Why You Need a Real Estate Agent

Whether you're buying or selling a home, relocating or downsizing, a real estate agent can be your best ally. Real estate agents have been trained to navigate the bumpy roads of home ownership. Here are some of the reasons you need a real estate agent.

Marketing

When you decide to sell your home, your real estate agent will come to your home and appraise it with an objective eye. They will advise you as to its curb appeal and interior presentation. They will show you actual figures of the most recent comparable home sales in your area so that together you can come up with the highest possible selling point. They will take photographs of your home, write an attractive description of its amenities as well as the offerings of the surrounding community. This description and photo montage will become a valuable marketing tool that your agent will use to list your home online and in print media. Oftentimes the agent will prepare a virtual tour which interested buyers can click on to get a better sense of your home's features. Your home listing will be assigned an MLS number and propagated throughout the internet.

Filtering

Your real estate agent will act as liaison between you and individuals or other real estate agents when selling your home and they will ensure that any serious interested party is a financially viable purchaser. You will never have to meet with potential buyers yourself. You won't be present during showings. You won't have to defend your paint color choices, answer questions about your neighbors or explain your hot water system. You won't be disturbed by interested strangers showing up at your door or be interrupted by countless phone calls at odd hours. Your real estate agent is your representative to the world. This filtering carries through from the viewing of the house, to the negotiation phase, all the way to handing over the keys. And speaking of negotiation . . .

Negotiating

When you use a real estate agent to buy or sell your home, they handle all the negotiating for you. You won't need to engage in any awkward back and forth conversations about whether or not the washer and dryer are included in the deal. There will be no price haggling arguments. You and your agent will agree on an offering price and any compromises after that will be pre-approved by you and handled by your agent via meetings, email or telephone calls. If issues arise with the home inspection, the agent will be able to advise you on how much the price point might need to be adjusted. The concessions will be communicated to your potential buyer through your agent. You will never have to speak, write or hear from your buyer or seller.

A real estate agent offers so many services it's impossible to list them all here. You can depend on a real estate agent to make buying or selling a home easier for you and your family.