There is no certain rules and laws requiring you to hire real estate agents when buy a home, so what’s the need? Why bother to hire real estate agent? Well, other than films and dramas where agent often portrayed in a negative light, in reality buying a home without professional or experience agent can carry lots of risks and may lead you to the issues that you may not be aware of. The benefits of having well-experience, honest and professional agents are immeasurable.
Buying a home is thrilling and gratifying experience, probably the most significant transaction of your life. Your time, money everything is on line so you should be aware of the risks before you decide to buy without real estate agent. Home buying without representative can be financial suicide if you’re not careful.
Every agent owes the buyer loyalty, reasonable care, confidentiality, obedience to lawful instruction and accountability. Good agents like us represent your best interests. He puts your needs above everything but when you go out to buy home without an agent, you lose all of these benefits. When a buyer try to buy a for sale by owner home without an agent, the biggest problems occur because there’s just you and the seller, two common people making a deal without any professionals. Sellers do this to save money on a commission. Probable problems of purchasing a home without a Realtor include:
- Overpaying
The price of for sale by owner home is set by owner, means biggest factor of home purchasing in his hands who may not have any idea about the actual value of the house. It’s their home and they can overestimate the value. Buyers don’t have any way to verify the validity of price set by homeowner. Usually owner use rudimentary ways of coming up with an asking price as like formula 1 car price including Zillow Zestimate if it suits their needs. Sellers randomly pick a number based on what they need for their home. Without a real estate agent, overpaying is a substantial risk of home buying.
- Disclosure Issues
In some states of America, sellers do not have disclosed problems with their homes. But in some states, it is known as Caveat Emptor (let the buyer beware). Its agent’s responsibility to disclose, if there’s an issue with a home. Rarely agents avoid disclosing condition that would make buyer think twice about buying. Agents are not allowed to put blind eye when it comes to potential issues in homes. For example, if agent knows that seller’s basement floods every spring, he must have to disclose this to every buyers who is interested in the property.
- Inspection Issues
For the average person deciphering a home inspection report can be difficult. Inspector conduct a report containing 20-50 points of concerns, among which some are serious that should be taken care of while others are not a big deal. Handling all this without knowledgeable real estate agent might be hard for common people. Your agent guides you about unreasonable inspection request. Agents are pro in this area, by just looking they’re able to pick out the important stuff, the stuff you will base your negotiations on. Furthermore, without an agent you will also not be aware of different types of inspections that are advisable for your area. Maybeyou’re home need a radon inspection or inspection for insect infestation, a mold inspection or some other special inspection. Missing the essential inspection means you may wind up with a home with real issues.
- Unaware of Neighborhood:
The agent you hire is well aware of the neighborhoods in the area you want to buy. Picking the right neighborhood is important because the neighborhood you choose can have significant impact on home price and resale potential knowing the property taxes, school districts, commutes, property values, HOA rules etc are essential when picking the neighborhood. Knowledgeable agent helps you to see the big picture whether it is a small town or a big city.
- Appraisal Problems:
If you overpay for a property, you can run into appraisal problems. Home appraising problems becomes a serious headache when buyer and seller are not using professional real estate agents. Often it is similar to the blind leading the blind. When you are buying and selling a home at the same time frame, a truculent owner can create major chaos. Just imagine for a moment what happens when you have no place to go because the home you are purchasing is going to fall apart due to an appraisal. This is a serious risk of buying a home without an experiences agent in your corner to protect your interests.
- Rules, regulations, laws and paperwork:
Understanding complex real estate laws that varies from state to state, city to city and country to country, is not a kids’ game. Buyers must obey the law of their state in order to dodge potential legal troubles. You must be able to read a contract before signing on it. Furthermore completing all the necessary paperwork correctly and submit it by deadlines on your own is not easy because legal mistakes and missteps in your paperwork can create serious long-term and expensive problems. It is best to hire well experienced and knowledgeable real estate agent to avoid all these hassles.
Buying from a dual agent or seller’s agent:
Buying from seller’s agent or dual agent is as bad as purchasing for sale by owner without buyer’s agent. It’s a misconception that buyers get some kind of special deal by going directly to the seller’s agent. But reality is on the other side, because buyers are dealing directly with someone whose obligation is to the seller. Similarly dual agent is a slave to two parties not exclusively representing you. You are dependent on seller’s agent hoping that you will be treated fairly. The potential problems with seller’s agent include:
- Overpaying:
Determining the true value of homes you are looking for to buy in a certain area is very difficult unless you are working in that real estate market. But hiring a real estate agent means you have a professional who knows the area well and can tell you when something costs too much. There are great chances that you may pay more for a home interior design services then you would with seller’s agent.
- Dealing with salesperson:
You are sequestered from the eloquence of the other agent, when you have your own agent. Your agent knows what you want, where you want and at what price. Moreover he/she knows better than you how to avoid being taken in by salesmanship.
- Expecting a deal on commission:
Both your agent and seller’s agent split the commission on a home sale. Many home buyers think that seller’s agent will discount the commission because there is no buyer’s agent to pay, which is utterly wrong. It’s unwise to think that seller’s agent make many adjustments for you as a buyer without an agent.
- Negotiating
Negotiating for clients is agent’s everyday job. They don’t need to make much effort but in contrast you don’t have skills to do so. Agents know every factor that influences home values and every pressure point that is likely to deliver a response. On the flip side, these things are totally new to you, no matter how much research you’ve done there’s room to make mistakes. When you go to negotiate with seller’s agent you should not expect to come out the winner.
- All the Rest
Staggering is the major difference between buyers and seller’s agent. When you go to deal with sellers agent there’s no one professional beside you. Don’t expect that seller’s agent work for your benefits, an agent working for seller is not accountable to you. While your agent must follow your instruction unless it is breaking a law.
Buyers should keep in mind that you do not pay real estate agent to represent you when buying a home because real estate commissions are almost always paid by a seller. There’s possibility that you may run into a for sale by owner that won’t pay buyer’s agent fee. In such case where you would have to compensate buyer’s agent all you need to do is make your offer taking this into consideration. Well-reputed agent does many things for their clients and without them many problems go up greatly in home purchasing process. Do thorough research and hire an agent who will beneficial for you throughout the process.