5.25 million existing homes are projected to sell in 2019. Do you know what almost all of those millions of buyers have in common?
They are represented by buyer’s agents.
When people are discussing real estate agents, conversations are generally centered around listing agents. These are the people that help sellers get the highest possible price for their houses.
A buyer’s agent is another kind of real estate professional that represents the party that’s looking for a house in a home transaction.
While homebuyers can purchase a house without the help of a buyer’s agent, it’s not recommended given the amount of assistance that these specialists can offer.
Below, we touch on 8 ways that hiring a buyer’s agent can benefit you.
1. They Find You Prospective Properties
Look no further than your favorite home buying app to see that new houses pop up on the market every day.
And guess what? Those houses that you see pop up on Zillow, Trulia and other popular applications don’t even come close to showcasing everything that’s available.
In order to see every single house that’s for sale, you’d have to use a tool called a Multiple Listing Service (MLS) which only licensed agents can access.
When you hire a buyer’s agent, they can scan the MLS on your behalf to flag properties that you otherwise would have missed.
2. Agents Understand the Real Estate Market
Buying a house can be a very confusing experience. These feelings of confusion are exacerbated by all of the news that you’re inundated with about “markets”.
Is it a buyer’s market? Is it a seller’s market? Is the real estate bubble going to pop soon?
Rather than sweating all of that stuff on your own, a buyer’s agent can help you make sense out of what’s going on in today’s real estate world and how that affects you.
That access to information by itself justifies a buyer’s agent’s position on your team
3. An Agent Can Help You with Financing
While buyer’s agents are not financiers, they do know a lot about the home financing process. After all, if their clients can’t get financing, buyer’s agents aren’t going to be able to earn their commission.
Agents can inform you as to which loan options exist, how to best approach getting financing per your unique financial situation and may even be able to recommend lenders that they’ve worked within the past.
4. Agents Get Special Access to Showings
Have you ever walked up to a house that was for sale and saw a funny looking padlock on the front door? Those padlocks are hiding keys to the house.
Want to get your hands on those keys so you can tour the property? 8 out of 10 times, you’re going to need the help of a buyer’s agent.
Buyer’s agents have connections in their community which enables them to call a house’s rep and obtain the code needed to undue padlocks for the purpose of conducting showings.
Even if a house that you’re interested in doesn’t have a padlock on it, buyer’s agents can make calls to get the house’s listing agent to drive out and unlock the doors for you.
Bottom line: With the help of a buyer’s agent, you’re going to see more homes, faster.
5. They Can Help with Contracts
Once you’ve found a house that you like, paperwork is going to start to roll in.
There’s offer paperwork, home disclosures, assessment reports and more that you’re going to have to look over in order to eventually close the deal on a house that you’re looking to buy.
Rather than fumbling through all of the paperwork that gets dropped on your lap, your buyer’s agent can walk you through things and help you fill documents out.
Not only will that save you time but it will also help you avoid making a paperwork mistake that could cost you a deal, or worse, your money.
6. Your Agent Will Negotiate on Your Behalf
The most intimidating aspect of the home buying process is negotiating.
Nobody that buys a home ever wants to pay full price. Nobody that’s selling a home ever wants to drop their price.
In order to find a middle ground between those two desired outcomes, discussions need to take place that have a tendency of getting heated.
Rather than arguing about prices and contingencies on your own, leave the stress to your agent who will be able to use their experience to get you the best possible deal.
7. Agents Won’t Cost You a Penny
No. That wasn’t a typo.
The cost to you for all of the incredible benefits that a buyer’s agent can bring to your home buying process is nothing.
As you discover more about these agents, you’ll come to find out that they pull their commission from seller’s earnings.
Given that fact, there is literally no reason why you should ever go out to buy a house without an agent standing in your corner.
Our Final Thoughts on Buyer’s Agents
A buyer’s agent commonly represents home buyers because they bring a lot of value to the table and ask nothing of buyers in return.
We hope that we’ve effectively answered your questions regarding buyer’s agents and we wish you the best of luck as you search for the home of your dreams.
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