Why It Pays To Hire A Realtor When You BUY A House

It Pays to Hire a Realtor.

Sounds pretty cliché, right?

But actually it’s true.

I think it is pretty obvious to most people that hiring a Realtor to sell your home has its advantages- but in this blog post I am going to talk about why it pays to hire a Realtor when you buy a home.

The reasons are actually pretty simple.

As the buyer, it doesn’t cost you anything to use a Realtor

 Most people don’t know how I get paid when I sell them a house. At some point they will awkwardly ask me “uh, so do we have to pay you?”. The answer is always “no”. 99% of the time in real estate the seller is who pays the commissions to the agents. One argument against this point is that if there are no agents involved it costs the seller less money to sell and then may offer the home at a lower price to the buyer. Why is this wrong? If there is any money left on the table, trust me it will go in the seller’s pocket- not in the form of a discount for you.

Realtors have access to the most up-to-date information

Since the internet became the main staple for home-searchers many people think they can go online and in an evening find their dream home. While there are some great websites out there- there is something that almost nobody understands about that information. The platform Realtors use to “list” homes is called an MLS (Multiple Listing Service). The other websites that feature homes for sale get their information from the local MLS through something called an IDX feed. The accuracy and frequency of the updates of the information though is determined by the third party website. What this means is that what you are seeing may not be very current or accurate information because they can display it in ways that they see fit. In essence, if you are relying on those other sites for your info you will waste a lot of your time and likely get your hopes up over homes that are no longer available or not even for sale.

Your Realtor will hold the seller accountable to their disclosure duties

When you sell a home you are required by law to disclose certain things to the buyer. Most sellers (and definitely most buyers) have no idea what all those things are. It is the job of the agents to ensure that the seller makes the disclosures and that the buyer understands the disclosures.  Not knowing what the seller is obligated to disclose to you may cause you to buy a house that has major issues and/or defects that you can’t easily see, such as roof leaks, plumbing or electrical problems, flooding or drainage problems or even a past death on the property.

Your Realtor will ensure you get the right inspections

Along with the disclosures, buyers need to conduct their own inspections of the property. Not every property needs every kind of inspection though so it is important that you have an agent to guide you on what to get and find you the right professional to do the job for you. A proper inspection can help reveal issues that even the seller may not be aware of.

Not everyone is a candidate to buy on their own

If you are a seasoned investor and a friend calls and offers to sell you a house at a bargain, you will likely jump at the opportunity- and rightfully so. This is not the instance that this blog post is in reference to. When you have never bought an investment property and you still live in the only house you’ve ever bought 20 years ago, you are most definitely NOT a candidate to buy a house without representation. There is a litany of things that can go wrong that can cost you thousands and may land you in court.

You can’t rely on the escrow company to guide you

There is a misnomer with a lot of people that the escrow officer will help a buyer and/or seller with contracts. The inherent purpose of the escrow holder is to be a neutral third party between the buyer and seller. For this reason, they cannot get involved in the drafting of contracts and addendums and they cannot give advice on what either buyer or seller should sign or not sign. So if you are buying a home without representation assuming escrow will help you- you may be surprised (and feel a little lost) when they tell you they can’t help you.

 The bottom line here is this- know yourself. If you are the type of person who can’t buy a pair of shoes without guidance from your best friend you probably shouldn’t try to buy a house without the representation of a Realtor. A good realtor will give you their objective opinion and really help guide you in the right direction to protect your interests and your wallet.

If you are ready to start looking for a new home, call us today! We look forward to getting to work for you.