It might seem like a smart thing to do: forgo a real estate agent when buying or selling a home to save on commissions paid. And what is just as bad is not using a local real estate agent. Don’t do it! Really, it’s a bad idea. Here are…
5 Reasons You Should Never Buy or Sell a Home Without a Local Agent in Floresville
Negotiations Middle Man
A real estate transaction is filled with a ton of negotiations. It isn’t just the purchase price that gets negotiated. So what happens when you really don’t want the deal to fall apart because the home appraisal came in lower than expected?
Your real estate agent acts as the bad guy, dealing with the other party to professionally get your wants and needs across without offending the anyone and killing the deal. This is one of the key skills that a real estate agent brings to the table and it should be utilized. They can approach the other party without the emotions that a buyer or seller brings to the table.
It draws upon the extensive experience of someone who can legitimately say, “It works this way 80 percent of the time and that is what we expect here.”
Rolodex of Resources
Real estate agents are connected; its just part of what they do. Not only do they know other real estate agents who may have the perfect buyer or seller for you, they also have reputable resources for home appraisals, inspectors, escrow and title companies. A good real estate agent also helps with insurance, home warranty, and contractor recommendations if you don’t know where to start. And local agents have those local contacts. That means local knowledge as the saying goes location, location, location. Who better to know the local tradesmen? Agents deal with tradesmen all the time. A buyer or a seller may not have those contacts. Non Local agents don’t have those contacts. Knowing the local people gives one a heads up. Who is good, who is not.
Additionally, they know where to find information if you don’t have it. If the land survey comes back questionable for any reason, your realtor knows who to contact to research. They know what questions to ask. There can be some 20 different people involved in a real estate transaction; your agent knows what the role is of each getting you to the close of escrow.
Contract Experience
The last thing you want when closing a real estate transaction is for the deal to not be legitimate. Real estate agents are experienced with the contracts and state and federal laws. Their job is to make sure all disclosures are made, everything is filed timely and the contract meets all legal requirements. If you don’t have an agent, you can’t be sure all of these are met – at least not without a lot of extra due diligence.
Emotional Stability
Let’s face it; we all get emotionally attached to a home. If you’re selling it, you have all the memories that make you feel the home is worth more than it might be. You also don’t always price it based on real market conditions – what your neighbor sold his totally remodeled home with a pool isn’t the same as your fixer upper. Buyers are buying a dream for the future but may be scared about the large investment. They are stressed also. And while you love that red dining room or that green carpet in your bedroom buyers might not. Agents bring an unemotional side to evaluate your house value for a sale. So any suggestions they give you is not a criticism but a thought to help you sell.
In this process, there are a lot of emotions. A real estate agent helps you navigate what are legitimate concerns and what is an emotional reaction. They will sift through data to help you understand the real risks and value within the transaction. They become the sounding board of reason. They are there to hold your hand through the process.
Market Industry Muse
You might feel like you have a pulse on the real estate market in the area, but is it what you live and breathe? Probably not! Local real estate agents are watching listings sit or sell like hotcakes. They have brokers holding market update meetings and get mortgage information about the direction of interest rates from various mortgage lenders on a daily or weekly basis. They also know the ebb and flow of the sales seasons. They know that Zillow data for this state is off per their statistics by +/- 8 to 10%. So on a $300,000 Zestimate their data says it could be between $270,000 to $330,000 value. Where do you want to price your house $270,000 or $330,000? What if it’s real value is $270,000 and you price at $300,000 to match the Zestimate. Would you know that it wasn’t showing because of your pictures, description, price or what is the real reason because it is probably not getting any showings. So let’s look at the other end and you price at $300,000 but it is really worth $330,000. Just left a potential $30,000 on the table.
To properly price a house you need access to the real sales figures for the comparable homes to yours. If you are getting an email with the “estimate” for your house from some sites, do you know that those sites do not know the real intimate details about the houses they are showing as comparable to yours. That a house in one area is older and not updated but has a bigger yard. Is that house worth more than a house that is younger a bit more updated but with a small yard? Or is that house close to a busy, busy highway? Or backs up to a school yard so when the elementary students go out for recess you get to enjoy their screams of joy. What does that mean to the value of a home? Does an agent from the city or another county know the ins/ outs of your city much less your neighborhood. Do they know what a rural water company is? Do they understand wells? Septics? If you have an issue with an inspection will that non local agent know how to address that issue?
Did you know what the best selling season? Or if an open house works? What is the best advertising venue? What could be an advantage / disadvantage in selling your home fast? Real estate agents do! They know the annual trends and the specific market data. This can mean the difference in a house sitting on the market too long for sellers or buyers not being able to get an offer accepted.