6 Reasons You Should Never Buy or Sell a Home Without an Agent

When preparing to buy or sell a home, there is a common temptation that crosses the mind of just about everyone – completing the transaction without the aid of a real estate agent. Of course, the appeal of this idea is simply to save money, as your agent is going to take a commission as part of the transaction. However, despite the opportunity to save some money, this is one idea that you should cross off your list right away. Following are six compelling reasons why you should never complete a home purchase or sale without an agent.

#1 – Insider Access
Yes – you can download plenty of free apps on your phone which will show you real estate
listings all around your area. You can use these listings to search for a new home, and you can even use them to determine a price for selling your current home. However, the information you can track down online is only a portion of what is available to your real estate agent. The ability of a qualified agent to access all available information – including homes that may not even be listed yet – is crucial in the buying and selling process.

#2 – Connections
Real estate is a business that is all about relationships. If you connect with an agent who has been in the business for at least a few years, they are certain to know plenty of people in the area who can be of great help to you. In addition to connections with other agents, they will also know of mortgage brokers, inspectors, attorneys, and more. Home buying or selling is an involved process, and it helps to have good people on your side.

#3 – It’s Their Job
While you are working on buying or selling a home, you will almost certainly have to continue working at your current job. That means you may not have time to pay attention to your real estate transaction during the day. However, your real estate agent is being paid to do just that.
By bringing an agent on board, you will have someone who is focused on this important
purchase or sale even when you are busy doing other things.

#4 – Experience Matters
If you were to try to read a formal real estate document on your own, you would likely struggle to make sense of it – real estate has its own language, and unless you have experience, it will look like nonsense to you. With an agent, you can wade through the jargon and abbreviations to figure out exactly what is going on.

#5 – Ethical Conduct
By working with an agent who is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Agents, you can be assured that your transaction is going to be completed in accordance with generally accepted ethical conduct standards. With a transaction as large as buying or selling a home, you need to make sure everything is done correctly.

#6 – Negotiating Skills
Negotiations are an essential part of buying or selling a home. When buying, you want to pay as little as possible for the home of your dreams. Of course, when selling, you want to get as much as possible in the sale. Whichever side you happen to be on, you will have a much better chance of coming out with a great deal when you have an experienced and skilled negotiator on your side.