Do I Need a Realtor to Buy a House?

In your head, buying a house without a realtor is a pretty straightforward process. I mean, how hard can it really be? You’re thinking: Do I need a realtor to buy a house? Thanks to innovations like the Internet, all you need to do is scroll through a couple of listings, packed with awesome pictures and find your dream house, meet up and pay. Well there is so much more to buying a house than searching through listings and using filters.

It is a certainty that hiring a realtor will cost you money, but how expensive will going solo cost? Before you make up your mind on ditching the realtors and going solo, here are a few points to consider:

 

The Seller might not take your offers seriously

 

Now you take a deep breath and think about this. A man calls on the phone and says “hey, my name is Bob, I saw a listing of your house on craigsist, I would like to see the house, before I decide to go forward with the purchase.”

Another man calls “Hello and good afternoon, my name is Harvey Jonas. I’m a realtor working with Nimpas Estate management, I was looking for a house for a client of mine and I came across your house in New York listed on Craigslist. Would you mind taking us on a tour at your free time?

Now in your ears, who sounds professional? Who will you give more attention? Thank me later.

 

Realtors are good negotiators

There are no two ways to look at this claim, realtors are indeed some of the best negotiators available. For example, you might consider just the price of a property when the seller contacts you with regards a new property you intend to buy. But a realtor on the other hand, will check his valuation standings and ensure that no major repairs are needed. That way, he/she can build the cost of the repairs into the cost of the house if he finds any need for repairs.

 

You are missing out on some properties

Yes, it is indeed the age of the internet, and a lot of listings are existent on the multitude of Real Estate web pages on the Internet, however, there are usually an outrageous number of properties which are not listed on media. Realtors belong to these little groups which enables them the knowledge of properties not listed on traditional media, which in most cases turn out to be steals.

 

Are you willing to learn a new language?

Real Estate is so much more than buying and selling, a few decades back maybe it was just that, buying and selling, but now, Real Estate is a discipline in its own rights, and as such has its language, which can be quite difficult to understand. Think chemical engineers and all the gibberish they say when communicating with colleagues in a project meeting, or accountants. Real estate also has a complex language which remains largely misunderstood by people out of the loop. I assure you, even google might not be able to aid you this time.

 

 It’s no crime to hold more experienced hands

Experience will always be the best teacher; thus, the experience of the realtors is a valuable asset. If you have ever had a realtor value property you intend to buy, perhaps you’ll understand the degree of experience these humans have gathered over the years. Next time you are out with a realtor, listen to the phrases they use, and the issues they consider, you’ll be amazed at how different the business of buying and selling real estate is from buying groceries from Mr. Blakes supermarket.

 

You think your thesis was tedious research, try this

If you think you have done research by virtue of completing your thesis, then you need to rethink what is meant by research. Real estate wouldn’t be so difficult to research if there weren’t so many moving parts to keep track of at the very same time. Say you need a six-bedroom apartment, preferably within the city centre, your budget is fixed, but you may consider reducing the number of bedrooms just to suit your needs, you view pages and pages of listings, and mark out your favourites while searching for the house of your dreams. You think you’ve found the one “the perfect house” until you drive for miles to see that pictures are nothing but pictures.

But by the time you get home frustrated to continue your research, the next two houses you considered have been bought and the other increased in valuation.

Mentally and physically, you are drained.

 

It isn’t such a wise idea to go on a boat cruise without the boat operator on the boat, the very same thing applies to real estate.

While a sizable chunk of the population buys properties without the help of a realtor, it is most definitely advised that you get a realtor when you intend to buy a property.

At the end, it is ultimately the decision of the buyer, it is indeed possible to get the perfect property for the best price all by yourself, but it is also possible to end up with a house that looks perfect but has a leaking foundation for more than the market value of the property.