Navigating the home buying process alone is risky business. The amount of time and legwork needed to take a transaction from contract to closing is more work than any inexperienced buyer should take on . Not to mention the act that fact that it does not save the buyer any money to purchase a house without agent, why would you want to go about the process alone? I'll present to you 5 reasons why a Buyer needs and agent.....
1) IT'S FREE! (FOR BUYERS)
Typically, I'm on the "there's no such thing as free lunch" bus, but in this case, the services that a BUYERS AGENT offers to a prospective BUYER are free. The seller, from their proceeds, pays the buyers agent for yielding a client to their property. Purchasing a property is a full time job. Once you locate a home, place an offer and said offer gets accepted, it gets real. There are a lot of irons in the fire at this point and its truly to your advantage to have an experienced agent handle the entire transaction on your behalf. There are viewing appointments to be made, inspections to be scheduled, appraisals that need to be ordered, loan documents that need to be processed and funds that need to be secured, and let's not forget the endless amount of paperwork. It is in your best interest to hire an agent to facilitate these activities for you.
2) TIME
Hiring an agent saves you time. Purchasing a property is a full time job, and I don't exaggerate when I say this. On average an agent spends about 100 hours working on behalf of their client. An unrepresented person will probably spend double the time. Confirming property availability, scheduling showing appointments, to mapping showing routes, all the way down to researching comps - there is much work to be done-before you even go under contract. Once a home is under contract then the REAL work starts and that's when you know what you're truly made of. Your time is valuable and it is so important to get it right the first time so having an agent who is experienced alleviates the frustration involved in the process. It's truly to your benefit to hire an agent.
3) PAPERWORK
Have you seen a real estate contract? The contract to submit an offer here in Texas is 9 pages long. The financing addendum is 3 pages long. Lets not even talk about the Information about Buyers Services and the plethora of other documents that you are required to fill out. Unless, you're a lawyer or a licensed agent then it may all look like gibberish to you. I make it my business to go over every single line of every single document with my clients so that they have a full understanding of what they are signing. It is so very important that you KNOW and UNDERSTAND what you're signing and a good licensed agent should and will make that happen for you.
4) NEGOTIATION SKILLS
Although the Dallas market is experiencing a Seller's market I was able to negotiate closing costs for my last three sales. This is super uncommon right now. The only reasons that I was able to do so was because I've been taught and trained to negotiate on the behalf of my clients. I won't say my clients will always get exactly what they want all of the time, but if there is an opportunity to do so, then I will. Everything is negotiable when purchasing a home, but we have to do so within reason, and negotiate WISELY. For instance, I've had to talk clients out of trying to negotiate things that were not reasonable and would have killed the deal. I've also convinced clients that we should negotiate certain things for their protection.
5) KNOWLEDGE
In order to be a great agent, you must be abreast of the current trends in the market. I have resources that a consumer does not have when it comes to purchasing a home. I know the questions to ask a seller's agent so that I can position my clients offer in the best light. I study and research the neighborhood stats so that my client is aware of the trends in the neighborhood (i.e is the home priced right?, what are the HOA fees, will it appraise?) so that my client can make a good and fair offer.
Simply put, you'll save yourself a lot of time and money if you hire an agent to represent you exclusively. Let someone who is experienced and knowledgeable do all the leg work for you! It's in your best interest.
If you're looking to buy or sell a property in the Dallas Fort Worth area, give me a call or email me!
I'm happy to serve you with all of your Real Estate needs!
Donna Foy, REALTOR 972-413-8831
