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The Importance Of Using An Experienced Real Estate Agent To Buy Or Sell A Home

Is the realtor working for your best interest?

Realtors have a choice as to who they wish to represent. Meaning that any realtor can at any moment choose to represent both the buyer and the seller. This allows them to broaden their potential clients and in turn, gain more business. The issue with this approach is that the realtor may not always be working in your best interest.

If a realtor is representing a buyer but they are also representing the seller, then the realtor is incentivized to give the seller as much money as possible at the expense of the buyer. These types of dilemmas are completely within their legal right but as a consumer, you have to know if your realtor is putting these kinds of deals together. You want someone who will represent your best interests. If you hire an agent who will represent both sides, who is truly representing your best interests?

Online seller services vs In person seller services

While some online seller services offer to represent you for less, is it really worth it? Pushing paperwork is one thing, but negotiating deals and getting the best possible outcome for you takes time, strategy, and passion. If a deal does go south, you want someone who has connections with third parties (escrow, title, loan officers, home warranty) so they can use every angle to make sure the transaction closes.

Additionally, you need to know if the same person will represent you throughout the entire transaction or if you are simply being handed down the pipeline to the next representative.  Handing off your case to separate “specialist” breaks the continuity you need in handling your case perfectly. Having one individual with a holistic approach will be able to clearly lay out a plan for every step of the process and will be better equipped with what truly works in your best interest.

 

A clear example is shared by our friend Hope Leitner:

“I had a client who wanted to utilize a brokerage because they would save on

commission. After some negotiation, they decided to hire me. The transaction turned out

to be quite involved with 10 multiple offers. I was able to obtain an offer 3% over the asking price – a $20K difference. (which netted them a $13K profit)”

So while hiring an experienced in-person realtor will be more expensive, the end result could mean more equity from a higher selling price.

Everything in a nutshell

Ultimately, buying or selling a home is a very detailed and delicate process that needs to be handled by someone who is working in your best interest, understands your needs, has connections with key third-party vendors, and has experience with each step of the process. Bringing all these together will guarantee that everything will be done to help you buy or sell your home.

Special Thanks

We would like to thank our friend Hope Leitner for helping us write this blog post. If you would like to learn more about her and her team, you can start by heading over to their website and be sure to check out their blog for more helpful articles. From there, be sure to follow Hope on  Facebook, Linkedin, Instagram, and Twitter. (CalBRE: 01874321, BHHSCP-CalBRE: 01317331)