Relocating to a new city
If you are moving to a new city altogether, then either you may not know much about the place, or you would take a long time to gather all the information. Hiring a local real estate agent can be very beneficial in such a situation. For example, when moving to Texas, you may be confused about staying in Frisco, McKinney or Prosper. An agent would be able to inform you about the pros and cons of each area, and this would help to simplify your selection process to a great extent.
3. Contacting the property owner
When buying a house in Plano or Dallas, you would have to get in touch with multiple sellers multiple times in order to know more about the property, inspect the house and continue till you close the deal. It can be quite a tedious task to coordinate with the sellers for everything, and if this task is done by an agent for you, it would save you a lot of time and effort.
4. Documentation and Financial matters
If you are new in the real estate business, then you may get overwhelmed with the legal requirements and documentation that is involved in buying or selling a house. Since the real estate agents do it on a daily basis, they are well versed with it and can be of great help in order to simplify and execute the entire process for you.
5. Looking for a single-family home
There is a high demand for single-family homes, and if that is what you are looking for, then be assured that you would have a hard time because the supply is immense, and making a choice can get extremely difficult. In such a scenario, a real estate agent who has access to multiple listing services can help you in making that choice easily.
6. Getting a good mortgage rate
Real estate agents have a very good idea of the best lenders available in all areas, be it McKinney, Prosper or Plano. They can help you in getting the lowest mortgage rate available, and this would significantly reduce your purchase cost. Moreover, if you are looking at buying a new construction house, then the agent can also negotiate with the builder’s lender on your behalf, and tell you if you should choose your lender or the builder’s lender.
Despite all the benefits of hiring a real estate agent, you should know that there is a cost involved in the same, and it can vary from city to city and locality to locality. Also, sometimes the cost is paid only by the seller, and sometimes it is shared by both the buyer and seller. Thus, make sure that you take all these factors into account when you start looking to buy or sell a house in Texas.