Meet Your New BFF

Why Your REALTOR? is Your BFF

In certain situations it’s important to have the expertise of a trained and experienced professional. After all, their time in the classroom and on the job has provided them with insight that can help you when you need it the most.

While this might remind you of a time when you needed to see a doctor or another professional, what if you’re about to buy or sell a home? This situation, while different from prescribing a remedy to your problem, still requires the expertise that only an experienced real estate agent can provide.

Thinking of hiring an agent to help you buy or sell? Below you’ll find 8 reasons why it’s essential to work with a real estate agent.

1. A Good Agent Will Focus on Educating vs. Selling a Client

It’s no secret that agents are dedicated to selling to their clients, but a good agent isn’t going to stop there. They will also educate you on the entire process so you understand what to expect and situations that may come up once the buying or selling process begins. The agent, just as you, wants to make sure you make a smart and educated decision.

Let’s say you’re a seller and ready to get your home off the market so you can move. Is your property really ready for the market? Should you leave up your decorations or have professional home staging done? What about the price, is it fair? Do you know how much it costs to sell a house? As you can see, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered before your home is actually listed. An agent will help you learn about every aspect of selling a home so you have confidence.

On the flip side, let’s say you’re a buyer and ready to get the keys to a new home. Have you been pre-approved by a lender? Do you have realistic expectations for what you can afford? Do you know how to make a strong offer? If you’re not prepared, then buying a home can turn from exciting to seemingly impossible. By working with an agent, you’ll transform the way you think about buying real estate. They will focus on setting realistic expectations and guiding you through the process so buying doesn’t seem as overwhelming.

One of the best ways to make sure that you are hiring a REALTOR? whose priority is their client’s interest is by reviewing her website for added information that will help you to make a better decision. A great place to find information about buying or selling a home would be a personal real estate blog of the agent. Learning about the communities that you are considering is also significant. Look for detailed community descriptions or meaningful organization of the website that you can easily navigate. Being able to search for a home based on whether it’s a luxury home or a townhouse is important to filter down the available options to the ones that only matter to you.

2. REALTORS? Know How to Create Outstanding Marketing

It’s difficult for most buyers to walk into a poorly presented open house and imagine the potential it could have. Sure the agent might be able to try and explain what could be, but having the buyer imagine it can be difficult. This is why it’s essential to prepare a home for being sold in the right way. Some of the most important aspects of this include:

·        Staging

·        Decorating/Designing

·        Photographing

·        Video Producing

·        Exterior/Interior Improvements

While you may be able to find each of these things on your own, that doesn’t mean you’ll make the right choices. For example, do you know which real estate photographer is going to get the BEST shots of your home so it’s clear how big the rooms are? With each of these details you don’t want to take chances. You’ll save time, money, and frustration by having an agent help you with finding professionals who will do an excellent job of presenting your property.

Your home has its own individual style, story, and appeal. While you might know that, conveying that to others may not be so easy. An agent is going to be the one to help you effectively market why your home is so fantastic. They may even be able to connect you with vendors that could offer discounts to the potential buyers of the home, giving people further incentive to make an offer.

3. It Takes a REALTOR? to Know Local Market Conditions

When it comes to both buying and selling a home, there are a lot of things you’ll learn during the process. For example, if you’re selling, do you know what the local market conditions are? For those without experience, this is very unlikely. Real estate agents are in-tune with conditions in your immediate market so they know things like:

·        Type of audience for your home

·        Where to advertise to buyers

·        Where most buyers are coming from to see your home

·        Average number of days it takes to sell a home

·        The average asking price versus sales price

·        Trends for real estate in your area

·        Whether or not sellers pay closing costs

·        Challenges you could face due to your location

With in-depth knowledge about your market and real estate conditions in your area, your agent can educate you all about the facts. This means facing reality rather than having expectations that are likely not to be met. Even if you’re looking to buy, they will help make sure you get the most for your money and are aware of every realistic challenge, obstacle, and possibility for you to expect.

With so many mistakes that could occur without the right knowledge, it’s necessary to have the guidance of a real estate professional. They’ll help you avoid these mistakes and make smart decisions that are likely to save you money.

4. Effective Social Media Coverage is a Priority

Social media marketing is one of the fastest and most effective ways to reach potential buyers. While it might be tempting to post your home for sale on your social media, chances are most of those are your family and friends who won’t be likely to make the purchase. If you’d like to reach more people both locally and nationally, then you need an agent who can help.

When you work with an agent, they will be able to use their digital marketing tools (such as predictive analytics) to show your home to hundreds or even thousands of people in minutes. If you work with a top real estate agent, then you can expect even more. That’s because they’ll use smart marketing techniques and pictures/videos to help boost the viewers of your home.

5. Agents Know How to Negotiate the Best

Sure you might know how to negotiate for a deal for something you want at a swap meet, but negotiating in real estate is a much more complex type of situation. When it comes down to it, do you really know how to sell a home? What if the buyer presents an offer you want to counter, or one that is way too low for you to even consider? When it comes to buying a home, there are just as many needs for negotiating. What would you do if the seller wouldn’t fix something or come down on a too-high price?

Knowing what to do can feel impossible when you’re in the situation, especially if you haven’t dealt with it before. By working with an agent you’ll be able to create a smart strategy, negotiate effectively, and manage the situation in the best way possible. How do they do this? By using their experience, gathering statistics on the local real estate market, and considering smart negotiation tactics they’ve learned over the years. Having them as your buffer will ensure you’re not at the forefront and can keep emotions out of such an important financial decision.

6. Real Estate Agents Know How to Handle Heated Conversations

While it would be nice to get through a real estate transaction without any problems, this is very rarely the case and sometimes certain home buying situations can get out of hand. For example, what would you do if you were buying a home and the home inspection revealed a problem with the roof, troublesome plumbing, or black mold? Or, what would you do if you were selling a home and the inspector was trying to make a simple problem seem like a larger one? First of all, you need to be clear about how to hire a home inspector that you can trust. But most importantly, facing these problems alone can feel impossible and turn you from hopeful to irritated, resulting in clouded judgement.

When you have a great real estate agent providing excellent service, you have someone who knows how to deal with even the most stressful situations -- all without losing their cool. Whether you want to prevent a buyer from backing out or you need help telling a seller about repairs that need addressed, your agent will be there. Their experience in this field and critical thinking skills means they’re able to solve problems to help you through. By standing tall, pulling their experience, and being realistic they can help you overcome challenges during any stage of your purchase or sale.

Encountering a problem in real estate might sound frightening, and for those who are dealing with them alone, they are. Even with research you can never anticipate what’s going to come and the myriad of challenges that could be waiting for you. If you want to stand tall and fight for the deal, then an agent is going to be your best line of defense.

7. Online Home Evaluations Are NEVER Going to be Accurate

It’s no secret that there are incredible (and useful) tools at your disposal when it comes to researching real estate evaluations. For example, in minutes you could be online looking at a valuation of your property right from your phone or computer. However, how accurate are these valuations really?

In the majority of situations, they are not accurate because they do not consider many factors. For example, what properties is the valuation based on? How long ago did the properties sell? Were those homes comparable to yours? With so many outlying factors to consider, it’s easy to see why you should never rely on online home evaluations.

Just like you shouldn’t go online to self-diagnose your symptoms, you shouldn’t merely rely on information gathered online to complete your home valuation. By doing so, you are very likely to end up with inaccurate information that could hurt you in the long run.

8. A Great Agent is Your BFF (Best Friend Forever)!

Real estate agents are unique because they’re some of the only professionals who don’t have set office hours. Sure they might prefer to work 9-5, but if a client has a question outside of those normal office hours, they will be there to help. Their priority, in addition to helping make a sale, is to make sure their clients know that they are important.

Whenever you need advice, just send them an e-mail or give them a call to get the information that you need. You won’t have to worry about paying for every point of contact (like you would with a lawyer), because real estate agents work differently. By knowing that they’re available to help you, there will be no reason to succumb to confusion or fear. Trust them to help you make this incredibly important decision.

Final Thoughts

Walking into the real estate process without any knowledge of how it works is a recipe for disaster. In addition to not understanding the market and changes that are so common, you won’t have a reliable source for information. With a top real estate agent on your side, you can let go of common worries and smile knowing you have an experienced professional, eager and ready to help you. By hiring a licensed REALTOR?, you can look forward to the good things that are about to come!

In Your Corner,

Phyllis Miller – REALTOR?, GRI?

 www.AMPMRealtors.com